Blueprint Course

Blueprint Course

Introduction

A blueprint course allows you to create content, assignments, announcements, etc. and push it out to a number of associated courses through course syncing. This is most useful in courses with shared content across many different sections taught by multiple instructors.

Features

  • All the functionality of a regular Canvas course
  • Only accessible by designated person(s)
  • No student access

Getting Started

Blueprint courses must be created by a member of the CELT team.

Instructor Resources

Requesting a Blueprint Canvas course

  1. Submit the “Request a blueprint course” form with these settings:
    1. Would you like a 1:1 Consultation? Please provide your contact information.* Choose yes or no to request an appointment with CELT staff.
    2. Course Name:* Catalog Identifier + Blueprint (e.g., ENGL 150 Blueprint)
    3. Semester Offered:* (Spring 2021)
    4. Department Offering Course:* (ENGL) 
    5. Course Number:* 150
    6. Locked Content: (Define general settings for locked objects in this course. Locked objects cannot be edited in associated courses.) Choose all that apply. If you are unsure what this means, request a consultation with CELT staff.
      1. Content
      2. Points
      3. Due Dates
      4. Availability Dates

    CELT staff will create the empty blueprint course, add the requestor to the course, and communicate that this step is complete via the ServiceNow ticketing system.

  2. Add other collaborators as needed.
  3. Develop the course content in the blueprint course. Do not PUBLISH the course yet.
  4. Use Prepare to Teach or Request a New Course Shell to create the associated courses.
  5. Respond to the ServiceNow ticket when the courses are ready to be connected. Provide the Course ID or URL for ALL connected courses. Be advised:
    1. This step should only be completed when you are ready to push data from the Blueprint for the first time.
    2. The person responsible for managing content must be enrolled in each connected course and the blueprint as a Co-Teacher.
    3. Course IDs may be provided via Excel.

    CELT staff will associate the courses, initiating the first sync which will push all content to the connected courses, then communicate that it is complete.

  6. Use Prepare to Teach to publish the courses and give students access to the Canvas courses.

Using a Blueprint Canvas course

Creating content in a blueprint Canvas course is exactly like creating content in a regular Canvas course. Use these Canvas tutorials to learn about specific features of Blueprints:

Syllabus Statement

There is no need to include information about the Blueprint course in our syllabus.