Relevant images and emojis can help instructors and course designers create great visual experiences for their learners.
Images should reflect the tone, purpose, and subject matter they accompany, and should always be accompanied by an alternative image description, which can be added via the Brightspace Editor.
DIID recommends using design sites like Canva, Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay to ensure the photos you are using are free from copyright infringement. Ensure selected images are appropriately sized, and do not dominate the student’s screen-space as they navigate through your course.
The Brightspace Editor includes light image resizing and cropping tools that allow you to edit the images you insert.
Visit the OER Database for more open-source image databases.
To help instructors create great visual experiences for their learners, the My Courses widget course tiles now include an instructor-chosen photograph. D2L provides an image library of over 3000 images which are licensed for use within the Brightspace Platform. Instructors can also upload their own copyright-free image.
When choosing a banner, it should be a wide image so that it displays well. A tall or square image will be significantly cropped. DIID recommends a specific image size for the ideal display quality: 2400 x 960 pixels. Keep in mind that the display height and width of these images may vary in different tools and on different sized screens and devices. Ensure that any text in your images or on the banner itself is legible.
Emojis and icons can add clever visual cues, but it is important to use them in a way that enhances the learning experience and doesn’t confuse or overwhelm learners.
Remember that emojis will look different on different devices. For example, the emoji you see in your computer browser may be different from what a learner would see on their mobile device, etc. They’ll still see a similar emoji, but it may be more or less dynamic than the ones you selected.
In the HTML editor, place your cursor where you want to insert an emoji.
Click the other insert options icon in the editor toolbar.
Select Insert Emoticon from the drop-down menu.
In the Emoticons pop-up, select an emoji.