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Archiving Course Content - Knowledgebase / Teaching Learning and Research / Canvas / Canvas Course Conclude - OIT Service Center

Archiving Course Content

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Canvas and Media Library (Panopto) content archival procedures were developed in alignment with Brown University's records retention schedule and accreditation requirements.  Digital course sites are maintained (intact) in their original format for 6 years.  Canvas course sites and their coordinating Media Library (Panopto) content for an academic year will be retained on active servers for 6 years from the academic year end + 6 months from the conclusion of the archived academic year.  At that time, content will be removed from our servers and will not be recoverable. (Example:  Courses taught during Academic Year 2017-2018 will be removed December 2024.)

Instructors who wish to retain copies of their content from previously offered courses will need to download copies of their content and store it on their local computer or personal storage device. Below you will find information for downloading copies of your course content from Canvas and Media Library - please make sure that you download all materials you want to keep as once the content is removed from Brown University servers it will not be recoverable.

Export and Download Instructor-Created Canvas Content

Canvas course content (which does not include Media Library content or content from other 3rd party tools) can be exported as a Canvas Course export package which is a single file (an IMSCC ZIP file) that can be stored on your local computer or personal storage device.  The resulting file can be opened by programs that support Common Cartridge files or they can be imported into another Canvas site (preferably new/empty) at any time.  Export packages can be imported into as many Canvas course sites as needed as long as you retain the original export package file. 

If you have any problems exporting your course content, you can contact dld@brown.edu or schedule a consultation with a member of the learning technologies team.

Canvas exports include: Canvas exports do not include:
  • Announcements
  • Assignments
  • Calendar Events
  • Course Settings
  • Discussion Topics
  • Files
  • Modules
  • Pages
  • Quizzes
  • Rubrics
  • Syllabus
  • Content created with 3rd party tools (like Gradescope, Ed Discussion, Harmonize, Hypothesis, Media Library (Panopto), TopHat, Zoom, etc…)
  • Student Grades
  • Student Submissions/Interactions


OPTIONAL READING:  


Reusing your Canvas Course Export Package

For those who want to review their exported content but are not teaching at Brown in the near future, you can request a free Canvas account and import the content into a free Canvas course shell.  

Export and Download Media Library (Panopto) Content

Instructors can go to the Media Library in their course to download individual instructor-uploaded video files to their local computer or personal storage device.  Videos will be downloaded in mp4 format.  (Download times will vary based on video size and length.)  

If you need assistance with this process or with bulk downloading videos, please contact media_services@brown.edu.

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