From the Canvas Coaches’ Corner… Copying Canvas Content #1 (3/27/2020)

Congratulations!

You’ve survived the first week of offering a virtual educational experience! No matter what ups and downs you faced this week, you’ve made it to Friday and you deserve a pat on the back!

Now that we know we won’t be returning to face to face classes this semester, it’s time for us to start thinking ahead about how we’re going to maintain (and improve?) our virtual learning experiences through Canvas.

While there are many ways to approach this, I thought we’d start with answering one of the most frequently asked questions as of late: “Is there any way to put a copy of my Course A quiz/assignment/discussion board/etc into my Course B?” Absolutely!

Copying (Specific) Content in Canvas #1:

Step 1: Start by making sure you’re in the course you want to copy the content into (you should not be in the course you’re trying to copy from…)

Step 2: Scroll down and click on Settings to enter your course’s settings

Settings Link on Course Homepage
Settings Link on Course Homepage

Step 3: Click on “Import Course Content” in the menu on the right

Select "Select Specific Content"
Select “Select Specific Content”

Step 4: In the type of content drop down, select “Copy a Canvas Course”

Copy Canvas Course Link
Copy Canvas Course Link

This next part is subtle but important!

Step 5: Check the box that says “select specific content” and then click on “Import”

Select "Select Specific Content"
Select “Select Specific Content”

Step 6: Now click on the “Select Content” button that has appeared:

"Select Content" Button
“Select Content” Button

This will open a new window for you that looks like:

Select Content Window
Select Content Window

If you leave the arrow pointing to the right and then click the checkbox next to the heading (i.e. if you clicked on the checkbox next to Assignments) you will be selecting all of the Assignments that you have in the course you’re trying to copy from.

If you don’t want to copy all of the items in the section, click directly on the arrow. This causes the arrow to point down (See my Modules section in the image above) and it will list all the items in that section so that you can pick and choose the ones you want. For instance, if I only want to import my General Information module, not all 8 of my Modules, I would now click the checkbox next to General Information and ignore the rest.

Can you select specific items out of different sections? Like, could you select one quiz, two assignments and one discussion board? Absolutely! Just open each section by clicking on the arrow and then check the box for each item you want.

Step 7: When you’re done selecting your content/items, click on the “Select Content” button at the bottom right of the Select Content Window.

Finish Selecting Specific Content
Finish Selecting Specific Content

Step 8: Wait for your import to finish! Depending on how many items you’re trying to copy, it could take a few minutes. You can follow its progress in the Current Jobs list at the bottom of your screen as it goes from:

Queued:

Current Job - Queued Indicator
Current Job – Queued Indicator

To Running:

Current Job - Running Indicator
Current Job – Running Indicator

To Completed:

Current Job - Completed Indicator
Current Job – Completed Indicator

Congratulations! You have finished importing content from that other course!

Step 9: Publish your imported content!

While you’ve successfully imported the selected pieces of content, they won’t automatically get published posted in your Modules or Assignment Groups or wherever you wanted them to appear. You will still need to go publish the imported content and then add it to the various locations you want it to appear in your Canvas course.

If you need any help with this, or have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! The Canvas Crew and Canvas Champions remain available, able, and willing to help (via email, phone, or Zoom)!

Have a great weekend, you deserve it!

Your Canvas Champions,

Gillian, Chris, & Sarah

By Gillian Galle

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