What is the Commons?
How to Import Content from Commons
How to Share Content with Commons
Canvas Guides

What is the Commons?

Canvas Commons is a Learning Object Repository (LOR) that makes it easy to share and find Open Educational Resources (OER). The Commons is available in the global menu on the Dashboard when you first login to Canvas. Below is brief overview of what you can do with Commons.

Commons Overview from Canvas LMS on Vimeo.

How to Access the Commons

Click Commons in the Global menu.

The first time you access the Commons you will see a message the Commons is requesting access to your account. Click Log in.

A terms of service message will appear. Read through the terms and click I Agree.

How to Import Content from Commons

Once you accept the terms the Commons screen will appear. Review the numbered items below.

How to Find Content

Commons menu – The menu contains menu items for navigating the Commons. Click the Commons logo to return back to the Commons home. Click Search to return to the search page. Click Shared to view all content you have shared. Click imported link to view all content you have imported. If an imported resource has an update, the update will display on updates page.
Filters – There are several filter options for searching for content. If you are part of the Commons group, you can select the group to see content shared with the group. You can also filter by content type or just what has been shared with the LLC community.
Keyword Search – Click in the search box to type a keyword to help you find content. Use the grade level option to filter content based on grade level. The keyword search results will change based on selection. You can filter content latest, relevance, or highest rated. Select the desired option. The keyword search results will change based on selection.

Selecting and Viewing Content

After you complete a search content cards will display for each object. The content card will give you some details about the content. Click the title to view content object page to learn more.

On the content object page more details about the content will display. On the right sidebar select the desired course you wish to import the content. Then click Import into course. This will begin the import process. If desired, you can also download the content.

How to Share Content to Commons

Copyright and Creative Commons

In Canvas instructors can release the content under a Creative Commons license. What is a Creative Commons license? The license model was developed and created by a group of educators and other professionals in 2001 as a way for people to share their work in a more flexible way. The Creative Commons organization behind these licenses states their mission statement as:

"Creative Commons develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation."~via Creative Commons website.

How to Apply a Creative Commons License to a Course

If you plan to share your content publicly, it is a good idea set a Creative Commons license; however, don't share content that you do not own copyright. In Canvas click Settings in the course navigation. On the course details page scroll down to the License section. Click the drop down and choose the desired option. Visit the Creative Commons website to learn more about each license. Scroll down the page and click Update Course Details.

Steps to Share Canvas Content

There are three main ways you can share content.

Course

The course option will share the entire course content of the course. Only use this option if you own all the content in the course. In Canvas click Settings in the course navigation. On the right sidebar click Share to Commons.

You can also share individual modules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, pages, and files. Click the gear icon next to the item title and select Share to Commons.

Once you have select the Share to Commons option, the Commons form will appear. Review the numbered items below.

Who can use this resource? - There are three options for sharing content. All of Lake Land College would allow LLC colleagues to down your content. Select Group(s) option allows you to choose a group of LLC people to share content. All faculty should see their department group for sharing. If you do not see a group or wish to create a private sharing group, contact IIS for help on setting up a private group. The last option is public. This option allows any Canvas user with instructor privileges to download the content shared publicly.
License - The license defined in the course will display on the description page for the content. See Creative Commons website to learn more about each license.
Title - Each content item shared must have a title.
Description - Each content item shared must have a description.
Tags - Tags are keywords that can be attached the content item to make it easier to find when people search for it in the Commons. It is helpful to add tags.
Image - Each content item must have an image attached. You can upload an image or select one from the Flickr Commons. Scroll down the page to set additional options. Click Share to save the metadata attached to the content item.

Canvas Guides

Printable Guides and Video Tutorials

Canvas Online Guides

Note: These guides are maintained by the Canvas Documentation Team and are available on the Canvas Community site. Some of the information in these guides may not apply to the Lake Land College instance of Canvas. If you have a question about any features mentioned in these guides, please review the Getting Help page for details on who to contact at Lake Land College.