Canvas Templating Options
Overview
In Canvas, various options are available for templating course content, allowing instructors and academic units to streamline course development, ensure consistency, and enhance instructional quality across multiple courses. These options serve as valuable tools for creating a cohesive learning experience by providing a common look and feel, standardized set of course content, and efficient course design processes.
Templates enable instructors to easily import content from course templates into their production courses. Templates are simply courses that are requested by faculty to use for the creation of course content with consistent structures, layouts, and instructional materials, ensuring a cohesive learning environment for students. Templates are particularly useful for maintaining consistency, standardizing course navigation, and incorporating common course content and resources across courses. Templates are also often used to develop content for a future course that may not yet be available in Canvas.
Blueprints offer a powerful mechanism for pushing content from a Blueprint course into associated courses. Created and managed only by system administrators or designated Blueprint Managers, blueprints allow for the distribution of content and/or locked-down content to multiple courses simultaneously. Blueprints are helpful in standardizing course content across course sections and optionally preventing the individual course instructors from making modifications to managed content.
Canvas Commons serves as a repository for sharing and accessing course templates created by instructors, designers, and administrators. It enables users to store, discover, and reuse course content, templates, and learning objects, fostering collaboration and innovation in course design and delivery. Canvas Commons empowers instructors to leverage best practices, share exemplary course materials, and enhance teaching effectiveness through the adoption of proven instructional strategies and resources.
Course Import provides a simple method for importing content from another course into a new or existing course site. This option offers flexibility in content selection and customization, allowing instructors to tailor course materials to meet specific instructional needs and preferences. Course Import facilitates the transfer of course content, assignments, discussions, and other resources, supporting efficient course development and adaptation processes and is often used to simply copy a course from a previous term into a current or future course due to its ability to automatically adjust assignment dates based on the course start and end dates.
Comparison of Templating Options in Canvas
| Feature | Templates | Blueprints | Canvas Commons | Course Import |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Allows an instructor to import content from templates | Pushes content from a blueprint course to associated courses | Stores and shares course templates | Imports content from another course |
| Who can use it | Teachers, Designers, TAs | Canvas admins, Blueprint Managers, Lead Teachers | Any user with content creation permissions | Teachers, Designers, TAs |
| When/how template is applied | Anytime, but recommended before the course is published | Anytime push by Blueprint Manager or Lead Teacher | Anytime before the course is published | Anytime, but recommended before the course is published |
| Courses impacted | Current course into which the Template is being imported | All courses associated by Blueprint Manager | Courses where the content is imported from Commons | Current course into which the source course is being imported |
| Autonomy for Instructors | Enables instructors to import and manage content independently without content locking restrictions | Requires administrative setup, pushes content into associated courses, enables course-level content locking, limits instructor autonomy | Decision left to individual instructors for template usage | Provides flexibility for instructors to select and import content |
| Request Frequency | One-time request; perpetual reuse | Must be requested each term | N/A | N/A |
| Noteworthy features | Instructors can request a Template and import content without special administrative access | Requires administrative access, but provides ability to lock content items | Content can easily be shared with others across the institution | Ability to select specific content and automatically adjust assignment dates |
| More information | About using Templates in Canvas | About the Canvas Blueprint Process | About Canvas Commons | About the Canvas Course Import Tool |
Comparison Summary
- Templates: Allows instructors to pull content from a template course without any special administrative access. Users need to be a Teacher in both the template and destination course. Useful for maintaining consistency in course structures, layouts, and instructional materials.
- Blueprints: Offers a mechanism for pushing template content to associated courses. Ideal for standardizing course content, layouts, and settings across various course sections or programs while preventing changes by individual instructors. New blueprint courses must be requested each term and be managed by a Canvas admin or departmental Blueprint Manager.
- Canvas Commons: Serves as a repository for sharing and accessing course templates. Promotes collaboration, innovation, and sharing of best practices in course design.
- Course Import: Provides flexibility in importing content from another course. Users need to be a Teacher in both the source and destination course. Allows instructors quickly import a portion or all of a former course into a current course.