Using the MultiTool’s Template Builder

The Template Builder within Cidi Labs’ MultiTool has two main functions:

  • Set a “Front Page” (“Home” page) if one has not yet be designated. (Or, change the current “Front Page” to something else.) You can also unset a page as the “Front Page”. (Both of these functions can be accomplished within the Canvas interface as well. The Template Builder is just another option for you to use if you’d like.)
  • Create content page templates which you can use to more efficiently build your course content within Canvas. You can use templates to design the look and feel of one or more content pages. For example, you may have a content in your weekly modules that look very similar, yet the content differs from week to week. Use the Template Builder to design a page template, and use this template as the basis for your content page layout. The page templates built via the Template Builder tool can be used in conjunction with the MultiTool Module Builder.
  • Additional Resources

Let’s take a look at these features in more detail.

Create a Home Page, Publish It, and Mark It as the Front Page

  1. In Course Navigation, click the MultiTool link.
  2. On the MultiTool screen, click on either the Template Builder icon or the Template Builder description.
On the MultiTool screen, click on either the Template Builder icon or the Template Builder description.
  1. If you do not currently have a “Front Page” designated in your course, you will see a drop-down list to Select Front Page. Select a page from this dropdown list. This is the page you want your students to see when they log in to your Canvas course.
  2. Once you have selected your “Front Page”, additional options become available for you. In this example, the “Welcome!” page has been chosen as the “Front Page”.
    • Click the Unset Front Page button to not have a “Front Page”.
    • Click the Open Front Page for Editing button to edit the page you selected in the Change Front Page drop-down list.
    • Click the Set Home link to show Front Page button to tell Canvas you want the page you selected from the Change Front Page drop-down list to display as your “Home” Page in your course (the page students first see when logging in to your course).
The "Front Page" section of the MultiTool Template Builder allows you to set a Front Page (or Unset Front Page), open the Front Page for editing, and Set the "Home" link to show the Front Page.

Create Template Pages

Template pages can be used as a tool in your Canvas course(s) to design content that will have a similar look and feel throughout your course. For example, in your weekly modules, you might have assignments that have the same basic layout but the contents within would be different each week:

  • an overview of the assignment
  • the assignment directions
  • submission details, etc.

You can use the Template Builder to design a template page for these assignments with the design/layout you want your students to see.

In the below example, an instructor wants to design a template for her course assignments which have the same look and feel. Her template page has a heading with space for the Course Name and Course Number, a space for the Assignment Name, and spaces for assignment details such as Assignment Context, an Assignment Description, and Assignment Outcomes. The instructor will apply this page layout to several assignments in her weekly modules. Rather than re-creating this page over and over for each assignment, the template she made here will allow her to quickly fill in the missing pieces of each assignment within the heading and in the areas marked as Assignment_context_description, Assignment_description, etc.

This page is an example of what an assignment template page might look like using the MultiTool Template Builder.
  1. In Course Navigation, click the MultiTool link.
  2. On the MultiTool screen, click on either the Template Builder icon or the Template Builder description.
On the MultiTool screen, click on either the Template Builder icon or the Template Builder description.
  1. In the New Template section, enter the name of your template page. This name is not necessarily the unique name of each assignment, discussion, page, or quiz in your course, but it should be a name that you’ll recognize as designated for that particular item. In this example, we’ve chosen the name Weekly Journal Assignment.
  2. Click on the ➕ Create Template Assignment (Discussion, Page, or Quiz) button after you have added the name to the appropriate text field.

Under the Existing Templates section, the template that was just created will display in the with the Assignment, Discussion, Page, or Quiz label.

Further, in our example, notice that the assignment template page has been named [Template] Weekly Journal Assignment. When you visit your Assignments index page in your Canvas course, this name will help you identify which pages are templates built with the Template Builder from other assignments on that page. The same will hold true for the Discussion, Page, and Quiz templates (and their associated index pages in Canvas) you may add to your course via the Template Builder.

In this example, the instructor is creating a "Weekly Journal Assignment" template page where she will use the template she designs throughout her weekly modules.
  1. Under the Existing Templates section, click on the name of the template that you have created. This will bring you to the editing screen for that assignment, discussion, page, or quiz template. You can begin to design the look and feel of your template page that will be used throughout your weekly modules.

Additional Resources