Congratulations! You're ready to take your newly acquired DesignPLUS skills into the real world and apply them to one of your Canvas courses. But before we part ways, let’s touch upon a few essential topics:
Important tips and tricks for working with DesignPLUS
Strategies for updating existing Canvas content
Learning more about DesignPLUS
Sidebar tips and tricks
As you've probably discovered, the DesignPLUS Sidebar is a game changer when it comes to giving your course a polished, professional appearance. Unfortunately, if you don't know exactly what you're doing with DesignPLUS, you can accidentally break the content formatting. Here are some tips to help you avoid such mishaps and recover when and if you make a mistake.
When removing DesignPLUS elements (such as banner titles, progress indicators, or icons), avoid directly selecting and deleting them in the editor.
Instead, place your cursor within the element and, in theEdit Current Element ( )tab, select the element’s tool as the active tool.
Finally, in the action toolbar just below the active tool, click theDelete( ) icon. This will remove all underlying code for the current element—no more and no less.
Theme deletion caution
Never use the above technique to remove a theme from a page. A theme acts as a wrapper for the entire page, and deleting it will erase everything on the page.
Common editing actions
Forget your usual methods for copying, moving, and deleting content in the Canvas editor when working with DesignPLUS elements.
To perform actions like cut, copy, duplicate, or move, first place your cursor within the DesignPLUS element.
Then, select the element’s tool as the active tool in theEdit Current Element( ) tab.
Choose the desired option in the action toolbar just below the active tool. The following options are available:
= copy element to clipboard
= cut element to clipboard
= duplicate element (creates an identical copy beneath the original)
= Move element up
= Move element down
= Add a blank line above element
= Add a blank line below element
= Delete element
Undo and redo
If you make a mistake, use theUndotool at the top of the Sidebar.
Keep in mind that repeated Undo clicks take you back through the session but also delete any added text. For major reversions, copy important text to a Word or Google doc before undoing.
Unfortunately, other content types (assignments, discussions, quizzes) don't offer a revision history.
Frequent saving allows you to return to the last saved version by exiting the editing session without saving.
Stick with what you know
Avoid trying DesignPLUS elements not covered in this course until you’ve received comprehensive training.
The techniques you’ve learned so far are unlikely to interfere with using standard Canvas editor for routine content creation and revision.
The more DesignPLUS elements you add to the page, the greater the risk of formatting problems.
Updating your Canvas courses
It's time to apply your new skills where they will make a real difference -- in your own courses. If you’re unsure where or how to begin, follow the numbered instructions below.Keep in mind that you’ll need to edit nearly every content item in your course, which may take some time.
Start by creating a copy of an existing course that you’ll be teaching again. You can either import the existing course into a new practice course or use the Copy this Course option in the Settings sidebar.
Navigate to the copy of the course.
If your course uses a Canvas page as the home page, edit the home page and use the DesignPLUS Sidebar to make the following changes:
Select and apply a DesignPLUS theme to the page. Make a note of which theme you chose.
Customize the banner title text as needed.
If the page includes section headings, set all top-level headings to heading 3 and consider adding icons thoughtfully and consistently.
Add a banner image.
If the page includes inline images, use the Sidebar Image tool to set the ALT text, optional caption, size, alignment and border style. Remember to apply border styles consistently.
For the remaining content items in your course (Canvas pages, assignments, classic quizzes, discussions, and the Syllabus), your routine will be very similar to the home page:
Apply the DesignPlus theme you selected for the course.
Adjust the Title and Prefix fields in the banner title element as necessary.
If the item has section headings, set all top level headings to heading 3, and add icons if desired. Remember to use icons thoughtfully and consistently.
For courses with module overview pages, consider adding banner images to these pages if desired.
For content with inline images, utilize the Sidebar Image tool to configure ALT text, optional captions, size, alignment, and border style. Maintain consistent border styles..
For courses using Canvas Modules, add a module progress indicator to the bottom of each module item if desired.
After making your updates, enter student view and review each item to ensure it appears as intended.