Create an insight widget
What an insight widget is
Section titled “What an insight widget is”An insight widget puts numbers from published reports on a Brightspace course homepage. Each number is a metric calculated for the course where the widget opens. Open details opens one details page for the widget; see Use an insight widget.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Complete a sync and publish a report with an OrgUnitId column, such as the Class list course visits template. Register and test LTI before placing a widget in Brightspace. View-only roles do not see Insight widgets in navigation. A direct address shows the denied page. See Roles and permissions.
Create and name it
Section titled “Create and name it”- Open Insight widgets and select New insight widget (or Create your first insight widget).
- Replace Untitled Insight widget with a name, such as Brain Check. Add a description if useful.
- Select Add first metric. The widget opens with a metric ready to edit.
The gallery has search, All, Active and Inactive filters, and cards listing metric definitions and course usage. Select Edit to open a workspace. Its tabs are Metrics, Audience, Courses and Place in Brightspace, in that order.
While the gallery loads the Evaluation course usage count, “Starting a query machine. This can take a minute.” can appear; the page keeps waiting and loads the count on its own, with no action needed.
Open larger image
Open larger image
Edits to the name, description, student visibility and metric settings stay unsaved. Adding, removing, showing, hiding and reordering metrics also wait for Save changes. A bar shows the unsaved change count with Discard and Save changes. Select Save changes to apply the edits. Discard asks “Discard unsaved changes?” Select Keep editing to continue, or Discard to restore the saved settings. Leaving with unsaved changes asks first; reloading or closing the page also prompts you.
Make the first metric work
Section titled “Make the first metric work”Choose Source report and Metric name. For the Class list course visits template’s inactive indicator, choose Sum of column under Calculation, then Inactive under Column. Select Everyone in the course. See Metrics and preview for other calculations and controls.
Check and activate
Section titled “Check and activate”Select Save changes before checking your edits in the preview. While edits are unsaved, the preview shows saved changes and says “Preview shows saved changes.” Use Search for a preview course to select a synced course. Check its number in Live preview, then select Mark active if the widget is inactive. The editor shows when the Brightspace data was last updated. For missing daily updates, the editor can show Some data is missing recent daily updates, so this may not be current. and, when no date is confirmed, Data date not confirmed yet. See Brightspace data freshness for what these dates mean.
If “Starting a query machine. This can take a minute.” appears, the page keeps waiting and loads the courses on its own; no action is needed.
Next step
Section titled “Next step”Place the widget in Brightspace.
Mark a widget inactive or active
Section titled “Mark a widget inactive or active”Select Mark inactive or Mark active in the widget’s actions menu. Inactive widgets keep their settings and show a turned-off message in courses. In Evaluation, if the active widget limit is reached, mark another widget inactive or delete it first.
Delete a widget
Section titled “Delete a widget”Select Delete in the editor or actions menu and confirm. Deletion cannot be undone.