D2L - Developing Your D2L BrightSpace Content Area

The Content area in D2L is where you, the instructor, can organize course handouts, and other course materials and resources for your students as they progress through your course.

To access D2L’s Content area select, “Content” from the course navigation bar.

Course Overview

When an instructorgoes tothe course Contentscreen to begin development, the first thingthat displays is the Overview. Some instructors may use this area as a place to give background and context to upcoming content or to advise students how best to proceed when working through content materials. Some use it to elaborate on the course learning outcomes and course expectations outlined in the syllabus. While it is not necessary to add information to the Overview section, it can be a useful area that can help focus your students on the learning ahead.

  1. To add Overview text, click, “Add a welcome message, overview, or description...”
  2. Type in your text using the formatting tools available.
  3. Click Update, to save your Overview.
  4. To make changes to your Overview, click on the text to return to editing.

Note: The Overview is hidden from students if you decide to not use this area.

Table of Contents

The Table of Content list in D2L is organized by Modules and Topics. Modules are comparable to folders, or a text’s Table of Content headings. Topics are your individual pieces of content, such as pdfs, PowerPoints, and even videos and links from the internet. Each Module will list one or more Topics.

You need at least one Module before you can add content Topics.

Create a new module

  1. Below Table of Contents at the left, click the text“Add a module...” to activate the field and type in a name for your Module.
  2. Press Enter or click outside the field to create the module.

Add Topics to Your Module

  1. Select your Module from the left Table of Contents area.
  2. In the middle of the screen, click New.
  3. To add a file such as your Syllabus, select Upload File.
  4. To add a link from a good web resource, select Create a Link.

For now, these two options will get you started quite nicely. But don’t be afraid to explore further as you work.

As you get farther along in your entire course development, you can return to your modules at any point to link in Discussions and even quizzes you have created. The Add Existing Activities button will allow you to add activities that you have already created in other tools in D2L.

A Few More Tips – Reordering and Deleting

As you develop your content structure you can probably count on at least one or two topics ending up in the wrong order, or you may upload an unnecessary file that you now need to get rid of.

Rearranging Content

To reorder or move items within your Content list, look for the three gray bars icon to the left of each Topic and Module.

  1. Mouse over the gray bars icon to the left of a Topic. Your cursor will display a crosshairs:
  2. Click and drag your Topic with this crosshairs. A gray band will appear.
  3. Release your mouse cursor when the gray band is positioned where the Topic should move.

You can use drag and drop to rearrange Topics within a Module. Move a Topic from Module to Module, and to reorder Modules.

Deleting Topics and Modules

You can delete both Topics and entire Modules from your Content list if you decide they are no longer needed. It is important to know that if you delete a module, all topics within the module will also delete.

To delete a Topic,

  1. Select the upside-down triangle (Action Menu) immediately to its right.
  2. From the menu that opens, select Delete Topic.
  3. In the Delete Topic pop up box that opens, select the second option, “Permanently delete both the topic from Content and the associated file or activity from the course.”

To delete a Module,

  1. Select the Module title from the left Table of Contents.
  2. The Module will open in the middle of the screen. The title will display at the top.
  3. Select the upside-down triangle (Action Menu) immediately to the right of the title.
  4. From the menu that opens, select Delete Module.
  5. In the Delete Module pop up box that opens, select the second option, “Permanently delete and remove all nested modules, topics, and all associated files and activities from the course.”

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