Faculty Five Features in Bruin Learn You Might Not Have Known

Overview

In this article, graduate and PHD students on the Bruin Learn Support Team highlight their top tips for teaching a course in Bruin Learn. The concepts below will not only make it easier to set up your course, but will also make the site more user-friendly for students.

The Do-Over (Restoring Deleted Content)

If you accidentally delete a page, file or announcement, don’t fret! You have two ways to restore the content.

The First Option: Using Undelete

In Bruin Learn, deleted pages, files, and announcements can be recovered by typing "/undelete" after your course URL. This will bring up a Restore Deleted Items page, which will include a list of recent restorable items.

The Second Option: Using Page History to Restore a Previous Version

Open the page you wish to restore, (or in Course Navigation, click the Pages link). Under the Options icon (the gear icon) in the top right corner, select View Page History.

view page history option

View Latest Revision, or select the date of the version of the page you wish to restore.

revision history

Find the earlier version you want to restore and click on it to view the changes to the page. Click Restore this revision to change it back to the earlier version.

Displaying an Embedded PDF

Want students to be able to see a document directly on the course page? You can embed the document so that they do not have to download it or click the link to view it.

NOTE: These instructions assume you have already uploaded the document and have it linked on your course page. If you need more information about posting a document on your course page, please visit the Add & Organize Content page

Go to the page with the document you want to embed and select Edit in the top right corner.

course syllabus page highlighting edit button

Click on the document link you want to embed and select Link Options.

course syllabus link options

The Link Options sidebar will open. Select Preview Inline and then Expand Preview by Default. Once you have selected those options, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Update Syllabus to save your changes.

link options and update syllabus button

When the page reloads, you will see the embedded document appear directly on the page.

sample of embedded document

Customizing the Homepage

From the homepage of your course, find the Choose Home Page button on the right.

choose home page option

Five options will appear. Each is outlined below.

choose course home page option

Course Activity Stream lets users see the most recent activity and interactions for this course. It is very similar to the recent activity stream in the Dashboard but only shows content for the specific course.
Pages Front Page allows instructors to design the course home page and include links, images, or rich media. The default option is Pages Front Page. If you used a template, the template will appear when you have this option selected. By clicking “Change” next to this option, you can set it to show any page already set up for the course or build a new page.
Course Modules organizes the course into modules, or sections. Modules help outline the course and show the assignments or tasks required throughout the course. You can add modules or module items from the Modules page.
Assignments List shows the list of assignments for the course with upcoming and recent assignments at the top of the page. Users can click the assignment links to view more details. Assignments can be added and edited in the Assignments tab.
Syllabus displays a link or embedded copy of the syllabus for students to have easy access to course information. The syllabus can also be viewed in the Syllabus tab in the course navigation on the left.

Want more information about customizing the homepage? Please visit the What layout options are available in the Course Home Page as an instructor? guide.

Viewing Course Analytics

Did you know that you can see how many times your students have viewed your course site and other analytics for your course? Read on to learn how.

On the homepage of your course, go to the View Course Analytics button on the right.

view course analytics button

Here, you can see graphs and tables with student participation information for your course site.

If you want more information about how to explore the Analytics features, please visit the How do I view Course Analytics? guide.

Creating Calendar Sign-Ups for Students

If you have office hours or meetings that you would like students to be able to sign up for, there is an easy way to do this from your Calendar in Bruin Learn. This feature also works for group sign-ups for course projects.

global navigation menu

First, go to your Calendar tab on the far left menu.

Once your calendar opens, click any day of the year to set up a new meeting or event. An Edit Event box will appear.

Select the Appointment Group tab at the top. You will see a series of options. After naming the event, you can add a location as well as choose the course Calendars on which you want this event to appear. If you teach multiple classes, you will want to select the class calendar for the course you want to offer this meeting.

edit event options

Event options:

You can check the box on the left to “Have students sign up in groups” if there are group projects that students will be meeting with you about.
If you add a time block during which you are available, you can opt to have the Calendar break up that period into shorter time slots to accommodate multiple meetings. You can do this where it says “Divide into equal slots.”
You can select how many students are able to sign up for each time slot.

To save your selections, click Publish. Your meeting options will now show up on your calendar as well as the calendars of your students.

To learn more about Appointment Groups, please visit the How do I add a Scheduler appointment group in a course calendar? guide

Final Notes

We hope you learned something from our Bruin Learn tips!

If you have any questions or want more information, please reach out to us by submitting a ticket at bruinlearn-support@it.ucla.edu.