[ARCHIVED] Creating multiple courses

[kevinw]

Yo, 

Is there a way I can create multiple courses at once? 

I ask because we have a course we use in commons as a master and then we export this course into blank courses. It's just kind of a pain to go through and create one course after another. Especially considering there could be 20+ courses that will be populated by the material in commons. 

[kona]

 @kevinw , I don't believe it will solve your problem exactly, but this should help a lot - https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-11513-canvas-release-blueprint-courses?sr=search&searchId=f...‌

[kevinw]

Ah, the infamous blueprint is out. I'll have to check this out. Is there a way to get on some kind of mailing list for Canvas admins so that I know when stuff like this drops? 

[abunag]

I'd suggest talking to your school's admin team (or if you're the school admin, your CSM) to get added to the distro list.  There's also a schedule posted for when Beta and Prod release notes come out if you'd rather just do it that way.  Here's the overview of it: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1384-what-is-the-canvas-release-schedule-for-beta-productio... 

[kona]

I'm on the email list and subscribe to the https://community.canvaslms.com/community/answers/releases?sr=search&searchId=cc39e196-ccce-418d-82e...‌ in the Community. 

[shane_ohara]

 @kevinw , are you looking to create courses or apply content for one course to another? I am not sure which you are looking to do? Both?

Shane

[kevinw]

Both yes. So to import from commons you have to have an empty published course. The question was how to create several empty courses in one swoop. 

I do have an e-mail out to my CSM to see if blue print would be a better option. The only thing I'm worried about is the re-structuring. When we first started up commons was really the only way to have a "master course". Now that blue print is out that's changed but the work involved in "un-tying" these course from commons and "re-tying" these course back to black print sounds like it could be a head ache. 

[shane_ohara · Accepted solution]

If you have admin access to your Canvas instance, then you can create courses in bulk using a csv file. Everything you need can be found at SIS Import Format Documentation - Canvas LMS REST API Documentation. Alternatively, you can create courses by API by using Courses - Canvas LMS REST API Documentation. I am not sure which you would be the most comfortable with, but there are options to create courses quite easily.

Shane

[kevinw]

Thanks Shane. 

Another quick question. I am an account admin for a non-profit. I don't have a huge background in computing so I see all this stuff Canvas can do that could be useful that I don't know how to do. For example, I see stuff like this which is all really useful but I'm not sure what to do with this information. Like this:

curl 'https://<canvas>/api/v1/accounts/<account_id>/roles.json' \      -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" \      -F 'label=New Role' \      -F 'permissions[read_course_content][explicit]=1' \      -F 'permissions[read_course_content][enabled]=1' \      -F 'permissions[read_course_list][locked]=1' \      -F 'permissions[read_question_banks][explicit]=1' \      -F 'permissions[read_question_banks][enabled]=0' \      -F 'permissions[read_question_banks][locked]=1'

Where do I go to type this in if I want to return the results of this query? 

[shane_ohara]

You could use a tool like Postman Postman | Supercharge your API workflow or a Terminal window to make API calls. It might be something to work towards and use CSV files and the SIS Import function through the GUI until you are more comfortable.

[kevinw]

You're the man. I'd like to send you a message so we can take this conversation elsewhere. Would you mind opening up that line of communication for me? 

[shane_ohara]

Email sent.