Bruin Learn Course Templates
What is a Course Template?
Course templates are complete course designs available to import into a Bruin Learn course site. A template may include placeholders for a home page, syllabus, content page, discussion, assignment, or quiz, to name a few elements. Faculty, TAs, or instructional designers replace the placeholder content with custom materials.
Why use a Template?
Using a course template helps reduce stress load, encourages growth, and enables course creators to design an engaging student experience by turning a blank course into a fill-in-the-blank course.
Templates offer more benefits than just reducing development time and effort. They help break down complex content using visuals. Their intuitive layouts ensure that simplification is engaging and effective.
Templates feature:
- Accessibility - all templates meet accessibility standards.
- Usability- all templates are easy to use and make it easy for users to find resources and assignments.
- Quality - all templates use agreed-upon standards and values.
- Consistency - all templates use layout and functionality in similar ways to present material in a uniform and consistent manner.
Available Templates
Two UCLA Bruin Learn Course templates are available for various needs. To learn more about each, please see the list below.
This video demonstrates how to use Template 1: Standard.
Template 1: Standard
The Standard Template features modern styling, built-in shortcut links, and a plug-and-play approach where it’s easy to quickly build a robust course site featuring weekly modules and standard headers and sections for each area. Migrated CCLE/Moodle courses use the Standard Template.
The Standard Template includes placeholder content for a complete course design:
- Homepage, with module list
- Instructor resources
- Getting Start module
- Each module has a module overview and module checklist
- Syllabus
- Assignment
- Discussion
- Gradebook
Template 2: Minimal
The Minimal Template is a pared-down version of the Standard Template and is suitable for faculty just getting started in Bruin Learn and who don’t intend on using weekly modules. The Minimal Template is ideal for those interested in basic tasks like uploading a syllabus or collecting a few assignments where students may log in to Bruin Learn once or twice a week.
The Minimal Template includes placeholder content for quick course design:
- Homepage
- Instructor resources
- Assignment
- Discussion
- Gradebook
Install a Template
If you would like to use a Template in your Bruin Learn course, view the Access and Import Templates in Canvas Commons page.
Template Support
Faculty can engage their Academic Unit Leads to design a custom department template or edit any provided templates. Please get in touch with bruinlearn-support@it.ucla.edu to request support.