Creating a course from scratch may seem daunting, so to assist with that process, the U of A has created a template that is added by default to all sandbox courses and can be added to credit or co-curricular courses. Canvas constructed the template in consultation with U of A instructional designers and it contains with several approved graphics options and built-in guidelines for adding engaging, well-structured course content.

The concepts listed here apply equally to adding content to blank courses and can also be viewed in the recording of the August Canvas Learning Opportunity session Authoring Content.

(Note if your course contains the custom template but you would like to start fresh with a blank course, it is possible to delete the content or request a blank co-curricular course.)

Selecting the course Home Page

The U of A's custom template contains a polished, visual front page that instructors can use as a course landing page with links to other course areas. The home page is easily edited using the Canvas Rich Content Editor (RCE) and instructors can take advantage of custom graphics created for the U of A.

It is also possible for instructors to use other pages or the Canvas modules view as their course home page but the graphical home page is recommended.

Customizing the Homepage

1. In a course with the U of A template course, click the Edit button near the top right of the Home Page:
2. Start typing over and replacing placeholder areas where indicated by the template - indicated by square brackets.
   
   
3. Click Save at the bottom when done. 

Note: Clicking Home or Pages will return you to the Homepage by default.

Customizing the Home Page Graphics and Navigation elements

The homepage template contains a graphical banner and a 'Course Navigation' section containing four buttons near the bottom that take you to different pages in your course (instructors can follow these links to edit those specific pages in the course.) Instructors can customize the banner graphic and/or these buttons themselves and could also add additional buttons that link to other modules in your course.

Instructions for making changes to the banner images and course card images are provided in the article Using Custom U of A Graphics in Canvas Pages. Instructions for customizing the buttons are contained within the template itself, in the 'Instructor Module' of the course on the page Template: Icons, Banners, & Buttons Customization Options (see screenshot below.)

If you have added custom buttons or are linking to new pages or modules (for example if you are working on a course migrated through the K16 process), you will need to connect the button to the correct location in your course.

To do this, click on the navigation button in editing mode, then click the Remove link button:

Then click on the button image again so that it takes on a blue border and click the link icon in the toolbar and select Course link:

In the modal overlay that appears on the right edge of the screen, search for or browse for, then select the page or location in your course to link to:

Then close the overlay and save your changes.

Customizing Other Template Pages

• Customizing the Meet your instructor page

  1. Click Edit 
  2. Add your details in the adjacent spaces
  3. Replace the image with an image of your choice. We recommend images that are similar to the size and orientation of the placeholder image.
     
  4. Image replacement instructions:
     1. Click the image and delete it (with backspace, etc.)
     2. With your cursor still in a place of where the image was, click the uploaded image from the toolbar, which has three options to choose from. By default, the course should have no content so you will choose Upload image
        
     3. Follow the prompts and guides to upload your image and select any preferred settings.
     4. If you have an image from an external public website you prefer to use, you can choose the URL tab and enter the image URL.
     5. If your image needs to be resized, click on your newly uploaded image 'image options'
        
        and choose any of the existing size options to rescale it.
        
  5. Save the changes when complete.

• Syllabus

  • The Syllabus included in the template is a Canvas page that can be modified by clicking Edit  near the top right. If you already have a completed PDF version of your syllabus.
  • Save the changes when complete as you have previously with other template pages.
  • Note: It is not recommended to use Canvas' built-in Syllabus tool as it has some features that cannot be disabled. There is work progressing on a central syllabus tool that will be integrated into Canvas.
    
    

• Announcements

  • Announcements are not an editable page but a course discussion forum where you can post important news for students. 
  • Announcements in courses open to student access (i.e. within the course participation start and end dates) will automatically send email notifications for every course announcement. Notifications are not sent from closed courses.
  • A sample announcement is available if you need guidance on what a typical announcement may look like. You should delete that sample announcement before publishing the course later (to avoid student confusion). Click on the 3-dots next to them to find options to delete.
    

• Course Q&A

  • This is similar to the Announcements, but students have access to post replies to this area
  • You may click the 3-dots to edit this top-level post and revise/replace as necessary.
  • Note: This is the Q&A Forum linked from the homepage. It should not be repurposed as other forums unless you plan to overhaul the template.

Customizing the Basic Course Left Navigation

Every Canvas course contains a left navigation menu where instructors and students can access the different components of the course and external tools enabled at the course level. These navigation options can be customized per course in the settings, but the U of A template comes with the recommended options enabled.

The navigation options that are enabled by default include People, Modules, Announcements, and Grades. Students and instructors can also access the central external tools Zoom and YuJa through those links. Canvas also provisions some external tools here that only instructors can access: Canvas Studio, New Analytics, Item Banks, and Settings. Since there is some inconsistency in how these links are displayed to students, it is always recommended to confirm the correct links are displayed using the student view.

The options in this list can be changed to meet different course needs - for example if a course will not hold any synchronous meetings over Zoom could be removed or the Library Reading List external tool could be added.

To change the left nav items, click Settings at the bottom of the left nav column, then click on the Navigation tab:

Then drag items to move them into the disabled area or select Disable under the 3 dots menu on the right to remove them from student view:

Note: many external tools are also removed from instructor view so if you are missing tools check under the navigation tab.

Customizing other (template) modules

From this point on, you can begin customizing the other modules provided by the template in your course.

Click on Modules on the left-nav to view the structure of the template course.

To add new content to a module, click the + icon near the top right, then select or upload the content to add:

The first module at the top of your course is an instructor-facing module that should not be published to students. It contains a guide to the template, instructions for making customizations to the home page, banner images, and navigation buttons, and links to Canvas guides on course construction:

As you navigate downward in the modules structure, you will see 'Welcome to the Course: Your Journey Begins Here!' that you should already be familiar with from above.

The last three sections available in the template are:

• Template module - A collection of template items and activities that you can model content after. This module can be duplicated for every topic area or week of the course. Note: as there is only one version of a template page, it is best practice to duplicate the module prior to making edits to more easily add content into each section and reuse the template module. Modules can be duplicated from the three-dot menu at the top right of the module header.
• Course conclusion - An example module containing wrap up materials to give students when they've reached the end of the course. If your course is not using automated, sequential release, this module can be unpublished and or removed.
• Need Help? - This is a resource intended for students. It is recommended that you leave this published and unedited, unless you want to make revisions or append to the information. This module could also be linked into the course home page (see above.)

Hiding and Showing Modules

Once built out, modules can be hidden or shown to students by toggling the Publish/Unpublish icons near the top right of each module where you have the option to publish the module itself and/or all of the items it contains. The dropdown also has links to unpublish content to hide it from students:

There is also a link at the top of the Modules page that allows instructors to publish all the modules in the course with 1 click.

Please note: there is no need to publish ENTIRE courses. This step is done by default when courses are created through the request system - student access to courses is controlled through the dates set during course creation and which are visible in the course settings at Participation > Course > Dates.