Background

Take a moment to pat yourself on the back. You made it. Can you believe we’re even talking about this right now? It’s the end of the year. When approached with the opportunity to teach during a school year that would look differently than anything you learned about in college or experienced in your career,  you rose to the occasion. A consummate professional, you took it all in stride because you know just how important our work is. And, while none of it came easily, you made a difference.

We’re not talking about a pandemic; we’re talking about Canvas. 

You Can Take It All with You

Starting your school year with Canvas, like many other teachers, you probably operated on a “How can I make this?” basis in Canvas. Ever since Canvas ASCEND last summer, that has been the question. Throughout your professional career, there were materials, projects, activities, and lessons you used in your class. By the end of this school year, your awesome work has more than likely found its way to Canvas, and while you will always find yourself making new materials for your classes, your relationship with Canvas can look a little different next year. You learned a great deal along the way. 

Your relationship with Canvas is about to enter a “How can I make this better?” phase.

Making It Better Starts with Importing Your Course to Commons

As a teacher, there will always be units of instruction that you feel like tearing down to the foundation and rebuilding. But, that’s certainly not the case with everything you’ve built. Next school year, rather than reinventing the wheel in your classroom and starting from scratch, Canvas will allow you to pick up where you left off this year. Canvas makes this a really easy three click process.

Step 1: Go into the course you want to backup and click “Settings:”

This button will show up at the bottom of the menu buttons on the left of your screen.

Step 2: Click “Share to Commons:”

This button will be in the upper right corner of your screen.

Step 3: Check the Appropriate Settings and Click “Share:”

Select who you would like to be able to view this resource (more than likely, you will want this to be “Only Me;” however, you have the option to allow other WSD teachers or any Canvas educator to see it, as well. Be sure to add a little description to your course, add an image for it, and select the grade. Lastly, click “Share,” the blue button in the bottom right corner.

That’s it! You’re ready for next year!

Wrapping Up

After exporting your course to Canvas, you will no longer exist solely in the “How can I make this” phase but make your way into the “How can I make this better?” world. All teachers improve their craft in the classroom each year, and now that your classroom includes a physical and digital space, you’ve given yourself more room to grow. 

To use this material next year, simply log back into your Canvas account, click “Commons,” click “Shared,” select the course, click “Import/Download,” and throw it into your Sandbox (remember, it’s always best to develop your materials in your Sandbox before copying them to a live course; this helps avoid learner confusion).

As always, if you have any questions, fire off an email to your ISM or EdTech Coach! They would LOVE to hear from you.