I do not understand "Importing the same course content more than once will overwrite ..."

[carol_rogers]

I do not understand this message:  "Importing the same course content more than once will overwrite any existing content in the course." 

Here is what I want to do:

I imported QUIZ from Course 2021 into Course 2022.  Then I edited it in Course 2022.  After my students take QUIZ in 2022, I would like to make a copy of it in Course 2022 for the students to use for practice.  I am worried that this will cause it to revert to the unedited version from Course 2021.  Is that true, and if so, how do I proceed?

I also do not understand "overwrite any existing content in the course."  It's the word "any."  What does that mean?

Thanks for any clarification that you can provide.

[SusanNiemeyer]

It's a very poorly worded warning. I wish that the Canvas developers would clarify it. Really, very poorly worded.

Here's what I think it means: Let's say you import a quiz from Course 2021 into Course 2022 and edit the quiz in Course 2022. Then, if you try to import the same quiz from Course 2021 into Course 2022, the edited version will be lost. 

My recommendation to Canvas is to add the word "target." That would give us "Importing the same course content more than once will overwrite any existing content in the TARGET course."

That being said, you're right that the word "any" is still problematic. That implies that all of the existing content in the target course could be overwritten. Again, this is a big fail on the part of the Canvas developers.

[carol_rogers]

Thanks for your reply.  

[DW93]

I ran into same warning recently. The university IT does not help me that much. Just to confirm: Let’s assume there was an Exam 0 from the 2024 Spring, In the 2025 Spring, I would like to have Exam 1, 2, and 3 built from Exam 0. When I create Exam 1, I should copy from Exam 0. When I create Exam 2, I should copy from Exam 1 (instead of Exam 0). Similarly, for Exam 3, I should copy from Exam 2 (instead of Exam 0 and 1).    Am I correct about that?

[SusanNiemeyer]

Yes, I think this is the best course of action. Just "import" once from Spring 2024 and then create new content for Spring 2025. 

Before each semester begins, I always "import" anything that I'm going to want in at one time. I prefer to import "selected" content so that I bring over my course settings, modules, and question banks. I always "remove" the dates during this process. I find that "shifting" dates doesn't work that well. 

I hope this helps.