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Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources. A digital library full of educational content, Commons allows Canvas users to share learning resources with other users as well as import learning resources into a Canvas course.
Getting Started with Commons
To enable Commons in your Canvas instance, please contact your Customer Success Manager. To access Commons, you need to have an email address associated with your Canvas account.
Notes:
- Commons is available in all Free for Teacher (FFT) accounts. Free for Teacher users are limited to finding, importing, and sharing public resources.
- Commons includes similar functionality with Blueprint Courses. To learn more about Blueprint Courses, see the Course Distribution Comparison resource document.
What can I do with Commons?
- Create a personal learning object repository
- Build a course from scratch with relevant materials shared by other Canvas users
- Create a name for yourself and your institution as a subject matter expert
Find Resources in Commons
Find resources by searching for a specific keyword, author, institution, or title.
Import to Canvas
Import a resource into a Canvas course. Once the import to Canvas is complete, you can start using and customizing your resource.
Share to Commons
Share resources you create in Canvas with other Canvas users, with colleagues and groups at your institution, or with only you.
Update Resources
If you modify a resource (learning activity) in Canvas that was previously shared to Commons, you can share the modified resource to Commons again. The existing resource will be updated in Commons.
InstContentTeam
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In this video, you will learn about Canvas Commons.
Last updated 2023-06-02
View the script for this video
To view subtitles for this video, click the 
Video overviews reflect current feature functionality in Canvas; they are updated based on workflow changes, not on minor or non-functional interface enhancements. Depending on your institution's Canvas theme, the Canvas interface may display differently than shown in this video, but the functionality is the same.
Commons Overview Video Script
In this video, you will learn about Canvas Commons. Commons is a learning object repository that allows instructors to share and import educational resources.
To open Commons, click the Commons link in Global Navigation. In the Commons navigation menu, you can search for resources, view resources you have shared, view resources you have imported, view any updates to imported resources, and view resources marked as a favorite.
You can share most Canvas content types to Commons, including courses, modules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, pages, documents, video and audio files, and images. To share a resource from your Canvas course, click the Share to Commons link. The link or button may vary depending on what type of resource you are sharing. If this is an update to an existing resource, select the Is this an update to a previously shared resource toggle. To share the resource to Commons, click the Share button. Then, select the sharing settings for the new resource. Sharing settings determine which users can find and import the resource. Select a license for your resource from the License drop-down menu. Enter the Metadata for the resource, including the title, description, and applicable tags. To select a cover image for the resource, click the Click to change button. You can upload an image from your computer or select one using the image search. Select the grade levels for the resource.
To find and import a resource from Commons, type a keyword into the search bar. Use the Sort by drop-down menu to sort search results. You can filter resources by approved resources, resource type, Grade or level, or by sharing settings. Click the resource title to view resource details. You can preview the resource and view resource details and version notes, if applicable. You can also view the number of times a resource has been favorited and imported or downloaded, the date the resource was shared or updated, and license information. To import or download the resource, click the Import/Download button. To download the resource to your computer, click the Download button. To import the resource, click the checkbox next to a course or multiple courses. You can search for courses using the Search field. Then, click the Import into Course button. Canvas will begin importing the resource into the selected course. Note that imported resources count toward course storage quotas. Depending on the size of the file, the import may take some time to complete.
Resources you have previously imported may be updated by the user who shared the resource. Click the Updates link in the Commons navigation to view any available updates. To update the resource in your course, click the Update button. If the resource was imported into multiple courses, select the courses in which you want to update the resource, then click the Update selected button. To ignore the update, click the Dismiss or Dismiss selected button.
You can keep track of your favorite resources by adding resources to your Favorites list. On the resource details page, click the Add to Favorites link. On the Favorites page, you can view and manage your Favorite resources. Favorite resources can be viewed and imported using the Commons tool in the Rich Content Editor in Canvas. Click the Commons button and find a resource using the search field and filters. Click the resource to import it into the Rich Content Editor. Note that only documents, audio and video files, and images can be imported into the Rich Content Editor. The resource will also be imported into your course files.
