When importing or copying content into Canvas, it’s crucial to avoid unintentionally overwriting existing course material. For more information, visit Instructure's Canvas Help Article for importing. Here are some guidelines to help you prevent this issue:
Understanding Content Overwriting:
- Overwriting Risk: If you copy content multiple times from a source course to a destination course, the existing content in the destination course may be overwritten. This cannot be undone and can impact student grades and the integrity of the course.
- Unique Identifiers: Each piece of content in Canvas (e.g., pages, assignments, quizzes) has a unique identifier. When content is copied, Canvas maintains a reference to these original identifiers. Exporting a course and then re-importing it can also lead to overwriting because the original identifiers are retained.
Best Practices for Copying Content:
- Avoid Importing the Same Content Twice: If you have already imported content from a source course into a destination course, do not import again if 1) You have edited the content within the destination course, or 2) Students are active within the destination course. Importing the same content more than once can cause any changes made to the destination course, including submissions and grades, to be lost permanently.
- Always Select "Specific Content" When Importing: Content that has been edited within the destination course will be overwritten by any of the same content selected from the source course. If you must import from a destination course to a source course more than once, be sure to only select content from the destination course that does not already exist within the source course.
- Use Source Courses Wisely: Designate a template or sandbox course as your source course. Make all your initial content creations here and import to the destination course before students have access to the destination course in Canvas.
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Backup Your Destination Course Before Importing:
- In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
- Click the Export Course Content link.
- In the Export Type heading, click the Course radio button.
- Click the Create Export button.
- Download the Backup of your destination course by clicking the New Export link.
