Exporting/Importing courses

[JimDuane]

I need to bring and Publish a Canvas course from last year so I can edit and reuse the course for 2023?

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @JimDuane ...

Assuming that you have taught the course already at least once in Canvas, it's possible to import a course from a previous semester (or another section of the same course running in the same semester) to an empty course shell in Canvas.  The easiest way to do this is to use the Course Import Tool.  You'll want to be signed in to your empty course shell (the course that will be running soon in 2023).  Then, you'll be selecting the course that has the content in it to bring in the content to the empty course.  I like to think of this as "source" (where the content currently lives) and a "destination" (where the content will be going to) courses.

How do I copy content from another Canvas course using the Course Import tool?

Use the above Guide to carry out the course import process.  Also, if you only want to copy certain parts of your course, you could use this Guide:

How do I select specific content as part of a course import?

This short video tutorial also summarizes both of the Guides I've linked to above:

Course Content Import (Instructors)

There are other ways to copy individual pieces of a course from one course to another, but I think the Guides I've given you for now will be most beneficial.  Please let Community members know if you have any other questions about this...thanks!

[SusanNiemeyer]

Adding to @Chris_Hofer 's post, here are three very helpful tips.

Make sure to click on the box to "Adjust the dates." Then you can either "remove" or "shift" the dates. Personally, I prefer to simply "remove" them as "shifting" them hasn't worked as well. If you don't "adjust" the dates, then you will be stick with old assignment dates.

I recommend that you "select" the content you wish to import. Otherwise, you'll end up with all of the old announcements and calendar events. 

Remember that everything that was "published" in your old course will come over as "published." I recommend that you unpublish everything before the semester begins. Unfortunately, you'll have to unpublish every single item individually.