IMSCC Backup Procedure

What is an IMSCC file?:

An IMSCC file is a zip file from Canvas that includes all of your lesson materials, links, pages, attachments, assignments, and even external tool links for a given course. This zip file, or cartridge, can be uploaded into any Canvas course as well as many other LMS providers. In other words, this gives you a single file containing all the work you have put into a course in Canvas to be used again and again without the need for Sandbox courses, as well as allowing for off-site storage on USB drives or in Cloud Drives.

Why use an IMSCC file?:

In addition to the aforementioned benefits, this will allow you to finally remove old courses and sandboxes from your dashboard and effectively streamline your workflow. If you have had many courses appear in your “Copy To” function when moving things, this is because those courses are open and accessible. This can be cumbersome as we move from year to year. Conversely, using the IMSCC file backups you can then conclude or unfavorite your courses as they become no longer relevant. Concluding is only an option for sandbox courses, this effectively closes the course. Do not worry. You can always access concluded courses from the All Courses menu. Unfavoriting a course can be used on courses that are Synergy-generated and removes them from your dashboard. Again, they are always accessible from the All Courses menu.

Editing can be done in different ways. Many educators have moved past the need for sandbox courses and have copied items from term to term and then edit in-course during the trimester they are currently in; while others maintain a sandbox, edit there, and then copy out as the term progresses. Both are valid usages. One option to incorporate this process while utilizing the later method would be to export the IMSCC file from the sandbox once a year and then conclude that year’s sandbox course for that class. This allows you as the educator to have a backup and hardcopy of the work you have done. Not to mention you can upload the file into a Google Drive folder and then give a team access to that folder and each team-member can upload it to their course without the need to share a sandbox in Canvas, contributing to further clogging dashboards and other systems.

Procedure:

The video below will show the process to export and import an IMSCC file in Canvas.

https://www.loom.com/share/30c2a46e60ff4800a3ddee7beaf5d016

Concluding:

Concluding a Canvas sandbox course effectively closes it, however, you can still access it from the All Courses menu under, Courses. There you will see the sandbox in Past Enrollments and are still able to access it and copy items from it, should you need. It is important to note that you cannot modify grades or copy to the course.

To conclude a course, navigate to the course’ settings and select Conclude on the right-side.

Unfavoriting:

To unfavorite a Synergy-generated course from your dashboard, simply navigate to your dashboard, and click the 3-dot menu on the corner of the course’s tile. Then click Move and Unfavorite. When you refresh the page the course will have moved to your All Courses menu for later viewing and no longer clutter other lists.