Canvas Site Templates

From Help Wiki



Canvas is the LMS (Learning Management System) we use at Evergreen. See below for curricular template and content cloning options and how to apply them to your site.

Curricular Template Options for Canvas

  • Three options are currently available for program and course sites.
  • Click on the name of an option below to view a demo site of that option (from the student perspective):

Evergreen Curricular Template 2020-2021 (aka "Teaching modules course template")

  • This template was designed for Evergreen by educational content providers, Six Red Marbles, in August 2020.
  • The Teaching modules course template features instructional design guidance, a "Welcome" and day-to-day sample module (does not include dates), and provides pre-populated content at the Canvas Syllabus page
  • The full version also emphasizes use of the built-in Syllabus page but features 3 different examples for structuring modules (daily, weekly, thematic). It is available for download at Canvas Commons. (See the "How to Apply a Template to Your Canvas Site" section below for instructions.)

Dated Weekly Modules with Home Page (2020-2021)

  • 11 weekly modules will auto-populate your site with the current term's dates, along with break week if needed.
  • This template also includes a Home Page that outlines what information to post at the home page for students.

No Template

  • An empty Canvas shell with no particular structure.
  • Select this if you need content copied from a Canvas site that does not appear under the "Clone an existing Canvas site" option.
  • And then submit a request at help.evergreen.edu indicating which Canvas site you would like imported. Please include name of offering(s), term(s), and year(s).
  • If you would like content copied from another faculty's Canvas site, we will contact that faculty to confirm permission before any content is copied over to your site.


How to Apply a Template to Your Canvas Site

When self-selecting/activating Canvas for your program or course, choose "Create a new site" and use the drop-down menu under "Template to use for site" to select one of the following options:

  • Teaching modules course template
  • Dated weekly modules per term course template


Or use the "Clone an existing Canvas site" option to copy content from one of your previous Canvas courses.

Please note: the "Create a new site" option and clone content option can not be applied at the same time.


The full version of the Evergreen Curricular (Teaching Modules) Template is available for download from the Canvas Commons:
  • The full template includes all 3 module structures (daily, weekly, thematic) and pre-populated content at the Canvas Syllabus page
  • Please see this illustrated Canvas guide for how to download and import the template into your Canvas site, How do I import and view a Commons resource in Canvas?


If your site already contains content:

  • Add template content to existing content (modules, pages, discussions, etc) and organize/delete content as needed
  • Delete all existing content before importing the full template by resetting your Canvas site
    • IMPORTANT!: resetting the site will wipe/erase all content (that can not be recovered) and will change the site's URL
Need help applying the full version to your site?

Please submit a request to help.evergreen.edu which includes:

  • your name
  • name of your offering and its Canvas site URL
  • that you'd like the full curricular template applied to your site
  • and whether you'd like to add to existing content or wipe all content


Academic Technologies staff can reset your site and import a template for you...

but if you’d like to give it a try:

1. Use “Reset Course Content” to wipe all existing content from the site
  • Click “Settings” at bottom of Course Navigation
  • At next page, click “Reset Course Content” (at right of page)
2. After the course has been reset, use “Import from Commons”:
  • Click “Home” at top of Course Navigation
  • At the Home page, click “Import from Commons” at right
3. At the Canvas Commons, enter “Evergreen” in search bar
  • Click on the result for “Evergreen Canvas Template 2020-2021”
  • At the template page, click the blue “Import/Download” button at right
  • In the slide-out “Import/Download” window, you should see a list of the Canvas sites you are associated with
    • check the box for the offering you want to import the template into (double-check term and year)
    • or – enter the name of the offering in the search bar, and then check the box
  • Then click the blue “Import into Course” button
  • After using the button, you should be returned to the template page and see a message along top that says, “You have successfully started the import! It may take a little while to see changes in your course.”
4. Go back to the offering’s Canvas site and customize the template as needed.

Need Canvas Tech Help?

  • When using Canvas and you encounter an issue, click on Help in the lower left corner of the Canvas site.
    • This opens a pop-up window with different help options such as:
      • Search the Canvas Guides - view help documentation by Instructure (the makers of Canvas)
      • Report a Problem - submit a help ticket via Canvas which goes to your Academic Technologies team
      • Ask the Community - a lively forum with answers to many Canvas questions
  • If you are unable to access/log in to Canvas, submit a help ticket to Academic Technologies or from the upper right corner of your MyEvergreen page.


Canvas Orientation for Faculty

Walk through this self-paced online course for an overview of the Canvas interface along with some of the tools and features used in building a basic modules-based site.
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