How do I add a new block?
To add a block to your course, use the following instructions:
- Log in to GauchoSpace and enter your course site.
- Click Turn editing on.
- Scroll down to find the "Add a Block" block on the lower left side of the browser window.
- Click the Add... drop-down menu.
- Select the block you would like to add to your course site.
- The new block will appear on your course page.
Types of blocks with a brief description
For general information about blocks, visit Blocks in GauchoSpace: A Guide
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The Activities block allows users to access relevant activities and resources by type quickly. For example, if you click Assignments, it will take you to all assignments for the course. Only activity types that are active in the course will appear on the Activities block. |
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The Analytics Graphs block provides access to course analytics to help instructors assess student performance. The included graphs are Grades chart, Content accesses, Number of active students, Assignment submissions, Quiz submissions, and Hits distribution. Analytics Graphs are also available through the Administration block. For more information about the graphs, visit this help article: Analytics Graphs |
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The Blog menu block allows users to quickly access previous blog entries and start new entries. Blog entries are kept within this block and are not found on the main course page. Instructors and students can do the following with the block:
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The Calendar block allows users access to the course calendar. Activities and assignments are automatically added to the Calendar based on the due dates. Users can click on the date in the Calendar block to access the activity. The links below the calendar allow users to "hide" or "show" specific categories of events. To add additional course events, click the hyperlinked month ("March 2021") and click New Event. Instructors can both view and edit the calendar. Students can only view the calendar. |
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The Comments block allows instructors and students to post comments in the "Add a comment" text box. Users must click Save Comment for the comment to post. Comments appear in the Comments block with the most recent comments at the bottom. Comments will display both the user name and timestamp. Both instructors and students can post and delete their own comments. Only instructors can delete both their own or students' comments. |
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The Completion Progress block allows students to see their progress in the course. To use this block, instructors must first activate Completion Tracking on the Administration block. Each assignment or activity would indicate what actions are required for the item to be considered complete. Examples include an assignment submission, responses to a forum, or a box next to a resource. Each activity represents a segment in the progress bar on the Completion Progress block. Red signifies overdue, green signifies complete, yellow signifies an upcoming deadline, and blue signifies an item whose deadline has not passed. Instructors have access to see how the class is progressing as a whole and individual student progress. Students have access to see their individual progress. For more information on how to set up Completion Tracking, visit this help article: Track Student Progress - Activity Completion & Course Completion |
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The Course Completion Status block allows students to see a detailed view of their course completion. To use this block, instructors must first activate Completion Tracking on the Administration block and configure course completion requirements. Instructors can click View course report to access a report that details how each student is progressing towards full course completion. Students can click More Details to see their individual course progress including assignment completion criteria and the date the activity was completed. For more information on how to set up Completion Tracking, visit this help article: GauchoSpace Course Completion Block |
Instructor view  Student View  |
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The Course/site summary block allows instructors to display a course summary (description) that is visible to students. Images and files can also be included. To edit the Course Summary, navigate to the Administration Block and click Edit Settings. Here you can:
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| The Courses block shows instructors and students a hyperlinked menu of all their GauchoSpace course sites. Courses are organized by quarter (Fall, Winter, Spring) and by year. |  |
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The Download Files block allows instructors and students to download ALL files or weekly files from the course page. From the drop-down menu, select the files you wish to download. Users may select to download all files or files for a specific section. The Download Files block is present by default for new course sites. |
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The Forumtips blocks displays one forum in the block for students. Users can select the forum title to direct them to the full forum discussion. Instructors may choose which forum to display to students. Go to the block settings to:
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The GauchoCast block creates a folder in Gauchocast to store your recordings. It also sets up permissions for instructors and students to view the recordings. Once the GuachoCast block has been added, click Provision Course to connect your GauchoCast course to the created GauchoCast folder. Completed recordings in the GauchoCast folder will automatically display on the GauchoCast block. For more information on how to add the GuachoCast block, visit this help article: Adding a GauchoCast block to GauchoSpace |
