LibAnswers: Instructional Design

CETL offers semester templates for instructors to use in their Canvas courses. These templates offer customizable content—pages, modules, syllabus, discussions, assignments, etc.—with instructions for editing content specific to the course. CETL's Canvas templates are a great starting point for building or editing courses. The content is accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.1 AA, the accessibility standard established by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The templates also follow principles of the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (T.I.L.T.) approach.

From Canvas Commons

1. Log in to Canvas.
2. Navigate to "Commons" in the global navigation menu.
3. Click "Filter" and, under "Shared With," select "The College of New Jersey."
4. Type "TCNJ Course Template" in the search bar.
5. Click "Import/Download."
6. Select a course into which you want to import the template.
7. Click "Import into course."
   • You should see the message, "You have successfully started the import! It may take a little while to see changes in your course" in a green bar across your screen.

From a course shell

1. Log in to Canvas.
2. Select a course into which you want to import the template.
3. On the right-side menu bar, click "Import from Commons."
4. Click "Filter" and, under "Shared With," select "The College of New Jersey."
5. Type "TCNJ Course Template" in the search bar."
6. Click "Import/Download."
7. Re-select the course into which you want to import the template.
8. Click "Import into course."
   • You should see the message, "You have successfully started the import! It may take a little while to see changes in your course" in a green bar across your screen.

Updating a Canvas Commons Resource

Updates to Commons resources do not automatically sync to your Canvas course. When an owner updates a Canvas Commons resource, you will receive a notification only in Commons. If you have previously imported content, we recommend checking Commons for any updates. You can apply updates without having to re-import the content. 

1. Log in to Canvas.
2. Navigate to Commons in the global navigation menu.
3. Select "Updates" in the Commons navigation bar.
   • Canvas displays the number of available updates, such as "Updates (1)."
4. Click "Update."
5. Review the pop-up message: "This update will replace your current resource. Do you still want to update?"
6. Click "Yes."

The updated content will appear wherever you previously linked the content in your Canvas course.