Customize MyGateway Home
The new version of Blackboard (MyGateway) has many customizable features which offer additonal flexibility and creative ways to facilitate teaching and learning. Several of these features are described below. Select the topic below for more information.
- Overview of Icons
- Adding/Removing Modules
- Personalizing Modules
- Changing Colors of MyGateway Home
- Changing Layout of MyGateway Home
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Personalize module - only available with certain modules (e.g. My Courses) |
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Open module in a new window - only available with certain modules (e.g. Calculator) |
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Minimize module - available for all modules |
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Close module - only available for certain modules (e.g. Calculator) |
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Reorder Modules - used to rearrange the modules in the three column layout in your MyGateway Home page |
Adding / Removing Modules to MyGateway Home
The MyGateway home page for each user consists of a number of modules (My Courses, My Announcements, My Organizations, Tools, etc.). Some modules are embedded in the page at the system level, meaning they cannot be removed (though they can be minimized to move them out of the way). Each MyGateway user also has the option to add modules to their view of the MyGateway home page.
To add a module:
Click Add Module at the top of the page.
Select the checkbox next to each module you want to add. There are some general use modules such a dictionary, thesaurus, and a calculator and there are also a number of modules that provide feed from the New York Times and other sources. Pick and choose which modules appeal to you most.
Click Submit when finished.
To remove a module:
Click the close module icon 
in the top right corner of the module. Modules that cannot be closed will not have this icon.
Personalizing Modules on MyGateway Home
In addition to adding and removing modules, users have the option of modifying modules to show different levels of information. Only modules which have the personalize module icon (a small gear wheel) can be modified.
Although the options available to users will vary by module, one very useful modification is in the My Courses module. Instructors often like to modify this module so it only displays active courses. By default, it will display ALL courses the instructor is teaching or has taught in the past. For instructors who have been teaching for many years, this can quickly become very distracting. Thus, it is useful to make unavailable courses (i.e. those courses not being taught in the current semester) "invisible" to the instructor. They are still there, and can be made visible again at any time, but they are not cluttering up the instructor's MyGateway Home page.
To make courses "invisible" in the My Courses module:Click the gear wheel icon 
in the header for the My Courses module.
Simply by checking/unchecking the check boxes, you can determine which courses are visible. In this window you may choose which of the following pieces of information will be displayed for each of the courses in which you are a student or an instructor. NOTE: If you clear all the checkboxes for a particular course, no information for that course will be displayed in the module.
- Course name
- Course ID
- Instructors for the course
- Course announcements
- Course tasks
- Course Calendar events
Uncheck box to keep it from showing in My Courses module
- When you have finished making changes, click Submit.
- You now have the courses you wish to see in My Courses. NOTE: Don't panic if you removed current courses. You can always make them visible by clicking the personalize module icon and simply re‐checking the appropriate boxes.
Changing Colors of MyGateway Home
It is possible to change the colors and overall theme of your MyGateway Home page. The palette is limited to specific subset and users cannot custom create their own colors and themes.
- Click Personalize Page.
- Select a theme from the available options.
- Click Submit when finished.
Your MyGateway Home page has changed to reflect your currently selected color theme.
Changing Layout of MyGateway Home
You can change the layout of your MyGateway Home page. MyGateway uses three columns of modules. You can reorder the modules in any way you like within those three columns.
- Click Reorder: Modules icon.
- Select a module in one of the three columns that you want to move.
- Use the up/down arrows under that column to move the module up or down in that column.
- Use the left/right arrows next to the column to move the module one column to the left/right.
- Click Submit when finished rearranging modules.
NOTE: It is possible to move all the modules from one column to another, effectively removing one column. However, MyGateway will still allocate space on the page for that column.