Canvas: How to Import Course Content

Earlier this month, Dustin Worm wrote a great post about how to back up your Canvas course:

Summer... How to back-up your Canvas course!

You can use that backup file to add content to a new course at the beginning of a new term or school year. During the summer, you might also create a new course in Canvas so that you can get a head start on creating course content for the fall. To do this, look for the "Start a New Course" button on the first screen you see when you log in to Canvas. You can then copy the content from this course to your official Canvas courses (those created by our upload from Skyward which have all of your students already enrolled.)

The following steps are an overview of this process:

1. Open the course that will be the destination for the course import.
2. Click on the "Settings" tab in the left-sidebar navigation.
3. Click the "Import Content Into This Course" button in the right toolbar.
4. From here there are two options you might use in the "Content Type" drop down menu: if you are importing from a course you created, you can select "Copy a Canvas Course." If you are importing from the export/backup file you created using the instructions above, select "Canvas Course Export Package" from the drop down menu. This second option will require you to locate the backup file on your computer by clicking the "Choose File" button, then locate the .imscc course file you have downloaded to your computer. Click "Choose."
5. IMPORTANT: Check the "Select Migration Content" checkbox.
6. Click the "Import" button.
7. Click the "Select Content" button.
8. Working from the bottom of the list to the top, select the course files that you would like to include in your new course.
9. Click the "Select Content" button. 

Once you have imported all of your content, you can then begin changing dates or other details to make your course fit with your new course and the new term.

If you have additional questions, you can view these and other articles in the Canvas Guides:

• How do I import content from another Canvas course?

• How do I import a Canvas course export package?

Stopping Your Computer Going to Sleep has Never Been Easier: Caffeine Anyone?

Every teacher has experienced their computer going to sleep or screen saver in the middle of a presentation.  While there are ways to change your settings to a longer idle time before your computer goes to sleep, there is a much easier way.

With a creatively punned name, Caffeine, a free app (software) for your Mac computer, allows you to decide when you want your computer to stay awake.  Once installed, Caffeine will be installed in the menu bar (Image below).  To download, go to the App Store icon and search for “Caffeine" (Image right).

Like a cup of coffee, when Caffeine is activated by clicking on the “cup,” your computer will stay awake.  By clicking on the “cup” it will fill with coffee and when you click the icon again the coffee will be gone.

Caffeine as a great productivity tool for any teacher who presents to their students.  Don’t forget to empty the cup…