Brightspace: Using Creator+ Elements

Summary

Learn how to use Brightspace Creator+ Elements to add interactive content such as accordions, tabs, callouts, timelines, flip cards, carousels, and hotspots so you can build more engaging course pages without coding.

Body

Overview

Elements allow faculty to add engaging activities directly to their course without any coding knowledge or experience.

Instructions

The Creator+ Elements tool has multiple activities to choose from.

Accordions

Accordions are useful when you have a list of items with additional information to learn about each item.

To insert an Accordion

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Accordion.

7. Select one of the Format Options to indicate if you want to number the accordion folders.

8. Enter Learner Instructions to ensure that users know there is a dynamic element.

9. Enter an Accordion Tab Title and Accordion Content for all accordions.

10. If you want to add more accordions, click + Add Accordion Item.

11. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Tabs

Tabs are useful for providing information that belongs in a series.

To insert Tabs

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Tabs.

7. Select one of the Format Options to indicate if you want to the tabs to be horizontal or vertical.

8. Enter Learner Instructions to ensure that the learners know there is a dynamic element.

9. Enter the Tab Title and Tab Content of the desired tab.

10. Click Add Tab Item if you need additional tabs.

11. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Click and Reveal

Click and Reveals are a useful tool when you want to present a learner with a question, statement, or fact to reflect on before they select a button to reveal the key learning related to the original statement.

To insert a Click and Reveal

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Click and Reveal.

7. Select one of the Format Options to indicate if you want the click trigger to have a Question (question mark) icon or No Icon (text only).

8. Add Introductory Content to introduce the element.

9. Enter Learner Instructions to ensure that the learners know there is a dynamic element.

10. Edit the Button Label and Revealed Content, if desired. Default language is provided.

11. Click Preview and then click Insert. Note: If you have more Click and Reveal elements to add, they must be added as an additional element, following the same steps.

Callout

Callouts are useful for drawing attention to a key detail or an aside to the primary content, like a case study, definition, or anecdote.

To insert a Callout

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Callout.

7. Select one of the Format Options.

No Icon is useful for anecdotes, case studies, or additional peripherally related information.
Question includes a question icon and is appropriate for presenting a reflection question you don’t intend to answer.
Attention includes an exclamation mark icon and is useful for highlighting the main point or important information, like "this will be on the exam."
A jumbo callout is larger than standard callout and is useful for disrupting the flow of content to direct the learner’s attention to an important fact, statistic, or concept.

8. Enter a Title and Callout Content for your element.

9. Click Preview and then click Insert. Note: If you have more Callout elements to add, they must be added as an additional element, following the same steps.

Timeline

A timeline is useful for laying out events over a period of time, the steps in a process, or items in a series.

To insert a Timeline

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Timeline.

7. Select one of the Format Options to indicate if you want the timeline to have left-aligned or alternating entries.

8. Enter the first Timeline Panel Title and Timeline Panel Text.

9. Click Add Timeline Panel Item if you need more timeline panels.

10. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Stylized Quote

A stylized quote is useful for drawing attention to a key quote to set it apart from the primary content.

To insert a Stylized Quote

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Stylized Quote.

7. Select one of the Format Options to indicate if you want standard size text or large focus.

8. Enter the Quotation and Attribution.

9. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Flip Cards

Flip cards are an excellent choice for displaying a collection of items that don’t necessarily have a strict structure in their relationship to one another.

To insert Flip Cards

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Flip Cards.

7. Enter Learner Instructions to ensure that the learners know there is a dynamic element.

8. Each Flip Card has a front and a back tab. On the Front tab, enter the Title.

9. If you want to include an image on the front of your flip card, click Add Image. Select an image file and add Alternative Text or indicate that the image is decorative. Click Save.

10. Enter the Content you want to include on the front of the card. The recommended limit is 4 words or 25 characters.

11. Repeat the process on the Back tab to configure the back of your flip card.

12. If you want to add another flip card on the same row, to the right of the current flip card, click Add item.

13. If you want to add a flip card on a different row, click Add Row.

14. Repeat steps as desired.

15. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Carousels

Carousels are a great way to showcase steps in a process or display related items.

To insert a Carousel

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Carousel.

7. Enter Learner Instructions to ensure that the learners know there is a dynamic element. Default language is provided.

8. Click Add Image, Add Title, and/or Add Text to configure your first carousel slide.

9. Click Add Slide if you need more carousel slides.

10. Click Preview and then click Insert.

Hotspots

Hotspots provide a multilayer learning experience enriched with multimedia and interactive components that promote exploration, analysis, and evaluation.

To insert a Hotspot

1. At the top of your course page, from the blue course navigation bar, click Content.

2. Navigate to the Unit or Lesson you will be working in.

3. Click the gray Create New button at the top of the page.

4. Select Page from the next screen.

5. Click Creator+ Authoring Tools icon and select Insert Element.

6. Click Hotspot.

7. Choose to keep the default Learner Instructions or add custom Learner Instructions.

8. Click Add Image and select an image. Enter alt text in the Alternative Text field.

9. Click Save.

10. Click anywhere on the image to place a hotspot marker. The interface to build content associated with the hotspot appears to the right of the image.

11. In the right panel, select a hotspot to edit or add content. Each hotspot is labeled in the order in which you placed the marker.

12. Rename the hotspot. Hotspot names are used for editing and for screen reader users.

13. In the Hotspot Content field, you can use the full HTML editor to add a description or more information, additional images, videos, and links to additional resources.

14. Click Hotspot Marker to change the icon and color of a hotspot marker, if desired.

15. To move on to the next hotspot, Select Hotspots to return to the previous window. Repeat steps 10-13 for all hotspots.

16. After adding all your hotspot markers, below Learner Instructions, click Accessibility.

17. Under the Accessibility heading, select one of the following:

Accessible hotspots only: Lets you add a micro alt tag for each hotspot to describe the part of the image associated with the hotspot. This is an ideal option when the position of the hotspot within the image or the contextual details of the image are not relevant to the learning.
Fully accessible image: Lets you split the image into a grid, allowing you to add a micro alt tag for each cell of the grid to describe all parts of the image. This is an ideal option when the position of the hotspot within the image or the contextual details of the image will inform the learning.

18. Add micro alt tags as required based on your Accessibility selection.

19. Click Save and Insert to add the Hotspot into the Content page.

20. Click Save and Close.

Details

Article ID: 156397

Created

Wed 4/30/25 3:51 PM

Modified

Tue 5/12/26 1:06 PM

Related Services / Offerings

Related Services / Offerings (1)

D2L Brightspace LMS

D2L-Brightspace will be Villanova University's new learning management system (LMS) for all courses starting with the Summer 2026 semester and can be accessed at brightspace.villanova.edu. D2L-Brightspace allows faculty and students to access course content, complete learning activities such as assignments & quizzes, provide grades & feedback, as well as offer additional modern, innovative learning technologies to use in courses.