A Couple Of Questions Regarding Course Templates

[matt_elphick]

Hi everyone,

I've had a quick scan of the discussions and guides, but I couldn't find answers to a couple of my questions. Apologies if the answers to these already exist in the wild - feel free to point me in the right direction!

I've been designing generic course templates which I'm intending to upload to Commons so that they can be downloaded and applied to course pages for those tutors that aren't overly confident at using the design tools. What I want to know is...

- If a tutor has already uploaded files to an empty course shell, will these files be overwritten/deleted by importing a template? My template includes a single .pdf file if that makes any difference.

- I have linked through to the modules section from the course homepage (using an image as a clickable link). If this template is applied to a course shell, will the link update automatically, based on whatever the new course code is, or will the tutor need to update the link?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[adachung_ihub]

Hi Matt,

I am also investigating the use of course templates recently.

From my experience, I don't think the imported new template will overwritten any existing items in the course. For the clickable link, if it's a link related to a course with a specific url, I guess tutor need to update the link for every new course in order to point to the right location.

Hope I can help. Cheers!

[adachung_ihub]

For your second question, I am not quite sure. If anyone got a clue, please correct me.

[matt_elphick]

Thanks,  @adachung_ihub ​

[travis_thurston · Accepted solution]

matt.elphick​,

1. If you are importing new content into a course that already has content it will not override it. It will add to the content that exists. Is the pdf instructions on how to make a course? You could create a template with course pages too. I have found the Commons Guide to be helpful as I've learned how sharing resources works.

2. Generally speaking, we use clickable links on home or front pages all of the time. When course content is copied to a new course the links are updated to the new course id. Having said that, I would recommend having instructors or TA's check to make sure that the link has been updated.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks!

[matt_elphick]

Thanks for the response,  @travis_thurston ​, that's super helpful!

[emily]

An important exception to this is the course syllabus.  If you have customized the course syllabus with text - even "Paste your syllabus here" - it will REPLACE any customizations your faculty have already made to the course syllabus page.

The order/selection of navigation links will also override any changes they have made.

Emily

[matt_elphick]

Thanks for the added info,  @emily ​