Page templates (dynamic) - does such a thing exist?

[JWThomas]

I'm searching for a way to have a dynamic template for a single type of page, like a discussion. The point would be to have the ability to make global changes to this type of page but not have to redo the content that would be unique to each page. One way of looking at this is like Blueprint, but working at the page level. (I think even if I created a master/template copy of the course to use as a Blueprint, I'd still have to chance each instance of the page manually...?)

For example, I have a course with sixteen discussions. It would be great if I could update the generic parts of the discussion (e.g. Netiquette) on all pages at once, but still have an area for the actual prompt content that won't be changed in any of the discussion.

This kind of feature is common in web design, for example.

I probably could do this with HTML/CSS/embeds but I'm not sure if IT security issues would prevent this, plus it would be cumbersome to change.

Is there a way within Canvas to do this? - Thanks! Jim

[ProfessorBeyrer · Accepted solution]

That's an excellent idea, @JWThomas, and something that I've struggled with too. In my classes I have six writing assignments, and for each I have some resources that I want easily accessible to students. One is a set of online repositories of primary sources, and that can change within a semester as my students discover ones that are new to me. In this case I created a Google Doc with those links. That way I only have to provide the link in the assignment instructions, and I can edit once instead of six (or sixteen!) times. I like link instead of embedding because I'm not a fan of how different browsers interpret the <iframe>.

I'm going to mark my response as a solution, but there can be more than one. I hope our colleagues here in the Community can share other options for getting this important information to teachers inside Canvas.