Add Reading Assignments to Weekly Landing Pages

Whether you provide reading material as PDFs in bCourses, link out to articles, or assign chapters from books or eReaders, make sure to consistently describe them on the weekly landing page. If some of your readings are optional, specify this on the landing page. Consider creating a separate section in the page layout for additional resources to challenge students. Use a naming convention for your files that includes the week, title, and your name for students to distinguish it from other courses after they have downloaded it to their computers.

Note that website links can break over time, so if possible, download a PDF for use in your site. If no PDF is available, use the ‘Save as PDF’ printing option. Otherwise, check those links every semester and before the reading assignment due date to ensure it is still active.

In the Core Template

There is a readings section on the Week 1 landing page in the template where you can add links to external websites and files within your bCourses site. As you add documents to bCourses, organize them in file folders for ease of student access according to weekly or other units of study. For example, there is a folder created for Week 1 Readings in the Files section. Edit the title of this folder, as needed. Select +Folders to add more to your course file section. The Files feature is located on the left navigation bar.

How to Add a Link to an External Website

Turn editing on. The Edit button is in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Place your cursor on the page where you want the document.
Then select the Insert>Link>External Links pathway on the bCourses rich content editor, as shown in the screenshot below. The newly linked document title will appear on the page if done successfully. Save before closing.

How to Add Documents to bCourses

There are two options to add documents to bCourses: (A) add them directly to the page; (B) add them to the Files section, and then link it to the corresponding course page. See screenshots with instructions below.

A. Add document directly to the page through the Insert>Document>Upload Document pathway in edit mode.

B. Add documents to the Files section first.

Go to Files and select the Upload button to locate documents from your computer.

Next, go to the Home menu to select the Week 1 page. Turn editing on. Place your cursor on the page where you want the document. Then select the Insert tab>Documents>Course Documents from the rich content editor. The newly linked document title will appear on the page. Save before closing.

After uploading documents, you have the option to publish to course or restrict access by selecting the circle with a line through it on the file displayed.

bCourses Ally Tool Checks Documents for Accessibility

Once you upload your documents, bCourses has a built-in accessibility checker called Ally that displays a meter indicating its accessibility level. If the meter displays green, your document is 100% accessible. If it displays red (low) or orange (medium), then there are elements that need to be fixed. The Ally tool indicates the problem when you select the meter. Some accessibility issues, such as adding alternative text, can be resolved within the Ally tool. See resources to learn more.

Add Reading Assignments to Weekly Landing Pages