Starting in the Spring-1 2021 term, Brandeis began rolling out a new course template with more modernized visual and support elements. Based on feedback from instructors who have used this template, we made adjustments for the Fall-1 2021 term to improve the usability as well as the look and feel. Brandeis units collaborate with many offices to ensure the template used for all of our courses is functional, user-friendly, accessible, and creates a consistent user experience for students and faculty.
You may also hear this referred to as a “shell.” The course template encompasses the structural design and the organization of materials within every course inside LATTE. This includes elements like the course title, professor photo, and banner you see at the top of each course. It also includes the introductory sections in all our courses and other elements like the headers at the top of each week.
Accessibility
The courses previously used what was called the Buttons format to organize and display the materials. Unfortunately the buttons are not accessible for students who use screen readers to navigate their courses and has been disabled by the university. The new Collapsible Sections format allows Brandeis to be accessible and inclusive to our students.
Consistency for Students
For Fall 1 2021 alone, the courses were in two different layouts before the update. This can be confusing for students because they have to spend time looking for the material they need rather than focusing on what's important - learning!
Outdated Information and Broken Links
The university has recently updated the official website which has resulted in broken links. Additionally, the Library and ITS have changed their processes which led to incorrect and outdated information on support for both students and faculty. The refresh ensures that all students can access the most up-to-date information.
This text has moved from a linked page in the top section to a text section in Course Overview & Resources
Brandeis courses no longer use checklists. If the content in your checklist was already available elsewhere in the weekly section, the checklist was deleted for the upcoming term. For all other cases, the checklist has been hidden so you can reference it as needed.
The Academic Integrity Agreement is no longer required in each course because student complete it in New Student Orientation. This has been removed completely.
We have consolidated those forums into the Ask the Class forum to reduce the number of places you and the students need to check. If you had any custom forums for your course beyond the standard forums, those have been migrated and will appear in the new Communications Center.
We are no longer able to copy groups or groupings from past semesters into upcoming courses since it's a risk for a FERPA violation.
Both feedback activities have been moved to the Instructor Resource Area - Hidden from students section at the very bottom of the course.
These did not change! They are located at the top of each weekly section and have been migrated for you.
These did not change! They have all been migrated from your last taught courses with all settings intact.