Instructor Documentation (Corporate)

Manage widgets on your homepage

You can customize which widgets are placed on your widget-based homepage, as well where they are positioned on the page.

Note: To add widgets to your homepage, you must set your homepage to Widget-based. This is accessed from the Edit Homepage page.

System widgets

Brightspace has a large selection of widgets to choose from when customizing your widget-based homepage. The following are the widgets that can be added to your course homepage:

Widget	Description
Access Google Workspace	A space where users can quickly access their Google Workspace account. Note that users must first link their Google Workspace account to use this widget.
Activity Feed	Provides a central location for instructors to post messages and assignments. You can also provide links to course materials and external resources.
Admin Tools	Provides administrators with direct access to all the administrative tools in the Admin Tools menu.
Announcements	Learners can easily view instructor communications about important, upcoming dates.
Auditors	Displays all the users with audit permissions in the course.
Awards Leaderboard	Displays the top 10 learners who have earned badges (not certificates) in the course. Course administrators with permissions can configure the Awards leaderboard to display the learners with either the highest Number of Awards or Credits appearing at the top. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Bookmarks	Shows the content a user has bookmarked in the course.
Calendar	Learners are able to see all upcoming events in one spot, like assignment or quiz due dates.
Content Navigator Widget	Provides learners with quick access to course topics. Learners can select to move from module, to sub-module, to content for more direct access. This widget tracks and displays navigational history and allows one-click navigation to the last-visited module topic. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Course Administration	Provides quick access to course administrative tools.
Google Search	Provides users with access to Google's search engine on their course homepage.
Google Workspace	Gives users access to their Google tools within Brightspace. The Google Workspace widget displays users' emails, events, and documents on their Brightspace homepage. Note that users must first link their Google Workspace account to use this widget.
Kaltura	As a video content management tool, Kaltura allows instructors and learners to create, upload, edit, manage, publish, discover and deliver high-quality, rich video to any device, live or on demand. To learn more about Kaltura, refer to D2L Partner Profile - Kaltura.
Learner Awards Widget	Inspire learners with friendly competition by displaying the top 10 learners who have earned badges (awards) in the course. It can also show learners their earned and unearned badges. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Learning Repository (LOR)	Provides users with quick access to the LOR.
Multi-Profile Widget	Allows you to introduce yourself and other users to your learners. The system widget retrieves user information from User Profiles and the Classlist to display a list of users in the course and their roles to learners. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
My Courses	On the org homepage, users can view all the courses they are enrolled in.
My Org Units	Displays the org units that a user is a part of.
My Settings	Shows the options for customizing personal settings in Brightspace.
Office 365	Provides users quick-access to a collection of enterprise-grade communication and productivity services. Depending on the license chosen, these services may include Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneNote, Lync Online, and Office Professional Plus.
Photo Banner Widget	Displays uploaded images as a gallery. Instructors can upload images, add a link to the Photo Banner carousel, and customize the background styling of the widget. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Quick Eval	Offers evaluators a single location to view all submissions that are awaiting evaluation.
Role Switch	Allows users with permissions to switch between different roles or personas in their Brightspace course.
Single Profile Widget	Provides in-line authoring that allows users to introduce themselves to learners. Put important details at the forefront, showcase a personal photo, share social media details, and write other important information. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Slim Announcements Widget	Presents users with a simplified, shorter view of announcements. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Tasks	Displays a user's personal tasks as an agenda.
Updates	Shows any new content that a user needs to view, like unread discussion posts or assignment submissions.
User Links	A comprised list of all the links in the course.
Visual Table of Contents Widget	Displays a ‘flip tile’ visual representation of modules in a course. Each course module’s title and image appear on the front of a tile. Learners can click on each tile to flip it over and reveal a description of the module. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Welcome Window Widget	Displays a pop-up message the first time a user logs into a course. This message can include text, images, and even short videos. This widget is a part of the Homepage Widget Expansion Pack.
Work To Do	Shows all content with due or end dates in the near future or in the past. Any overdue work will appear at the top of the list, and upcoming items appear below.

Create a custom widget

Custom widgets allow you to expand the functionality of available content in your homepages to suit your specific organizational and course needs. You can add custom HTML code to create a wide range of widgets. As an Instructor, you can create custom widgets for your courses, or use custom widgets shared to your course offerings from the organization, department, or semester level.

Your administrator may have chosen to implement an additional safeguard on custom widgets called ‘sandboxing’. When a custom widget is sandboxed, a secure iFrame is created around the widget and prevents scripts from executing outside the widget. You can view if a widget is sandboxed or not on the list of custom widgets. Un-sandboxed widgets are not unsecured per se, but should only be created by trusted roles.

In the widgets list, un-sandboxed widgets have a warning icon:

Figure: The float-over text on the icon indicates that the widget is not sandboxed.

To create a custom widget

On your course homepage, click Course Admin > Widgets > Create Widget.

Figure: Click Create Widget in the Widgets tab.

Enter a name and description for the widget.

Figure: Click the Properties tab to see the fields for a new widget.

To add your own HTML content to the widget using the HTML Source Editor, click the Content tab > HTML Source Editor icon. Add your HTML custom code.

Figure: Click Source Code in the Content tab to add your own HTML content.

To apply different styling options to the widget, click Customize Widget Style.

Figure: Click Customize Widget Style to begin applying different styling options.

In Widget Settings, do any of the following:
- To hide the titlebar, clear the Display Titlebar check box.
- To enable sandboxing of widget content, click to select Widget is Sandboxed and/or Render in iFrame.
  - Note: If your role does not have permission to toggle this setting, but you feel your widget needs to be unsandboxed to behave as expected, please contact an administrator with the Widget Security permission.
- To remove the default border style, clear the Display widget container style check box.
- Select Prohibit minimizing widget to prevent users from closing the widget on the homepage.
  
  Figure: Use the Widget Settings dialog to change the functionality and display of your widget.

To set a custom title, in the Widget Name section, select the Custom radio button. Enter your text in the field.
Click Save. To attach release conditions to the widget, click the Release Conditions tab and do one of the following:
- Click Attach Existing then select from existing release conditions available to the org unit. Click Save. From the dropdown list, select All conditions must be met or Any condition must be met.
- Click Create and Attach to create a release condition and attach it. Click Create. From the drop-down list, select All conditions must be met or Any condition must be met.

Click Save and Close.

Figure: Create and add existing release conditions in the Release Conditions tab.

Add and position widgets on your homepage

In the bottom right corner of the homepage, click the three dots (...) and select Edit this homepage.
To view all widgets available for use in the homepage you are editing, in the Widgets section, click Add Widgets.

Figure: Click Add Widgets to add more widgets to your course homepage.
Select the check boxes beside the widgets that you want to add to the homepage panel, and click Add.
Note: The widgets listed in the Add Widgets dialog are dependent on the tools available for use within your organization and added to the current org unit.
To change the vertical placement of a widget on a panel or move it to another panel, click and drag the widget.
Click Save and Close.

Video: Adding Widgets to your Homepage

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Edit or remove widgets on your homepage

In the bottom right corner of the homepage, click the three dots (...) and select Edit this homepage.
To view all widgets available for use in the homepage you are editing, in the Widgets section, do one of the following:
- Click Remove to remove an existing widget from the homepage.
- Click on a widget to edit the appropriate fields to hide the title bar, replace the widget name, or restrict the ability to minimize the widget.
Click Save and Close.