Building a text page in ECB

Images, bullets and more – plain and simple

Written by Dave Branscombe

Last published at: July 27th, 2024

To start building your text page select the blue pen icon next to it.

Enter a Page Title (in the course this appears at the very top of the screen after the item name) and a Page Heading (which appears above the main body text in the course).

Asset Type - Select which type of asset you want to appear on the page. It can be a still image or a video. 

Image Asset - Your image needs to be 480x480 pixels (it will be automatically resized to this anyway, but you’ll need to check how it looks). It can be uploaded from your computer or directly from the Asset Manager if it’s already in there (by selecting it and Update). Assets can be static jpg/png/gif images or mp4 videos (uploaded via Vimeo).

Note: The Asset Manager is your library of images, audio files and documents to use in your courses. Select it from the top of your screen at any time and it will open in a new window. We’ve created some simple images which you can use. You can also upload your own. For documents, PDF format is ideal as all formatting remains the same no matter what browser or device your learners use. Once you’ve uploaded your documents to the Asset Manager you can link to them from within the course.

Vimeo Asset (if you’re using video) - when you upload your video to your Vimeo account, you need to get its Vimeo reference number and enter it.

Video Fallback Location (if asset type set as video) - if your learners are likely to have problems playing a video hosted on Vimeo (the site may be blocked by a firewall for example), you should type in here a location for a fallback video – this would most likely be on an internal network. (Note: the Vimeo reference should still be entered as this would be the default video accessed if learning outside of the work environment or if no blocks are in place.) You might find these guides useful: Why won’t my videos play and How do I add a video fallback in ECB.

Audio Asset – this is usually an audio mp3 file, and if you upload one, then a ‘Listen’ button will appear on the page, which the learner selects to hear it. You can play it from here too when building the course. If you can, include an audio file as sound helps a lot of people learn, and can also make learning more accessible. They can already read what’s on screen, so don’t just voice that! If you can, add in spoken examples, analogies, conversations, or something emotive, as it will improve understanding.

Body text - this is the main information you want to appear, which can be formatted using the buttons at the top of the box. Use bullet points and bold text to make important points clear and break up the information, so it’s easy to read and digest.

You can link to an external document such as a PDF, typing the wording for example, ‘OPEN THE LINK HERE to open our simple guide to Easy Course Builder’. The document you link to needs to be already uploaded into the Asset Manager. Simply highlight the text ‘OPEN THE LINK HERE’ then select the document button, choose it and Insert Document. The text will show as a different colour, which you can then underline. You could also link to a website from here.

Why is my text bunching up when I paste it in? If copying and pasting from your script (which ideally you should be), remember to force a return in at the top of the body text, then paste, then remove the return. This will keep the paragraph separation consistent like it should be in the script.

Remember - when you’ve completed your text page, select Save at the bottom of the screen.

The next guide in this section is Building a reveal page in ECB

You might also find these useful:

What is ECB and why use it?

Creating a new course in ECB

Creating modules and defining course structure in ECB

Building a quiz page in ECB

Building a video page in ECB

Previewing and checking your course in ECB