This Canvas sample site is designed to provide a simple structure for Duke instructors to quickly develop their course site while adopting best practices. You may use this sample site as a template for your in-person, online, or hybrid courses.  

Important Notes about Using This Sample Site

  1. After importing, the sample site will be added to your existing site content and no content will be lost. However, some navigational settings may be overwritten. We recommend importing the sample to an unpublished site to allow for editing and reviewing before making it visible to students.
  2. The sample site includes placeholder texts highlighted in yellow. Please ensure all placeholders are replaced with the correct course information before publishing any content.
  3. The imported Discussions will not show the authors' names. To display your name as the topic author, please duplicate the discussion.
  4. The sample site includes a “👋 Course Welcome” page as a sample homepage. After importing the site, to make the welcome page as your homepage, please first set it as the front page, and then select Pages Front Page as your homepage. 
  5. The sample site offers two options for organizing the modules: by Weeks or by Units. You are welcome to choose the option that best suits your course. Alternatively, you can organize your Modules as topics or any logical sequence you prefer.
  6. The sample Modules are unpublished, meaning that they are invisible to students. Make sure to Publish your Module once you have added the necessary content so that it is ready for students to access.

How to Use This Sample Site

1. Log into Canvas, and select Commons from the global navigation bar.

Canvas dashboard showing Commons button

2. In Commons, search for “Duke Canvas Sample Site” in the search bar, select “Duke Canvas Sample Site” from search results.

Commons menu showing Duke sample site

3. On the resource page, click the Import/Download button on the right.

Import button button on resource page

4. Select the course you’d like to import the sample site into, and then click Import into Course. 

Test site action items

5. The sample site will be imported to your selected site.

If you have any questions or feedback about the sample site, please contact us at canvas@duke.edu.