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The HTML block allows instructors to organize frequently referenced links for your class. Go to the block settings to:
The HTML block can also be used to add a Twitter feed to your course site. To learn how to add your Twitter feed, visit this help article: How can I add a Twitter feed to my GauchoSpace course site? |
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The i>clicker block allows students to easily register their i>clicker. Click Student Registration and follow the steps to register. Once a student has registered their i>clicker remote ID, the information is applied to all enrolled classes that use i>clicker. |
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The Latest activity grades block is an optional block that students can add to their dashboard. The Latest activity grades block shows new grades for activities and manual items in their courses. For more information on Grades Blocks, visit this help article: Students: Grades Blocks for the Dashboard Home Page |
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The Latest news block displays recent instructor Announcements sent to students. Students may select the title of the announcement to view the full message. Click Older topics to view previous announcements. |
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The Mass Actions blocks saves time organizing your course site. This block allows you to select one or multiple activities, assignments, and/or resources to complete the following:
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The McGraw-Hill AAIRS block links to the McGraw Hill Campus webpage. The educational materials for your course's textbook will be displayed. This is an external tool. The settings for your educational materials are configured on the McGraw Hill webpage. |
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The Peachmail block allows instructors and/or TAs to send group emails to students through GauchoSpace. Emails can be sent to the entire course, to selected sections or groups, or to specific students. This block also allows students to email the instructor or TAs directly. Emails are delivered to the instructor or TA's email inbox. The Peachmail block is present by default for new course sites. For more information on Peachmail, visit this help article: How do I communicate with my students using Gauchospace? |
Instructor View
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The Photo block displays photos taken on campus by the UCSB community. The block will rotate a new photo on its own every few seconds. To submit a photo to be displayed in the photo block, go to the UCSB Photo Submission course page. |
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The Random glossary entry can be added to courses that have a glossary activity set up on the course page. By default, the block will display glossary terms and concepts randomly. Go to the block settings to:
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The Recent activity block lists course activity, such as updated resources or activities, since the user last accessed the course. Users can click Full report of recent activity to view the activity log for a previous time frame. |
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The Remote RSS feeds block allows you to integrate UCSB TV or another RSS feed to display on your GauchoSpace course site. This is a great way to integrate a YouTube channel to your course page. Go to the block settings to:
Multiple Remote RSS feed blocks can be added to a single course site. |
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The Search forums block allows users to search for forums and forum posts efficiently. This is helpful if looking for a specific forum post. Users can click Advanced search for additional options. The search will return forum posts that meet specified criteria or contain keywords. |
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The Self completion block allows students to decide for themselves when they have completed a course. This may be helpful if you tracking course completion of multiple courses and want the students to mark one course complete in order to progress to the next. To use this block, instructors must first activate Completion Tracking on the Administration block and configure course completion requirements. The setting "Condition: Manual self completion" must have the "Enable" box checked. For more information on how to set up Completion Tracking, visit this help article: Track Student Progress - Activity Completion & Course Completion |
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The Trending Now block shows instructors and students the resources that are accessed most frequently. There is an option to sort by "Hits" or "Popularity". For easy access, the resource is hyperlinked. Users can select the name of the resource to access it. |
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| The UCSB Resource block is a student resource and links to the UCSB Resources course page. Various campus resources are organized in a central place for students. |
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The Upcoming events block populates activities that have assigned due dates. It also displays upcoming events or recurring dates according to data fetched from the Calendar block. The link to each upcoming activity is provided in the block for quick access. |
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If you will be assigning homework using WeBWorK, you can link your webwork problem sets to your GauchoSpace course page. To do this, add the WeBWorK block to GauchoSpace. Then, send an email to help@lsit.ucsb.edu to get your WeBworK course configured to GauchoSpace. Once configured, instructors can add the WeBWorK activity, select the problem set from a drop-down menu, and assign a due date. |
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