Using Document Templates in Brightspace

Brightspace Document Templates can improve the look and feel of courses, and can help you organize your content more meaningfully by adding page elements. These HTML templates are designed to meet Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility standards (WCAG).

Why use document templates?

Increasing visual complexity, including large blocks of text with limited white space, contributes to increased cognitive load – the need for the brain to work harder in order to process information. (Harper et al, 2009). Document templates can help break down larger blocks of text into smaller chunks, providing learners with a visual break, making it easier for them to work through the course.

Templates include formatting styles, such as heading levels and paragraphs, that help create accessible content while providing structure to organize content into manageable sections, making it easier for learners to work through and process the information (Munyofu et al, 2007). Document templates are also designed to provide a responsive design that is compatible with computers and mobile devices, helping to ensure that content blocks are readable and scrollable.

Before beginning with document templates, please keep the following in mind:

• Applying a template to an existing page will overwrite the content and you will lose your work. We recommend selecting and applying the template before adding content (images, videos, etc.) to the Brightspace editor.
• Templates will not require you to make any changes to the HTML code. We do not recommend editing the original templates as this can break the HTML code.
• If you'd like a development course to experiment with document templates, you are able to request a Brightspace development shell.

Using a Document Template

1. Login to Brightspace and access your course.
2. In the course navbar, click Content.
3. In your table of contents, click on a module. If needed, you can create a new module by clicking "Add a module" at the bottom of your table of contents.
4. Click Upload/Create.
5. Click Create a File (Web Page).
6. Enter a Title.
7. Click Select a Document Template.
   
8. Click on a template name to apply it to your page.
9. You will see the template appear on the page.
   1. If you do not wish to use the chosen template, click on Select a Document Template now to choose another. Be sure to decide on your template before adding content to your page.
10. You can now start editing and customizing your page!