Removing a Module from Commons

[j_hornick]

I have shared a number of modules to the Canvas Commons for faculty at my institution to import into their Canvas course shells.

There are some that I no longer wish to have available in Commons, and do not have plans to update the content.

How do I remove a module I have previously shared to Commons?

[Gabriel33]

I can see a "trashcan" symbol on the top right of my shared elements (go to Commons, then click Shared on the top of the screen).

Clicking it asks me if I want to permanently delete the item.

[j_hornick]

Unfortunately, the modules that I shared do not show up in the "Shared" space in commons when I click on that tab (see attached screenshots).

Is there another way to remove them from Commons?

[Gabriel33]

You're on the list view (which I wasn't aware even existed until now), but I can still delete my modules by going to the 3-dot menu on the right, and choosing remove from commons:

Alternatively, if I open my modules, I also have a "remove from commons" option on the top right.

But since you are not seeing it in your "shared", is it possible that you have a second account?

[j_hornick]

This is the only account I have - through my institution.

I do not have the option to remove the files in the vertical ellipsis menu (see attached), nor do I have any option to remove when I open the module up.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @j_hornick ...

I just tried sharing an entire module from my sandbox course to Canvas Commons.  I then went to the "Shared" tab at the top of Commons, and I am able to remove it via the trashcan icon at the top right corner of the item.

This might be a longshot, but one thought I had was if your e-mail address has changed at all since you first uploaded the module(s) to Canvas Commons?  If you take a look at the first bullet point in the light blue box of this Guide, How do I use Commons?, it says you need to have an e-mail address associated with your Canvas account.  I wouldn't think this would be the issue, but if your e-mail address in Canvas was different than the e-mail address that was first used to authenticate into Commons, maybe that might be playing a part???  Again, I have no evidence or back-end knowledge to back this up, so it's pure speculation on my part.

Also, since I have admin rights in Canvas, I was looking to see if there were any other settings within Canvas that would prevent me from deleting something I've previously shared.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anything.

You might consider reaching out to Canvas Tech Support to see if they could help resolve this for you...or at least help you figure out the reason why you can't see the resource(s) you've previously shared.

Good luck to you!  Keep us posted here in the Community!

[j_hornick]

Thanks for the reply, but, unfortunately, I do not see a garbage can on the modules I have shared to Commons (see attached).

And no, my email has not changed. 🙁 Looks like Tech Support is my next stop. I'll also check with our campus Canvas administrator.

I appreciate the replies!

[NancyRuzycki]

I have the same issue. I am at a university and published some courses to canvas commons, that I no longer want public as we created new courses to replace. I want to keep the course in my sandbox at the university, but not make it publicly available. Did you every get this foxed?

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @NancyRuzycki ...

Are you an instructor?  A Canvas administrator?  If you were the one that shared a course to Canvas Commons, you should be able to delete it as well...using the same account.

Also, you said that you want to keep the course in your sandbox.  This should be fine.  Once you import a course from Commons into your course, there isn't much of a connection between the two any more.  (The only connection that I know of would be if you were sharing a course to Commons, someone imports the shared course from Commons to their own course shell, you then update the original course and re-share it to Commons, and the other instructor later goes to Commons where he/she is notified that an update has been made and has the option to update his/her course.)

If you could share some additional details about your setup as it relates to sharing your course to Commons ... and maybe a screenshot or two of what you are seeing, that would be helpful.

Thanks!

[NancyRuzycki]

Hi Chris

I am faculty instructor. UF has it's own Canvas. I make sandboxes for curriculum for grant projects and then publish and update from within my UF canvas into the Canvas commons. I do not login to Commons, I just share from the settings tool inside my canvas sandbox.   We do update courses in commons. If you go to commons and search on my last name, you will see all the courses we have in commons. There are some courses/summer camps, I made new shells for, that were formally combined into one shell, and want to delete the one shell that is no longer needed. 

[NancyRuzycki]

Within my UF shell, there is no option to delete the shared version that is in Commons. There is no way to delete a shell at all in the Canvas portal on my end, either for shells I made through UF or for what I have on commons. 

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there @NancyRuzycki ...

Thanks for posting both of your replies.  I searched for your last name in Canvas Commons, and I can see the 12 courses that have your name attached to them.  You said that you are an instructor at the University of Florida.  Have you been in contact with UF's Canvas administrator or someone from UF's Online Learning / eLearning / Distance Education team?  They should be able to help you remove those unwanted shared courses in Canvas Commons.  I did a quick search of your university's website, and I found this page:

e-Learning | University of Florida

It looks like they have a wealth of helpful links for you under the heading INSTRUCTOR HELP at the top of this page.  You might be able to find contact information with there.  Or, at the bottom of the link I provided, I noticed a link to a learning-support @ ufl.edu e-mail address (though I am not sure if that goes directly to their e-Learning team or not).

I hope this will be of some help to you.  Good luck to you!