A: May 11, 2018.
A: Some of the changes that are being implemented with Daylight include:
Note: Turning Daylight on will not modify your content or other settings in Brightspace. If you turn Daylight on to do some testing, and then turn it off again without changing any other settings, your site will be restored to its' original look and feel.
A: Making the switch has resulted in many benefits for both students and faculty members. Top of the list, the change has increased access for students to use a fully functional mobile learning environment. The previous mobile environment did not work well and definitely was not easy to use. The deployment of a responsive design interface (which allows for the same digital learning environment to be resized depending on device) is simply the biggest game changer for student learning!
A: The My Courses widget is currently the only widget receiving functional updates. Other system widgets will be updated to reflect Daylight's look and feel and responsive requirements. You may wish to update your custom widgets to match.
A: You cannot change the font, but the January release will include an updated font that increases the weight of the font. A lot of care has been taken to make sure that this font will display beautifully, and that the spacing and alignment will look great across all devices.
A: No, Daylight cannot be turned on for only some courses. It is an org level config variable, so it can only be turned on or off for the entire organization.
A: The course selector will be offered at all levels via a new icon next to the notification icons.
A: Students and instructors can pin and unpin courses as desired. Features related to course enrollment and availability are unchanged.
A: We have some changes coming soon that will enable the new My Courses widget to display the current courses automatically for typical users. The ability to pin and unpin specific courses will remain.
A: The course images are tied to the 'Change Course Image' permission, so your institution can choose who is able to set images. In most cases we recommend that instructors are given this permission so that they can brand their course to fit their personal style.
A: Yes, you can upload your own custom images. All standard image file types are supported. We recommend course images be 2400x960 pixels and that they don't contain text. This ensures they can be resized to look great in different contexts and on different devices. The catalog of images cannot be customized at this time.
A: No, this isn't possible with Daylight. An image must be set. However, users with access to more than 25 courses also have access to the Advanced Course Search page which does not have course images.
A: All default course homepages have the MSU Style with green title bars on the widgets. If you have an existing custom homepage, you can still apply the MSU style to your course. Click on the pencil (or ellipsis) menu at the bottom of your Course Home to edit the page. Then add the "MSU Style" widget somewhere at the bottom and save.
A: Third party widgets will still work. If you notice any problems with wrapping or colors, please let us know.
A: The possibilities and methodologies for making content responsive are almost limitless, much like HTML development in general. Here are a few things to think about:
A: The D2L Accessibility Interest Group and D2L Courseware Team created a number of responsive, accessible content templates that are free to use under a creative commons license. These templates are a great starting point for instructors, or instructional design groups, that want to create responsive HTML content. You can find the templates at Daylight HTML Template in the Brightspace Community.