Why import a Canvas course?

Importing a Canvas course allows the instructor to re-use previous Atomic Assessments assignments, course settings, syllabus information and files in a new Canvas course. When importing a course, the instructor has the option of selecting specific content to be imported, and to adjust the course dates to reflect that of the new course.

Preparing the Previous Course

Atomic Assessments has limited control over user input on the Canvas Import page. Therefore, the user must configure the scope of Canvas Imports directly on the Atomic Assessments connector. Follow the steps below to configure whether or not all Atomic Assessments activities will be imported during Canvas Import.

1. Delete unwanted activities and run the Item Bank Clean Up.
   • If you do not want to remove any existing activities, you can skip step 1 in the linked article. However, you should run the Item Bank Clean up as, in the past, when courses were copied, it would make copies of all the items. This wizard will clean up these unwanted and unused items from the item bank.
2. Click on the Atomic Assessments link in the left hand navigation bar of the course you want to import the Atomic Assessments content from.
3. Click on the settings button indicated by the gear link as shown below.
   
4. In the settings page, make sure to check the box that reads "Import all Atomic Assessments content on next Canvas import" if you want all Atomic Assessments content to be imported during the next import. If you do not check that box, you may be missing activities in the new course after the import completes.
   • Please note that you must select the "Import all Atomic Assessments content on next Canvas import" prior to each course copy you make. This option resets after each course import.

Prepare the New Course

1. Make sure to enable Atomic Assessments in your course's navigation as outlined in Atomic Assessments - Enabling Atomic Assessments in Canvas [UW-Madison]

Importing the content

1. To import a Canvas course, first navigate to the course where the content should be imported to.
2. Click on Settings in the left navigation bar of your course Canvas page.
   
3. On the Settings page, click on Import Course Content.
   
4. Select Copy a Canvas Course from the drop down menu for the Content Type field. Type the name of the course you wish to copy the content from in the Search for a coursefield.
   • Note that you have to be enrolled as a teacher in the course you would like to copy content from.
     
5. Select whether you would like to copy the entire course content or only specific content. If you choose Select specific content, you will have the option to choose which content to include in a later step.
   
6. Next, select whether you would like to adjust the assignments and events dates in the course. If so, click on the respective box. You can either select to remove any existing dates or simply to shift them.
   • The data adjustment option could be useful if you are, for example, importing a course that ran in the Spring semester to Fall semester. You can also use the +Substitution button to change which days of the week assignments are due.
     
7. Click on the Import button once you are done determining the necessary settings.
8. You can now see the status of the importing process under Current Jobs.
   • If you chose to import All Content, the import process will occur automatically, and you should see this:
     
   • If you chose to Select specific content, a button will pop appear allowing you to select which content to import.
     
     • After clicking Select Content, choose what you would like to import and click Select Content.
       
     • The import process will occur automatically, and the selected course parts will be imported.

See also: Atomic Assessments - Exporting and Importing Activities [UW-Madison]