Navigating Brightspace

Brightspace supports two styles of home pages: the Brightspace home page and the course home page. Both of these styles of home page are widget based.

Summary

Brightspace supports two styles of home pages: the Brightspace home page and the course home page. Both of these styles of home page are widget based.

Widgets are self-contained objects that perform a specific task for the user. By default, WSU's Brightspace widgets contain the name of the widget (on the left) and an arrow (on the right) that allows the viewer to reduce the widget to only its title bar. Widgets come in various sizes, some only containing readable information and some prompting the user for input.

Navigating Brightspace in done through the Minibar at the very top of the Brightspace window and the in-course navigation bar located within each course.

Information Applies to

Faculty, Staff, Current Students, New Students

Brightspace Home Page

The Brightspace Home Page is the first page encountered after user log in.

The header of the home page contains a series of images.

1. The little house icon is a button that, when clicked, will return you to the main Brightspace home page.
2. The WSU logo.
3. A waffle icon that is a search for courses to which you have access.
4. An envelope button for notifications.
5. A talking-bubble button for subscriptions to discussions, etc.
6. A bell icon for updates.
7. Your user profile.

The Minibar is located under the header on every page in Brightspace. On the Brightspace home page, the Minibar contains links for self-registration classes, TextAid, and Brightspace help.

Below the Minibar is a group of widgets. The exact set of widgets included on the Brightspace home page is defined by the D2L administrators and typically includes information like:

• System-wide news items, including planned outages of the Brightspace systems and upgrade information
• A list of the courses in which the user is enrolled
• The user's calendar, including due dates for course work and upcoming quizzes

Course Home Page

The course home page is the first page displayed in the course. It contains many of the same elements as the Brightspace home page and the additional information pertains specifically to the course.

Just below the header is the in-course navigation.

Learn More

For more information on video notes, visit the D2L Brightspace Community or YouTube page.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact WSU TLT by email, phone (507.457.5240, option 3), or Zoom.