I-Learn Instructor Help Guides

How Do I Copy an I-Learn Course For Next Semester?

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Welcome! In this tutorial we'll show you how to copy a course that you will be teaching in a future semester.  In order to do so, you will need to be enrolled in the future course shell.  When you see the course show up on your I-Learn dashboard, you will know that you've been enrolled in the shells for your future courses.  

In the case of copying a course from another instructor, you will also need to be temporarily enrolled in the course you will be copying.  Contact the FTC (x7230) for assistance with that process.

Students are generally enrolled in courses a few weeks before the new semester starts.  So, even though your course may be copied, students may not show up in the course until later.

Go to the empty course

On your Canvas dashboard, select the empty course.

Dashboard in Canvas

Add existing content

Now, click "Add existing content" to go to the import tool.

Add existing content button

Select the correct content type

In the "Content Type" dropdown menu, select "Copy a Canvas Course".

Import content pop up window

Select the course to copy

  1. Select the course you want to copy content from by selecting it from the dropdown menu OR searching the course's name or course code in the "Course name" search bar.
  2. If you cannot see the course you want to copy from, check the box next to "Include completed courses". 
  3. Select "All content" to copy the whole course.
Course selection dropdown menus

If you're teaching multiple sections and cannot tell them apart in the dropdown menu or search bar, type the course code with a decimal point followed by the section number.  For example, if you are teaching sections 1 and 2 of FDENG 101 and you want to copy from section 1, type "FDENG 101.1" in the search bar.

Adjust the dates

The adjust dates tool automatically changes the dates to match the new semester.

  1. Check the box next to "Adjust events and due dates".
  2. Select "Shift dates" if you want to change the dates for the new semester or "Remove dates" if you want to remove them.
  3. In the "change to" boxes, enter the beginning and end dates for the upcoming semester.
  4. Click "+ Substitution" and choose the days of the week that you will be teaching from each dropdown menu.
  5. Once all the adjustment settings are selected, click "Import".
Date settings for Canvas course

The adjust dates tool isn't always perfect – be sure to check the dates in the calendar and make adjustments as necessary.

Check the broken links

If any part of the course didn't copy properly, the orange "Complete" indicator will have a link to those issues next to it.  Click the link to see a list of the broken links in the course.

Sometimes the links shown are not actually broken, but it's a good idea to check just in case.

Current jobs section of course upload in Canvas

Enable feature options

Under "Feature Options" in the course's settings, click the switches on the right for the features you had enabled in your old course. The New Gradebook is the most common feature option instructors use in their course.

Even if you had some of these feature options turned on in your old course, they won't automatically be enabled in the new one.

Feature options tab in Canvas course

Publish the course

Once the course is ready for students to see, click "Publish" on the course homepage.

Publish button in Canvas course

Additional Help Resources

For questions about blueprinting courses (copying from a common master course, sometimes referred to as parent/child courses), contact the FTC (x7230) for assistance.

Congratulations, you are done!
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