The document discusses using widgets to customize course home pages in Desire2Learn (D2L) learning management systems. It provides tips on choosing widgets that display relevant course information for students, such as news, dates, and course content. The document also highlights options for organizing widgets on the page and links to external resources for building custom widgets. Examples of fully customized home pages that integrate external websites are also presented.

1. Building Custom Widgets to
Enhance Your Home Pages
Regional User Forum
Ontario!
Barry Dahl
Sr. Community Manager, D2L

2. Widget-based Home Pages
• Before you begin setting up your course
home page, consider the needs of your
students:
– What information is most relevant to them as
students in your course?
– What course materials and supplementary
materials will they need?
– How can you maximize your course home page
to include relevant information?

3. Widget-based Home Pages
• At-a-glance, what do you want students to
see?
– Course news and updates
– Important dates and reminders
– Links to course content
– Links to supplementary materials
– Relevant RSS feeds

4. “Traditional” Home Page w/News & System Widgets

5. V10 Widget Layout Options
• Suggestions:
– Maximize the use of
screen space
– Don’t repeat things in
widgets and nav bars
– Encourage your
students to enter
course through home
page, as much as
possible
8 Layout Choices

6. Two Equal Widget Columns

7. Large Column on Left

8. Three Column Layout

9. Three Contest Entries

10. Replace strings
Three Embedded Polls

11. Community Posts about Widgets
• Go to the new Brightspace Community
–community.brightspace.com
• Go to the Teaching & Learning Community
• Go to the T & L Wiki
• Go to “Widget Central”

12. Laura Gibbs – Oklahoma University

13. Some Problems with Widgets
• Mixed content blocking in most browsers
– Check out the Firefox extension
• Lack of “https:” embed code for widgets
• Widget-building sites come and go:
– Google Gadgets
– WidgetBox

14. Full Custom Home Pages
• Any webpage/site can be used as a
custom home page in D2L.
• Examples:
– Course blog
– RSS aggregator
– Any course-specific web page

15. Custom Page Example

16. Let’s look at some examples
• Go to the Learning Environment for the
D2L Regional events
– community.desire2learn.com/login
• Use Course Search to find “Barry’s RUF
Sessions”