UWL Canvas Template

A Canvas template is a Canvas course shell that is pre-formatted and pre-populated with items such as modules, assignments, and pages. You can import a template into your Canvas course and then add your course content to those pre-built items.

This template includes directions and placeholders for an introductory module as well as modules for a 15 week course, with customizable activities for each module. The template is designed to assist you in organizing your Canvas course for student ease of use and accessibility. Using this template is not required.

The template is for a full 15 week course. The basic components of this template are: 

• Introductory Module
  
  Explicitly establishing who you are both as an instructor and as a person is one of the most important parts of establishing your online presence. In addition, orienting students to the course through discussions of expectations, your different grading policies and other information you want to highlight for the students is an important aspect of the introductory module. The module included in the template can be adjusted to suite your introductory module needs but a sample is designed and included. 
  
  
• Content Modules
  

  There are many different ways to organize modules, but the one presented here is broken up into a series of informational pages and potential activities for students to demonstrate learning. There are also many different ideas on what would constitute a module, but in general there are key components to a module which are included in the template.

  • An overview: text to help students organize their time, shares the learning objectives for the module, and gives students a checklist or chart that outlines the assignments and due dates for the module

  • Content pages: created to deliver multiple resources, including short pre-recorded content, in fewer action steps for students 

  • Activities: these are formative learning activities that students do to showcase learning progress and engagement with content, examples include discussions, quizzes, quick checks

  • Assessments: these are summative learning activities such as quizzes, papers, projects, and exams that are part of a module 

Any recommended Canvas settings that can be set and transferred with the import have been set. Actual content and some settings need adjusting for your use of the template. 

There are times when designing a Canvas course from scratch is difficult due to timing, technical comfort with Canvas, or various other reasons. This template can be used for a few different purposes:

• when you need to build a new course in Canvas
• when you would like to improve the layout of your existing course you can add your existing content to this template structure
• when you would like ideas on how to improve your existing course you can review this template for ideas, pick and choose the pages, designs, layouts, settings, etc. that you find helpful 

A few reasons to consider using the template: 

• Using a template saves time! You don’t have to build each individual item or module within your course – you can just focus on the course content.
• The structure and organization of the course will meet guidelines for best practices, so your students will have an easier time navigating the course. They can spend more time on the content and less time trying to find it.
• You can still edit the template - if there is an item or module that you don’t need, you can delete it. It is still your course, but with a head start!

Sure! Enroll to the template course as a student to check it out. If you want to use some or all of the template, read through the documentation about how to import and customize it. 

Simply fill out this quick form and a CATL staff member will import the template into your course(s) for you. Complete the form for each course you want the template loaded into. It's best to load the template into a blank course and then add your course content. You can then customize the course as needed for your class structure and activities. As always, you can reach out to CATL if you need help or assistance.

We've create a checklist to help you work through the steps of customizing this template for your course.

Download a copy of this detailed documentation and complete the various items to ensure the template is used correctly for your course.

This is IMPORTANT! There are many steps to use the template so please be sure to follow along and reach out to CATL if you need help or have any questions. 

Yes, you can use any or all of the template. Directions for customization are located in the template. If you need help with anything, contact CATL. 

CATL can load the standard syllabus headings and language into your Canvas course. Fill out this quick form to let CATL know which courses to add it to. 

Contact CATL with any questions or comments about the UWL Canvas template course. 

Simply ask CATL and we'll take a look!