Faculty of Science
Skylight

UBC Science Canvas Templates

Description

UBC Science students have noted challenges in navigating their online courses; they find it difficult, for example, to find important information in their courses. To help reduce the impact of these challenges, Skylight developed two Canvas course templates for UBC Science instructors.

The development of these templates was informed by universal design for learning guidelines, student wellbeing practices, and web content accessibility guidelines. The designs were kept simple and offer limited customization. (Information on course design can be found in the Science Online Teaching 2020 hub for Canvas, a self-directed course that instructors can enroll themselves in online.)

Instructors adopting this template will help create consistency across UBC Science’s online courses, making it easier for students to find important information in predictable places. The template can be imported in part or in full. Instructions on importing the template are below.

To request support with the templates or to provide feedback, please contact UBC Science LT at LT.support@science.ubc.ca. UBC Science also offers weekly LT drop-in sessions. For more information and the drop-in schedule, please visit our Training and Support page.

Getting Started

There are two templates available to UBC Science instructors: one is organized in a module structure and the other is organized in a weekly structure. To see examples of the templates, enroll in the following courses:

The templates are available through the Canvas Commons, where they can be imported directly into a course, either partly or in full. They include placeholder text that instructors can edit and replace with their own content.

Import the whole template

  1. Log into Canvas
  2. Click on the Commons icon from the left global navigation menu
  3. In the search bar, type UBC Science Canvas Template and press the Enter key.
  4. Two courses will appear: one for module structure and another for weekly structure. Click the one you want to use.
  5. Click on the Preview tab to review the template before importing.
  6. When you are ready to import the template into your course, click on the Import/Download button.
  7. Select the course you want to import the template into.
  8. Click Import into Course; the template will be applied to your course.
  9. Go to your Dashboard and click on your course.
  10. Refer to the page entitled “Instructor: How to use the UBC Science Canvas Template” in the template for instructions on how to edit the content within the template.

Import select content from the template

  1. Log into Canvas
  2. Click on the Commons icon from the left global navigation menu.
  3. In the search bar, type UBC Science Canvas Template and press the Enter key.
  4. Two courses will appear - one for module structure and another for weekly structure. Click into the one you want to use.
  5. Click on the Preview tab to review the template before importing.
  6. When you are ready to import into your course, click on the Import/Download button.
  7. A list of your courses will appear. Do not select any course(s). Scroll to the end of the page and click click on the Download button. This will download a zip file to your computer.
  8. Go to your Dashboard and click on the course you want to import the template content into.
  9. Click on Settings from the course navigation menu.
  10. Click on Import Course Content.
  11. Under the Content Type drop down menu, select Common Cartridge 1.x Package.
  12. Click choose file and browse for the zip file you downloaded in Step 7.
  13. Select Specific Content.
  14. Click Import.
  15. Under Current Jobs at the bottom of the page, click on the Select Content button.
  16. Select the template content you wish to import into your course.
  17. After all the items are selected, click on the Select Content button.
  18. Go to your course and the content will be imported.
  19. Refer to the page titled “Instructor: How to use the Science Canvas Template” in the template for instructions on how to edit the content within the template.

Last updated on: May 30, 2024

Learning technology support

For questions related to learning technology, please email us at LT.support@science.ubc.ca or join our virtual drop-in sessions every Monday (1-3pm) and Wednesday (12-2pm).

Musqueam First Nation land acknowledegement

UBC Science acknowledges that the UBC Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm.

Learn more: Musqueam First Nation

Skylight: Science Centre for Learning and Teaching


E-mail skylight@science.ubc.ca

Faculty of Science

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