Learners sometimes have a hard time keeping track of everything they need to get done. They may have to jump in and out of multiple courses to figure out if there are upcoming assignments or projects with due dates in the near future (or in the past!). This can be frustrating for them, and it can also lead to missed deadlines.
The Work To Do Widget is a simple way you can help students stay on top of their work.
How the Work To Do Widget Works
The Work To Do widget is designed specifically for students and displays all their overdue and upcoming learning activities in one place. Overdue work appears at the top of the list, and upcoming items are listed below. This makes it incredibly easy for students to see what's most urgent.
All quizzes, assignments, checklists, and other activities with due or end dates automatically appear in the widget. Students can see the widget on their My Home page in Brightspace, as well as on their individual course homepages. This means they can get a quick overview of all their courses at once, or focus on just the tasks for your specific course.
Making It Visible for Your Students
To ensure your students can take advantage of this helpful tool, all you have to do is make sure the Work To Do widget is enabled on your course homepage. When you use the default course homepage in Brightspace, the widget is automatically included. If you’ve customized your homepage, you may need to add it. A few minutes of effort on your part can save your students a lot of stress and help them stay organized all semester long.
The Work To Do widget can be seen by users with the role of student. Instructors will see the Work To Do widget when they view the course as a student.
Note: Instructors who have opted to customize their course homepage and want their students to be able to see the Work To Do widget on their customized course homepage, will have to add the widget to the course homepage.
For additional information and frequently asked questions about the Work To Do widget, see the following article in the Brightspace Community: Introducing the Work To Do Widget.
Want more information?
Brightspace Tip #50: Customize Your Course Homepage
Homepages and Widgets
Design a Course Homepage with Widgets (pdf)
Adding the Work to Do Widget to Course Homepage (video)
Brightspace Tip #533: Due Dates
View current, past, and preview upcoming Continuous Delivery release notes
Instructors Quick Start Tutorial
Brightspace Known Issues
Request a sandbox course
Sign-up for Brightspace training sessions
You can find Brightspace help at D2L's website.
Join the Brightspace Community.
Try these Brightspace How-To documents.
Visit our Brightspace FAQs for additional Brightspace information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.
Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.