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Macmillan Achieve Setup Guide in D2L/Brightspace

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Susan Ruiz

This guide walks you through how to create a course in Macmillan Achieve and link it to your Learning Management System (LMS). Whether you're starting from scratch or using a pre-built course, this process will help you set up your course content, configure assignment settings, and prepare everything for LMS integration.

🔸 You can watch the video for a walkthrough of the integration process, or follow the detailed step-by-step instructions provided below.

⚙️ Requirements

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

  • An active Macmillan Achieve instructor account
  • Access to sample course content

If you don’t have an instructor account or course content assigned in Achieve, please contact your Macmillan representative or visit www.macmillanlearning.com.

Macmillan Achieve Integration – Video Walkthrough

Step-by-Step Instructions

Macmillan Achieve Setup

Create an Achieve course

  1. Go to achieve.macmillanlearning.com and log in to your Achieve instructor account.
  2. After logging in, you’ll be taken to the My Course List page.
  3. You can either copy an existing course or create a new one. In this guide, we’ll create a new course from scratch by clicking Create A New Course in the top right corner
    Macmillan Achieve Setup1.png
  4. On the Course Templates page, click Select Template to begin creating a new course.

Macmillan Achieve Setup2.png

  • warningNote: If this is your first time creating a course and you don’t see any templates, or if you need a different/new template, click Contact your local representative in the top-right corner.
     
  1. On the Course Sections page, select I am teaching one individual course, then click Next.
    Macmillan Achieve Setup3.png
  2. Fill in all required course information, including Course Name, Course Code, and Institution.
  3. Set LMS Integration to Yes, then choose VitalSource from the dropdown menu. Click Next: Create Course.

Macmillan Achieve Setup4.png

  1. Once the course is created, you’ll see the Integrate With VitalSource screen. Click Take Me To My Course to proceed.

Macmillan Achieve Setup5.png

  1. On the Welcome page, choose whether to start with a pre-built course or build a course from scratch. This guide uses a pre-built course.

Macmillan Achieve Setup6.png

  1. Review the topics included in the pre-built course:
    • Drag and drop or use the arrow keys to reorder topics.
    • To hide a topic, click the minus (–) symbol next to it.
    • To restore a hidden topic, click the plus (+) symbol in the Hidden section at the bottom.
    • To reset all changes, click Reset Order.
  2. After confirming your selections, click Continue to Pre-Built Course at the bottom of the page to finalize your course setup.

Set Up Assignments

Once your Achieve course has been created, the next step is to configure the assignments.

  1. On the Course Content page, check the box next to the content you want to edit.
  2. After selecting content, a new menu will appear. Click the calendar icon labeled Assign/Edit.
    Macmillan Achieve Setup7.png
  3. Go to the Assessment Grading Settings tab and choose your preferred grading option. You can select a pre-built template, such as Homework, or create your own.

Macmillan Achieve Setup8.png

  1. Navigate back to the Dates, Points, and Gradebook Categories tab to set due dates, visibility settings, and point values.

Macmillan Achieve Setup9.png

  1. Once your settings are complete, click the Save button in the top-right corner.
  2. Your course is now ready to be linked to your LMS course!

 

D2L/Brightspace Setup

Link your Achieve Course in D2L/Brightspace

  1. Sign into your D2L/Brightspace account

  2. From the dashboard, click your course to open the course page.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup1.png
     

  3. Click Add a module… box from the left menu under the table of contents. Enter a name for your module and press Return (or Enter) on the keyboard.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup2.png

  4. Once the module is created and selected, the Existing Activities menu will appear below the module name.

  5. Open the Existing Activities menu to and select External Learning Tools.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup3.png
     

  6. Search the VitalSource LTI tool and click the name to add it to the module

    D2L:Brightspace Setup4.png

    • warning If you’re not sure which tool to use, check with your LMS admin or bookstore contact.

  7. Now that the tool has been added, click it to open a new page.

  8. After clicking the tool, the paired content will be visible. Click Launch Courseware to begin the integration process.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup5.png
     

  9. If this is your first time launching courseware, sign in with your Macmillan Achieve faculty account.

  10. After logging in, click the Connect with Achieve link under the Course Tools section.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup6.png
     

  11. Locate the Achieve course you created earlier and click the Associate button next to it.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup7.png
     

  12. Confirm by clicking Yes, Associate This Course.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup8.png

  13. Once the courses are linked, you’ll notice new menu options in the LTI tool.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup9.png
     

Create Achieve Deep Links in D2L/Brightspace

  1. To start adding deep links in the D2L/Brightspace course, select the Add a module… box from the left menu under the table of contents.

  2. Enter a name for your module and press Return (or Enter) on the keyboard.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup10.png
     

  3. Once the module is created and selected, the Existing Activities menu will appear below the module name.

  4. Open the Existing Activities menu to see a list of all external tools available in the course.

  5. Locate the VitalSource Deep Linking tool.

    • warning If you’re not sure which tool to use, check with your LMS admin or bookstore contact.

      D2L:Brightspace Setup11.png
       

  6. Click the tool name to open the Add Activity menu. This page will display the content paired with your course.

  7. Click Open Publisher Tool to launch the Achieve deep link selector.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup12.png
     

  8. In the deep link selector, browse the content in your Achieve course and select the items you’d like to deploy.

    D2L:Brightspace Setup13.png
     

  9. Once you’ve selected the desired content, scroll to the bottom and click Deploy Selected Content.

  10. We will now see that all of the content we selected is now placed in the module you just created.

     
    D2L:Brightspace Setup14.png

Need Help?

Contact our team of experts at success@vitalsource.com. Please include “PI Course Setup” at the beginning of your email subject line to help us route your request quickly.


 

 

 
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