Canvas Commons: Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the history of Commons?

Commons was created in 2015 as a new way for educators to collaborate, share, and find the best educational resources available within Canvas. Since then we have made sure that Canvas and Commons play well with each other so that educators can join a community of creators who build and share amazing content.

We constantly develop Commons in order to make it a top-class content-sharing platform. The latest capabilities added are Favorites and Download Sorting. You can read more about Favorites here: Commons Favorites & Why We Got Rid of Ratings

Some numbers on Commons use:

• How many resources are shared in Commons?

       979,328 resources are shared either publicly or within an institution or group.

• How many Commons users are there?

       There are 1,675,530 Commons users.

• How many users share resources in Commons by month?

       On average, 12,000 users share resources in Commons each month.

• How many users import Commons resources to Canvas?

       On average, 26,000 users import a Commons resource to Canvas each month.

• What is the most downloaded public resource?

SPS Secondary Template B from Springfield Public Schools with 3,597 downloads.

• What is the most favorited public resource?

Growing with Canvas with 70 favorites.

What are the most important functions in Commons?

In Commons you can find and preview resources, share content created in Canvas, favorite resources, import to Canvas, and update Canvas content. And now, administrators can approve content. 

How is the service provided?

Commons is an LTI that plugs into Canvas. Currently, it is not deployed outside the US, but expanding deployment to other countries is on our roadmap and will be addressed soon. To enable Commons in your Canvas instance, you need to contact your Customer Success Manager. To access Commons, you need to have an email address associated with your Canvas account.

Why is it different from other LORs?

Commons is currently specifically tailored for Canvas. Commons and Canvas play really well with each other in both ways. Sharing and keeping Canvas resources updated in Commons is super easy. Commons also allows instructors to build course material from scratch by importing resources to Canvas.

What is the roadmap for Canvas Commons?

Follow the Priorities & Ideas space and Priority: Commons Search & Preview for updates.