Your course content is organized using content topics and modules. The Content tool allows learners to easily navigate course materials and activities such as readings, video lectures, discussions, assignment submission folders, and quizzes. By adding these items to the content area of your course, you can keep it organized and easier to navigate, which can contribute to the experience learners will have when accessing your course in Brightspace.
Brightspace Modules are used to organize course content like folders on a computer. Modules may be organized by time frame (e.g., Week 1), by topic (e.g., Cellular Biology), or by course components (e.g., Final Project).
Learners will access all course content via the Content tool, through the deployment of modules containing a variety of content items prepared by instructors. Deployment of content via modules ensures your content delivery is structured and sequenced clearly in alignment with the course calendar. All required components of your course must be presented to learners directly in the course Content.
Submodules are modules added inside of other modules. Content items contained in submodules are visible when learners have selected the parent module, but their description text is not visible from this view. For this reason, submodules should be deployed strategically; each submodule should contain enough content to warrant its own creation and selection.
Visual Table of Contents (TOC) is a custom widget that displays a ‘flip tile’ visual representation of modules on a course homepage. DIID recommends including an image in the module description when utilized, as it will appear in the visual table of contents widget. The Visible TOC is best suited for courses that are focused on student competency achievement.
If you'd like to turn the Visual Table of Contents on:
Go to a course homepage
Click the ellipsis in the bottom right corner
Select "Manage Homepages."
Choose an active homepage that includes, "Visual TOC."
Click "Apply."
Hidden or restricted modules do not always restrict a student from accessing the content items contained in that module.
Hide or restrict access to individual assessments, in addition to their host module, to ensure students do not access an assessment early via a backdoor in the course.
Instructors can attach due dates to Modules, individual Discussions, Quizzes, Assignments, and Surveys directly to maximize clarity and timely notifications via the student’s Brightspace Calendar and Pulse app.
Module description fields are well-suited to host short introductory videos from instructors, identify course education learning outcomes/objectives covered in the module, etc.
Instructors can create an introductory “Module Zero” or “Week 0” module that contains an introductory class discussion, a syllabus quiz, etc. in order to facilitate and encourage students to engage with online content early.
Instructors can verify their course open date by viewing the Start Date in the Course Offering Information via the Course Admin link in the navigation bar.