Hi,
Is there any way to restore a module that was accidently deleted in a associated blueprint course? The module still exist in the blueprint master, but I we can't "bring it back" in the associated course.
Hi,
Is there any way to restore a module that was accidently deleted in a associated blueprint course? The module still exist in the blueprint master, but I we can't "bring it back" in the associated course.
Hi there, Christian Knoph!
I don't have a lot of experience with Blueprint courses - so your question certainly has me intrigued! I am going to share your question with Canvas Admins to get some extra eyes for some help!
Cheers!
Christian Knoph - I have tried various scenarios involving Modules with Blueprint courses, and I cannot say that the assertion made in the documentation regarding them always holds true:
Modules created from a blueprint course and deleted from an associated course will be restored to the bottom of the Modules page in the associated course in the next sync.
. . . as you are finding out! This is rather surprising, given the new importance of Modules with their being the default Home page in Canvas course sites. Even if I head to an associated course and create a module on my own, that alone is not enough to cause the modules in the Blueprint site to re-sync the Modules at that are in the Blueprint, as I had hoped, since the documentation indicates the Blueprint modules would then be moved to the bottom of the Modules page.
At the moment, it appears that the best thing you can do is vote up the following well-documented Feature Idea from Linda J. Lee: Blueprint: Make Modules lockable . Linda has vast, real-world experience with Blueprint courses, and you would do well to follow her blog postings, starting here: Lessons Learned about Blueprint Courses: Introduction . As you can see, Linda is planning to modules in a future blog post. I hope she has had more luck than I have had in coming up with a work-around when modules fail to sync properly. The sooner Canvas makes makes them lockable Blueprint items, the better.
My understanding of how this *should* work (based on extensive testing and many exchanges with Instructure support and our CSM) is that the module should be restored to the associated course when the next sync happens -- which is exactly what the documentation states. However, I just tried this in one of my test sites, and experienced what you reported. I tried syncing content, syncing content with course settings, adding a new item to the module (in the Blueprint) that had been deleted in the associated site, etc. None of these syncs restored the module. (Note: all of the items in the module were locked.) This seems to be a recent change in behavior.
In looking at the "sync history," I see that the deleted module (Alt Week 2) is listed as an exception, but there's no additional information about that exception when I click the "open" arrow. (How do I view the sync history for a blueprint course as an instructor?) Usually the exceptions indicate which associated courses didn't apply the changes. See screen grab:
Recreating the module in the associated course may provide a short-term work-around, but that module won't sync with the Blueprint. If you don't anticipate needing to make changes, it might be okay. However, you'd have to remember that this is an exception in the event of future syncs.
Have you opened a support case about this? When we've experienced similar issues with items being deleted accidentally but not being restored automatically upon a subsequent sync, we've needed Instructure Support to assist.
I'm sorry I don't have a better suggestion for you.
Ken Black and Linda J. Lee thank you for the detailed reply and for taking time to replicate the problem, I will make sure to read the blogs and read both your entries regarding Blueprint.
I have reached out to Canvas support and hopefully this is just a bug that they fix in the next release. I'm also getting the exception when trying to sync the courses with no explanation. When I hear more from support I will update this post.
EDIT:
Canvas CMS has cofirmed that there is conflicting documentation regarding the delete function with blueprint parent and child course. The intended way for this function is that if you delete a module in a child course, it will not be possible to restore on new sync from parent course. I was told that they will update the documentation soon.
Christian Knoph -- Thank you for the updated information you learned about the deletion of modules. The contradictions between functionality and documentation emphasize the need to improvements in how modules work with Blueprint courses (see Blueprint: Make Modules lockable).
Did your CMS say what would happen (or what *should* happen) to the locked content contained within modules (for instance, locked assignments or files or pages)? Presumably, these items would continue to exist within a Canvas site, though not necessarily be accessible to students (if, for instance, Pages or Files are hidden).
To be honest I haven't used the locked feature with Blueprint and did not ask my CMS regarding that feature. I hope that the revision of the Blueprint documentation will sort this out.
Hi Christian Knoph,
I suspect that leaving the content unlocked makes a difference here, as locked and unlocked content in Blueprint courses behave quite differently:
So if you want to make sure that items stay in sync between the Blueprint and Child courses, you want to be sure to lock those items (pages, files, assignments, quizzes, and discussions can all be locked) within the Blueprint. (I talk about this in Lessons Learned about Blueprint Courses: Replacing Course Copy Workflows.) Locking the items (pages, assignments, etc.) in the Blueprint course would prevent them from being accidentally deleted in the child course.
Modules in Blueprint courses are ambiguous because they cannot be locked, but they behave like locked items in some ways and like unlocked items in other ways (see Blueprint: Make Modules lockable). And a module can contain items that are locked (pages, assignments, files, etc.), but itself cannot be locked.
I hope this helps!
Best,
Linda
Hello,
one of our partners has used the "undelete" to restore the deleted itens in the child course, and then the itens were synced automatically once the sync command was used in the parent course.
Best,
Jorge
Ken Black and Linda J. Lee thank you for the detailed reply and for taking time to replicate the problem, I will make sure to read the blogs and read both your entries regarding Blueprint.
I have reached out to Canvas support and hopefully this is just a bug that they fix in the next release. I'm also getting the exception when trying to sync the courses with no explanation. When I hear more from support I will update this post.
EDIT:
Canvas CMS has cofirmed that there is conflicting documentation regarding the delete function with blueprint parent and child course. The intended way for this function is that if you delete a module in a child course, it will not be possible to restore on new sync from parent course. I was told that they will update the documentation soon.