Instructional Support

About homepages

The homepage is the first page you see when you log in to D2L Brightspace or enter your course. The D2L Brightspace homepage is maintain by Online Learning and contains various things that are important for students and faculty, such as:

  • On the navbar:
    • My Media: links to Kaltura My Media collection that you have access to (upload media to Kaltura and create Kaltura CaptureSpace)
    • Quick Eval: links to Brightspace QuickEval tool
    • Help: links to various Help Resources, such as D2L Help, Student Help Desk, Online Tutoring, Accessibility, and Send corrections or feedback
    • Instructor Resources: links to various Instructor Resources, such as PCC D2L Tutorials, D2L Video Playlist, Accessible online course content, Instructional Support website, Get training, etc.
  • On the D2L Homepage:
    • Announcements widget: we post best practices blog, important announcements specific to faculty or students, and Brightspace updates
    • My Courses widget: list of all courses that you have access to, can be sorted by terms
    • Faculty Resources widget:
      • Important links to Add an incomplete student, copy course content, crosslist D2L course, etc
      • Online Faculty Help Desk contact information and hours
      • Training Calendar: list of training and workshop events offering from Online Learning

Learn more on navigating D2L Brightspace

You as instructor, have access to manage your own course homepage. Your course homepage is the default first page when you (or your students) first click on a course, so it’s important to design the homepage with purpose, to enhance the course experience. The goal is to place useful information in intuitive places rather than create a homepage so cluttered that your students struggle to find the relevant links and information. The default homepage design is called a widget-based homepage, and the two-column layout is what recommended to ensure content remains responsive.

What’s a widget?

Widgets are sections of content that provide information and links to tools, courses, and personal settings.

  • What is required: A D2L course

Course Homepage

All courses are initially set up with a default course homepage by Online Learning. You can customize the layout and appearance of your homepage by creating a custom homepage. You can add widgets to your custom homepage to add additional functionality and link to external content.