Are you teaching multiple sections of the same course or do you use some of the same resources between your different courses?

If so, there are some tools in Canvas that may interest you! You may already be familiar with how to duplicate an existing course shell or import specific content from one shell to another. However, you may find that the "copy to..." feature or using Canvas Commons better suit your workflow.

In addition to this resource, if you're teaching multiple sections of the same course, you may be interested in our tips for Customizing Your Course Cards to help keep track of your different sections!

Copy To...

Canvas lets you copy material from one shell to another, without having to use the import feature or leave your current shell! Use the copy-to option to send an individual item from one shell to another.

What items can be copied using "Copy To..."

Most item types in Canvas can be copied. "Copy to..." is an option for:

Modules
Pages
Assignments
Quizzes
Announcements
Discussions

How to use "Copy To..."

In your canvas shell, look for items that have an additional options menu. This is represented by three vertical dots at the end of the item line.

Select the three dots to see your additional options. If you see an option that says "Copy to...”, you can send this item to another shell directly.

When you select "Copy to...", a window will open that allows you to search for another course. Start typing in the name of the course shell to which you would like to send this item. Once it appears, select the course name and click "Copy".

You will then see a message letting you know the process has begun.

Note: It may take a few moments for your content to appear in your other shell, especially if the file is large.

Where does the item appear?

Typically, the copied content will appear at the bottom of the appropriate section in your Canvas course. For example, copied modules will be at the end of your Modules page. You can rearrange the item by dragging and click or using the additional options menu. Here are instructions for organizing and ordering items in Canvas.

Bonus: Send to...

In addition to copying an item between your shells, you can also send an item directly to another instructor or user! You may have noticed the "Send to..." option above "Copy to..." when you pulled up this menu. This works just like the "Copy to..." feature, except the target is another user, rather than another shell. This is a great option for instructors who collaborate on course design or teach in coordinated courses that share assignments and activities.

When you send something to another instructor, instead of a a search bar for your courses, you'll enter another users name. Once the user's name has appeared, select the users and click "send".

The other user will see the content you sent the next time they log in. Their account icon will have an alert, indicating they have an item that needs attention. Once they click on the account icon (upper left on the Canvas menu), it will show them there is new shared content and provide a link to an inbox where it can be access.

Canvas Commons

Canvas Commons is a learning object and course site repository where you may store and share content in Canvas, as well as find materials others have created. When adding content to Canvas Commons, you can restrict its access, making it private to you or sharing it with WOU or the general public. You can export material to Canvas common ranging from an entire course or module to an individual page, assignment, or other course element. Once in Canvas Commons, you can easily import it into your other course sites.

Canvas Commons is a great place to store content you find yourself using in multiple course shells, whether it's a common resource or material that needs to be distributed between multiple sections of the same course. You can create your own private repository of learning items.

What items can be stored in Canvas Commons

You can store the following item types in Canvas Commons:

Modules
Pages
Assignments
Quizzes
Announcements
Discussions
Course Shells (i.e. a full course with all content, activities, etc bundled)

Sharing in Canvas Commons

On most elements in your course site, you will see three vertical dots (to the right of the name) that open up different options for editing, organizing and sharing that content. On this menu, you will see "Share to Commons".

Visual guide for location of additional options, depicts menu that appears when the icon (three vertical dots) is selected and highlights the option "share to commons", which is second to last on the list.

Select "Share to commons". This will allow you to input the information needed to organize this element in your Canvas Commons.

The most important setting in Canvas Commons is to determine the privacy setting for the resource. For general updates to your course sites, we recommend you choose "only me".

Depicts the Sharing and License options for commons: Only me, All of Western Oregon University, and Public (any Canvas Commons user).

Fill in the remaining details. If you have chosen "Only me", you will not need to be as intentional in tags or description and can enter just enough that you will be able to find and use the element in the future, if you wish.

(Note: you will be required to select an image to represent this commons entry; you do not need to provide your own, Canvas Commons suggests options from open-source image libraries. This is to help you better distinguish between your different entries).

When you have finished filling in necessary details select "Share" at the bottom of the screen.

This will move you over to the new Commons entry you just created. From here, you can add it into your different courses.

How do I import material from Canvas Common into my other course shells?

You can import content from Canvas Commons into multiple courses at the same time (or just one course, if that's all you need). On the righthand side, you will see a button that says "Import/Download". Select this option and a list of your courses will appear.

Shows the Import/Download menu. Courses are listed below with checkboxes, as well as a "Search for course" option

Choose as many courses as you need. Once you have made your selections, click "Import into Course".

This content will now be placed in the course sites you selected. Once placed in the course, this content functions as any other content so you may make edits to it or reorganize it if needed.