Copying content in Canvas
Beyond copy/paste
Although the copy/paste function on computers is a useful tool, there are better approaches for copying, duplicating, and sharing content within Canvas. A main problem with the copy/paste approach in Canvas is that it leaves too much room for error. The process would entail copying the page content in either the Rich Content Editor or the HTML editor, creating a new page, pasting the content into the page, and saving the page. Although this is not incredibly onerous, with so many steps there is room for error. It’s possible that not all of the content got copied (or too much got copied), and what if you exit the page without saving? There are quicker ways to complete this process that require fewer steps with less chance for error.
Duplicating pages
Duplicating content in Canvas has become an incredibly simple process. You can duplicate a Canvas page, an assignment, or a discussion, from either the Modules, Pages, Assignments, or Discussions pages in Canvas using a two-click process.
Click the kabob icon (the three vertical dots) next to the item you would like to copy and simply select the Duplicate option. This will create a copy of your Canvas asset.
Send To…
You can send content to a colleague or another user in your Canvas instance. Simply click the kabob icon and select the Send To… option. Start typing the name of the person you want to send your asset to. You can send it to more than one person at one time.
On the receiving end, when you have sent the content to your colleague then they will see an indication in their global navigation which will look like a small circle on their profile picture with a number. When they click on their Profile picture to access their Canvas account information, they will see the notification that there is new shared content with a list of content that they have received. They will be able to see the title of the content, the type (assignment, page, discussion topic, etc.), the sender, and the date they received it. When they click on the kabob icon in the actions column then they will be able to preview, import, or remove the content.
To import the content, the receiver must begin typing the name of the course and select it when the course appears in the dropdown menu. It can be imported directly this way, but as an option Canvas allows us to also place it directly into a module from the dropdown list if there are modules created in the receiving course. The content can be placed directly at the top or bottom of the module, or before or after an item in the module.
Copy To…
You can copy your content directly into another course. This is precisely the same process as what the receiver does when you send him/her content, but it obviates the need to involve another person in the process. On the item kabob icon, select the Copy To… option.
From here you will engage in the same steps as the Sent To… process. First you will begin typing the credentials of the course you want to copy to, then select your course from the dropdown, and finally indicate if you want to place it directly into a module (optional).
Canvas Commons
If you want to share content with people outside of your institution, a great way to do that is to export the content to Canvas Commons. Canvas Commons is a repository from the Canvas Community of resources. People can upload entire courses, pages, quizzes, assignments and discussions, modules, and even files into Canvas Commons. We cannot export folders of files, announcements, or rubrics.
Who can use this resource?
You’ll want to determine if this is a Canvas asset that you want to keep for your own reference, do you want to share it with someone within your institution, or would you like to share it publicly?
License
Do you want to retain copyright, partial copyright, or release it as public domain? For more information on types of attribution, you can refer to the Canvas documentation.
Title and Description
By default, the title will be whatever the asset is called, but you can change that if you would like. Describe your asset in a sentence or two and include any tags that would be useful.
Image
You will need to have a thumbnail image for your asset. You can upload one from your computer or search for one on the unsplash repository. Bonus Tip: you can also create an image on a PowerPoint slide and save the slide as an image.
The important thing is that the dimensions of the image is 16:9 - the same resolution as we view on our phones, TVs, and the pictures we take.
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