You've now completed this overview video on Commons. For additional information on this or any other topic about Canvas, please visit guides.canvaslms.com. You can also ask questions and engage with other Canvas users by visiting community.canvaslms.com.
emily_allen
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You can use Commons to search for and import content into your Canvas courses. You can also share resources to Commons from your Canvas courses.
Learn more about Canvas Commons.
Notes:
- To enable Commons in your Canvas instance, please contact your Customer Success Manager. To access Commons, you need to have an email address associated with your Canvas account.
- Users who can create or edit course content in Canvas also have access to Commons. This includes Admins, Teachers, Designers, and TAs. If an institution does not want student TAs to have access to Commons, an account admin should create a custom TA role in Canvas that does not have permission to create or edit course content.
- Commons is available in all Free for Teacher (FFT) accounts. Free for Teacher users are limited to finding, importing, and sharing public resources.
- The Resource Previews feature is currently an optional feature and must be enabled by an administrator in Commons. If your institution has not enabled Resource Previews, the resource details page may look different.
Open Commons
In Global Navigation, click the Commons link.
Find Resources
A resource in Commons can be a course, module, quiz, assignment, discussion, page, document, video, image, or audio file. Each resource type has a unique icon. Look for these related colors and icons when searching for resources. To find resources in Commons, use the search field [1]. You can search for keywords such as author, institution, or title. You can also search by outcome, consortium, or group.
To sort search results, click the Sort by drop-down menu [2].
To apply search filters to your search, click the Filter button [3].
Based on your selected filters, the number of results are displayed in the page [4]. To search everything available to you in Commons, leave the search field and filters blank.
You can also view featured content in the results page [5]. Featured content includes high quality content that is featured in the Commons search page. Featured content can be imported or downloaded like any other content in Commons.
Note: Depending on the account settings set by your Canvas admin, you may be unable to view and/or share public content.
Filter Search Results
To narrow your search, or to search by filter, use one or more of the filter options:
- Approved Resources [1]: If your admin has enabled approved resources, you can filter results to only show approved resources.
- Type [2]: You can filter by resource type (e.g., Courses, Modules, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Pages, Documents, Images, Videos, or Audio).
- Content Types [3]: You can filter by template or open textbook.
- Grade/Levels [4]: You can select specific grades or level of education to narrow your search (e.g., K-12, Undergraduate, Graduate).
- Shared With [5]: You can filter results by resources shared publicly, in your account, in a group, or in a consortium.
View Resources in Card View
When search results are displayed in Card View, resource details are displayed on content cards. Each card displays the following details:
- Approved Resource icon [1]: Identify institution-approved resources. Note that the approved resources feature must be enabled by an account admin.
- Resource icon [2]: Identify the resource type
- Title [3]: To preview a resource, view more details, or import a resource, click the resource title
- Grade level(s) [4]: View the grade/level of the resource
- Author [5]: View the author of the resource
- Downloads and Favorites icons [6]: View the number of times a resource has been downloaded and imported or added as a favorite.
To view resources in a list, click the Switch to list view link [7].
View Resources in List View
In the List View, resources display in a list format.
To sort the list in alphabetic or reverse alphabetic order, click the Title sort icon [1].
To sort the list in alphabetic or numeric order for additional parameters, select a parameter and click the Sort icon [2].
To preview a resource, view more details, or import a resource, click the resource name link [3].
To designate a resource as a favorite, locate the resource in the list and click the Favorite icon [4].
The Resource added to favorites message displays [5].
To view the quick actions, click the Options icon [6]. Resource owners can Remove from Commons [7], Edit resource [8], Download [9], or Copy resource link [10] without opening the resource. Non-resource owners can only Download and Copy resource link.
To browse the resource list, click the Page Forward and Page Back icons [7].
