Changing the Homepage Widgets

The Homepage—that is, everything below the NavBar—is made up of separate design elements called Widgets, easily identified by their rectangular shape and colored titlebar (e.g., Role Switch and News).

To make any changes in the default homepage widgets, create a copy and give it a new name and then modify the copy.

Although you could create a new homepage by clicking Edit Course in the right NavBar and then clicking Homepages and New Homepage, you would have to start with any entirely blank pallet.

Once you have made a copy of the default homepage, you can move or delete the default widgets, select from other available ICON widgets, or create your own. You can even forget about widgets altogether and use an ICON tool (such as Content) or an external website as your course homepage. Links to other ICON course areas will still be available in the NavBar.

Start by copying the default homepage:

  1. Click Edit Course (right NavBar).
  2. Click the homepages icon Homepages link.
  3. Click the copy course default icon Copy Course Default icon next to the Course Default homepage.
  4. Enter a name, and optionally a description, for the homepage.
  5. If you wish to make an ICON tool or external website your homepage, click Set my homepage as a tool or url. Then either select Make this homepage a tool and choose the tool from the dropdown menu OR click Make this homepage a webpage and enter the url.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Click homepages icon Homepages (top, not left) to see a listing of your homepages.
  8. Click the Set button next to the new homepage to set it as the active homepage.

Now you're ready to make your changes. (If you set your homepage as an ICON tool or a url, you're already finished. Just click Course Home (left NavBar) to view it.

Adding/Hiding/Re-Ordering ICON's Predesigned Widgets

  1. Go to your course homepage and look in the far bottom-right corner. If you see a tiny pencil icon, click it to go directly to your active course homepage. If you don't see a pencil icon, click Edit Course in the right NavBar and click on Homepages Homepages. Then click on the name of the homepage you wish to edit. If the only course homepage you see listed is the default, you will need to copy it, since you can't edit the default homepage (see above instructions for copying the default homepage). Then you can click on the name of the copy.
  2. Made your edits:
    • To add a widget, find it in the list of widgets, click in the box to select it, and click Save. The widget will appear in the list of active widgets.
    • To move a widget within the same panel, find it in the list of active widgets. Click the Widget drop-down list drop-down arrow and select either Move Up or Move Down from the list of options.
    • To move a widget to another area of the screen, click the widget drop-down drop-down arrow and select Move To. Select the screen area where you want the widget to appear (eg. Left Panel, Header, etc.).
  3. To view edited course homepage, click Course Home in the NavBar.

Creating Custom Widgets

You can also design your own widgets to display pictures, text, links, etc. Many instructors want to create custom widgets to display a picture or create a direct link to important course documents (such as the syllabus). Creating a custom widget involves three main steps: creating the widget, adding content to the widget, and adding the widget to the course home page. Once you've created a widget you may wish to add release conditions to specify who can view it and under what circumstances.

First you'll create and name the widget:

  1. On the Course Home page, click Edit Course in the NavBar.
  2. Click  widgets icon Widgets (bottom) .
  3. Click New widget New Widget (top).
  4. Enter a name and description.
  5. On the Customize tab, you can change the widget's color and other display options if you wish.
  6. Click Save.

Now you’re ready to enter the widget contents using the built-in HTML editor:

  1. Click the Content tab.
  2. In the HTML Editor, type in your own widget contents. Notice the special-purpose tools in the menu, especially  Insert Image icon  Insert image and Insert Quicklink icon  Insert QuickLink (use QuickLink to link to a course tool or content or to an outside URL).
  3. Click Insert to close the HTML editor (if necessary) and then click Save (you may have to scroll right to see the Save button).
  4. Click Course Home (left NavBar) to return to your course homepage.

Next, you'll place the new widget on your homepage.

  1. Go to your course homepage and look in the far bottom-right corner. If you see a tiny pencil icon, click it to go directly to your active course homepage. If you don't see a pencil icon, click Edit Course in the right NavBar and click on Homepages Homepages. Then click on the name of the homepage you wish to edit. If the only course homepage you see listed is the default, you will need to copy it, since you can't edit the default homepage (see above instructions for copying the default homepage). Then you can click on the name of the copy.
  2. Click the Add Widget button on the area of the screen where you want the widget to appear.
  3. Click the check box next to your new widget to select it and click Save.
  4. To move the widget within the same screen area, find click the Widget drop-down list drop-down arrow for the widget and select either Move Up or Move Down.
  5. To move the widget to another area of the screen, click the widget drop-down drop-down arrow and select Move To. Select the screen area where you want the widget to appear (e.g., Left Panel, Header, etc.).
  6. To return to your course homepage, click Course Home in the top-left NavBar.

Restricting Access to Homepage Widgets

You can restrict access to widgets based on group membership or completion of a certain online task.

Note:  If you plan to restrict access to a widget based on group membership and you haven’t yet created the group, create it now, before you proceed with step 1 (see Creating Groups).

  1. Create and save the widget.  (The widget must be saved before you can enter release conditions)
  2. To edit a widget, click Edit Course (right NavBar) and click widgets iconWidgets. Click the Edit widget Edit icon next to the widget.
  3. Click the Release Conditions tab.
  4. Click Create and Attach.
  5. Select a Condition Type and specific item from the dropdown lists (you may need to scroll) and click Save. For example, to restrict a widget to a particular group, you would select Group Enrollment as the Condition Type, and then the specific group from the Condition Details.
  6. Click Save to apply the release condition.

Modifying a Custom Widget

To make a modification to a custom widget, you must change the widget; then delete the unchanged version of the widget from the homepage and add the changed version. Begin by modifying the widget:

  1. Click Edit Course in the far-right NavBar or in the Course Tools widget on your course homepage.
  2. Click Widgets Widgets (bottom).
  3. Click the Custom Widgets tab.
  4. Scroll down until you see the the widget you wish to modify and click the edit icon Edit icon to the right. (If there is not Edit icon, then you don't have the necessary rights to edit the widget.)
  5. Click the Content tab.
  6. Enter your changes in the Contents textbox and click Save.

Next, delete the unchanged version of the widget from your homepage:

  1. Click Homepages in the Course Admin Tools menu at left.
  2. Click on your active copy of the course default.
  3. Click the Content/Layout tab.
  4. Click the down arrow in the widget you want to replace and select Remove from Homepage in the dropdown menu.

Now add the changed version of the widget:

  1. Click Add Widget in the panel where you want to place the revised widget.
  2. Click to place a checkmark in the box to the left of the widget and click Save. The widget will appear in the Content/Layout panel.
  3. If you wish to move the widget up, click the arrow to open the dropdown menu and select Move Up. Repeat as many times as necessary.
5 October 2009