Home Page Widgets
What are Widgets?
Widgets are small sections of pre-designed code that can be enabled/disabled for your LearningSite home page. One of these can also be fully customized: the Custom Content Widget. Through the custom content widget many customers have given their home pages a complete "makeover" using HTML and designing them to appear ONLY for specific audiences!
For examples and more information keep reading.
Where do you find them?
Widgets appear beneath the large graphic at the top of LearningSite (our default image is the little boy in a red cape). We do not currently support widgets in InstructorSite.
Widgets come with a built in menu on the left to jump to each one. Widgets will NOT appear for learners even when enabled, unless they have content to display, but you will see them when editing the page if you are an administrator so you can add/remove them as needed.
As an illustration, if you add the Current Events widget and haven't scheduled anything that a particular learner can access (audience restrictions) the widget won't appear for that learner.
What Widgets are Available?
- Custom Content Widget - this is our fully customizable widget. You can have as many of these as you want AND they can have audiences assigned to them so they ONLY appear for audience members. This allows you to produce a custom experience for each audience if you desire.
- Current Events - Events for the next 7 days will be displayed provided the learner has access to see them (audience).
- Featured Events - Events you tag as "Featured" will be shown
- Best Rated On-Demand Courses - On-demand courses that are rated 4 or 5 stars are shown (Average)
- Featured On-Demand Courses - On-demand courses you have applied the "Featured" tag to will be shown
- Trending On-Demand Courses - On-demand courses that have been viewed frequently by your learners will be shown
- New Instructor-led Courses - newly created instructor-led courses will be shown
- New On-Demand Resources - New on-demand resources created will be shown
- Featured Plans - Plans you have applied the "Featured" tag to will be shown
- Learning Activity Feed - Lists and links to events people are attending, courses they are completing, and content they are viewing to encourage others to join in.
- Learning Opportunity Feed - Lists new events scheduled, new courses created, new plans created and new on-demand resources made available by instructors.
- Plans in Progress - shows a doughnut chart illustrating your percent complete through any plans you are enrolled in. The color of the doughnut chart is customizable.
Custom Content Widget
Here are a few examples of what you can do with a custom widget. These are all examples of widgets Profiscience has designed for our customers. If you would like more information about having us design some to freshen up and enliven your LearningSite home page please contact Lawren Finley
How do you get started editing or adding widgets?
In order to edit or add widgets you must be a UniversitySite Administrator. If you are, then when you go to LearningSite you will see this banner.
As the instructions tell you, click here to begin. You can insert or delete (just means remove) any widgets from any drop down arrow. Keep in mind if you delete a custom widget you will lose all your customizations, whereas if you delete any of our system widgets they can all be added back if you change your mind later.
The fancy stuff happens when you use HTML and Edit the Raw HTML button.
You'll notice you can drag and drop the widgets to re-order them and that you need to click OK AND Publish to all users if you want your changes saved and pushed out.
You can also edit the Title of each widget when you select edit for an individual widget.
How can I change the appearance of even system widgets?
Click the option to Show options and you will see your customization controls for all the widgets.