View Resource
The content overview page loads the Preview tab by default. The sidebar contains further information and links:
- Favorites and Downloads [1]: Displays the number of times a resource has been added as a favorite or downloaded
- Date of last update [2]: Date when content was last updated by an author
- License [3]: Displays either the Copyright or Creative Commons content license
- Thumbnail and Approved Icon [4]: Resource thumbnail and, if applicable, the approved resource icon
- Import/Download button [5]: Button to download or import the resource
- Size and Type [6]: Size of resource file(s) and the type of content
- Favorites button [7]: Add the resource to your Favorites
- Copy Resource Link button [8]: Copy the resource link to your clipboard
View Resource Preview
To preview resource content, click the Preview tab. The Preview tab is shown by default.
View Resource Details
In the Details tab, you can view a summary of the resource and related information:
- Description [1]: A brief explanation or summary of the resource
- Author(s) [2]: User(s) who shared the resource
- Account [3]: The account from which the resource was shared
- Grade/Level [4]: The suggested grade level(s) for the resource
- Tags [5]: Relevant tags or keywords to identify the resource
- Duration [6]: Duration of an audio or video file. Only applicable to audio or video resources
- Outcomes [7]: Outcomes linked to a resource. Only applicable to resources with linked outcomes
- Shared With [8]: Sharing settings (account, group(s), consortium(s), public, private)
- Reviews [9]: Reviews by other users
When you are ready to import a resource, click the Import/Download button and select a course.
Note: Not all resources will display all details. Listed details depend on the type of resource and information provided by the author.
View Version Notes
To view any updates made to the resource, click the Version notes tab. Updates are sorted by date and time and may include a description of changes made.
Share a Resource
You can share a variety of resources to Commons from your Canvas course, including a Canvas course, course content, and files.
Note: Only course instructors can course content to Commons. Admins can add course content to Commons if they act as an instructor of the course.
View Commons Guides
To view a list of helpful Commons guides, click the Guides link.
Access Commons Guides
To access all the Commons guides, click the Canvas Commons Guides link [1]. To access a specific Commons guide, click the link of the corresponding guide [2].
Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Help
You can access the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Help in the footer in any page in Commons.
emily_allen
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You can import courses, modules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, pages, or files from Commons into your Canvas course. Imported resources retain their original published or unpublished status.
Notes:
- To enable Commons in your Canvas instance, please contact your Customer Success Manager.
- Commons is available in all Free for Teacher (FFT) accounts. Free for Teacher users are limited to finding, importing, and sharing public resources.
- Standard Canvas file storage limits apply.
- Student data remains private when sharing and importing resources.
- Imported Commons resources retain their options/settings in the new course except for their due dates.
- Commons currently does not support sharing/importing question banks associated with a quiz.
- Studio content cannot be shared to or imported from Commons.
Open Commons
In Global Navigation, click the Commons link.
Find Resource
Locate a resource by using the search field [1].
You can sort resources by Most Relevant, Latest, Most Favorited, or Most Downloaded [2].
You can also filter search results by approved content, type of content, grade/level, and sharing settings [3]. Learn more about searching in Commons.
Note: Importing content from Commons only displays course options from the instance where you launched Commons.
Open Resource
To view resource details, click the resource title.
Note: Resources can be opened in a new tab by pressing Command (Mac) or Control (PC) while clicking the resource name in the Search page, or, by right clicking the name of the resource.
View Resource
To import or download the resource, click the Import/Download button.
Import Resource
Search for the course(s) into which you would like to import the resource [1], or select the course(s) from the list [2]. Then, click the Import into Course button [3].
To download the file to your computer, click the Download button [4].
Notes:
- Canvas users enrolled in a course as an Instructor, TA, Designer, or a custom role based on one of the previously listed roles will see the Import into Course list, provided that the course they are enrolled in is current.
- If a course is set to override term dates and the Users can only participate in the course between these dates checkbox is selected, the course will appear in the course list if the course end date is not in the past.
- If a course uses term dates, the course will appear in the course list if the term start date is not in the future and the end date is not in the past.
Import Warning Message
If you are importing a file that exceeds 500MB, Commons will generate a warning message notifying you that the import may not be successful.
Resource Pending Message
If you try to import a resource that is still pending, the Import into Course button will be inactive, and Commons will display a message notifying you the resource is still processing.
