Customize the Navigation Toolbar in Western Online (Desire2Learn)

Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research Presenter: Sara Settles Instructional Technology Systems Manager Email: [email protected]

©Copyright 2012 Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research Western Illinois University 1 Overview This tip sheet will show how to simplify the navigation bar in a Western Online course using Desire2Learn and customizing the toolbar. Quickly change the navigation bar to add a syllabus, add links, or delete links to simplify the navigation for students.

Customize the Toolbar To simplify the toolbar and show the students only the tools you are using or customize the name of an existing link follow the steps below.

Select Course Admin > Navigation & Themes.

Copy the current default navigation bar by selecting the pulldown to the right of the title WIUv10 Course Default Navbar, select Copy.

Now you are ready to customize the toolbar for easy navigation. Select the copy you just created. To delete an existing navigation button hover over the item, an “X” will appear. Select the “X” to delete the navigation item. Continue to delete any other navigation items you want to delete.

Center for Innovation in Teaching & Research • Malpass Library 637 • Phone: 309.298.2434 2 Add an Existing Link: To add a link to an item that already exists in Western Online select Edit > Navigation & Themes. Use the WIUv10 Course Default Navbar – Copy that you created above. Select the Add Links button. Choose the checkbox next to the Link(s) you want to add, select Add. The link will appear at the end of the Navbar window.

The changes you made should update immediately. To rearrange the navigation buttons simply drag and drop the button to the desired location. Select Save.

Create a Custom Link: Easily add a custom link by using the Create Custom Link. Creating a Custom Link allows you to create your own link name and add a single item such as a syllabus (Word document) or a specific course item such as a Content item or a url.

Use the WIUv10 Course Default Navbar – Copy that you created above. Select the Create Custom Link button. Give it a Name, upload an icon if you wish, select Insert Quicklink.

Select the type of item from the pulldown menu, then select the individual item, Insert. On the Create Custom Link window select Create.

The changes you made should update immediately. To rearrange the navigation buttons simply drag and drop the button to the desired location. Select Save.

©Copyright 2012 Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research Western Illinois University 3 Create a Custom Link Group: Create a Custom Link Group, which creates a pulldown menu button by using the Create Link Group. Go to Course Admin > Navigation & Themes, select the Custom Links tab. Choose the Create Link Group button.

Give it a Name, upload an icon if you wish, then select the Add Existing Link for System Links or Create Link to customize a link. Select Add and Save.

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In this example a custom link group titled Assignments & Quizzes was created with the existing links Assignments and Quizzes.

Now the newly created custom link group can be added to the navigation. Select the Navbars tab. Select Add Links, choose the Custom Groups tab at the top to select the custom link created above.

Center for Innovation in Teaching & Research • Malpass Library 637 • Phone: 309.298.2434 4 The item will then appear in the Navbar area. To rearrange the button simply drag and drop the item to where the placement should be.

Setting the Course Navbar Make sure and set the Navbar for your course! Choose Course Admin > Navigation & Themes. In the Active Navbar pulldown select the name of your navigation bar you want to apply to the course pages, select Apply.

©Copyright 2012 Center for Innovation in Teaching and Research Western Illinois University 5 The new navigation theme will automatically appear at the top of the course. Below you can see the custom link group which was created for students to access the Assignments & Quizzes.

NOTE: Links which need to remain in the Navbar

 Course Home – Course homepage to view announcements, content,  Edit – Used to activate a course and make changes  Classlist – Has course roster  Content (under Resources) – Used to add, edit, delete course content

Center for Innovation in Teaching & Research • Malpass Library 637 • Phone: 309.298.2434 6