View Import Notification
View the import status notification at the top of your screen. Please note that it may take a while to see changes in your course.
View Imported Resource
To view imported resources other than a course, navigate to the feature area (e.g., Modules, Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Pages, or Files) in Course Navigation.
Note: Content shared through Commons retains the published/unpublished status of the item when it was originally shared. If you import content that was published when it was originally shared, it will import and be published in your course.
Import Status Notification
If the resource is still being imported, you will see a status notification when you open your course. Click the Import Status link.
View Import Status
The Current Jobs menu displays the imported resource as a Canvas Common Cartridge .imscc file. You can view the date and time the resource was imported. The import status menu will show the import status by color:
- Gray [1]: Displays a queued status
- Blue [2]: Displays a running status and progress bar with time remaining
- Green/Orange [3]: Displays a completed status (orange indicates an issue associated with the import; click the issues link to view the list)
To correct any issue(s) that may have occurred with the import, you can use either the issues link next to the import or you can use the Course Navigation menu to move around the course and correct the errors.
AlliFoote
in
In this Commons release (January 18), Commons includes New Quizzes as a resource type. Additionally, new quick actions for resources are added to the List View.
Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources. Learn more about Canvas Commons.
New Feature |
New Quizzes Resource Type
|
Beta Environment Availability |
2024-12-16 |
|
Production Environment Availability |
2025-01-18 |
Commons users can share and import New Quizzes. This update allows users to collaborate better and save time on content curation.
Note: Item Banks are included in Commons imports and exports. A preview for these items will not be available at this time, as it is planned for a future enhancement.
Users can choose New Quizzes as a filter.
Users can select New Quizzes in Canvas.
Users can import and export Item Banks.
💡 Related feature idea: [New Quizzes] Export to or Share in Commons
Quick Actions for Resources in List View
|
Beta Environment Availability |
2024-12-16 |
|
Production Environment Availability |
2025-01-18 |
In List View, Commons users can quickly copy the link and download resources without opening the resource. Additionally, resource owners can edit and delete their resources without opening the resource. This update allows users an easier way to share and manage resources.
To view the quick actions, click the Options icon.
For non-resource owners, options include download and copy resource link.
For resource owners, options include delete, edit, download, and copy resource link.
emily_allen
in
You can install and configure Commons in a self-hosted instance of Canvas. Self-hosted Canvas Commons instances can only share and view public resources.
Open Account
In Global Navigation, click the Admin link [1], then click the name of the account [2].
Add Developer Key
In Account Navigation, click the Developer Keys link [1], or navigate to /accounts/self/developer_keys.
Click the Developer Key button [2], then click the API Key link [3].
Enter Key Settings
Enter information int the following fields:
- Key Name [1]: An easily-identifiable, human-readable name for your Commons key.
- Owner Email [2]: The email address for an administrator in your self-hosted Canvas instance.
- Redirect URI (Legacy) [3]: https://lor.instructure.com
Click the Save button [4].
Enable Commons Key
To enable the Commons key, click the toggle in the State column.
View Client Secret (Key)
To view the Client Secret (Key), click the Show Key button. Select and copy this key, as you will need it later in the setup process.
Open Account Settings
In Account Navigation, click the Settings link.
View App Configurations
Click the Apps tab [1].
Click the View App Configurations button [2].
Add App
Click the Add App button.
Enter App Information
In the Configuration Type drop-down menu, select the By URL option [1].
Enter the following information:
- Name [2]: Commons Setup
- Config URL [3]: https://lor.instructure.com/api/self-hosted-setup/tool-config
Click the Submit button [4].
Configure App Settings
Click the Settings icon [1] and select the Configure option [2].
Enter App Configuration
Enter your Client ID in the Client ID field [1] and Client Secret (Key) in the Client Secret (Key) field [2]. Then click the Continue setup button [3].
Authorize Commons Key
Click the Authorize button.
Complete Commons Setup
Click the Close button.
Refresh Browser
To see the Commons link in the Global Navigation menu, refresh the page.
