MSU Denver Canvas Blueprint

Last updated on June 3, 2026

A blank page is always a little daunting. Where to start, what to say? 

One way to overcome this kind of writer’s block is to have an outline of what you want to write. You can apply that same idea to your Canvas course. The MSU Denver Canvas Blueprint provides that structure for you. Packaged in every new course shell, it contains a series of template pages that you can fill in with your own content, starting you off on the right foot as you design your course. This will save you time, as well as help you format your content to promote student engagement and learning.

Some of the most useful components of the Blueprint are the Course Information and Sample Modules and the Syllabus template. Both the Course Information Module and the Syllabus make all of the expectations, policies, and objectives of your course easily accessible and referenced by your students. The Sample Module gives you templates that you can use for adding course content in a way that facilitates learning by using andragogical principles. Some of these principles include priming, chunking, and alignment, which we’ll cover in greater depth later in this Spotlight.

The Blueprint also contains a Policies and Resources Module. This module contains a great deal of information relevant to every student at MSU Denver, and its inclusion in the course is strongly recommended. You should never unpublish or delete this module. You don’t need to fill out any information in this specific module, but it can be a good place to include any departmental policies.

The templates and prompts present in the Blueprint are designed carefully to incorporate instructional design principles. The Overviews are an opportunity to gain students’ attention and introduce the objectives. As you start bringing in content in the Video and Lecture pages, you’ll have opportunities to relate it to previous learning and give examples. The Module Reviews are a great place to review information and promote retention.

Best Practices

How Should I Use the Course Information Module?

• The Course Information Module contains a collection of template pages to present vital information about your course that students can easily locate and refer back to.
• Use the Course Overview, Course Grading Policy, Navigating this Course, and Course Alignment Map pages to lay out what students should expect in your course, such as course organization, policies, and learning objectives and activities.
• Use the Instructor Introduction to introduce yourself and provide details on your communication and interaction policy.
  • This helps humanize the course, which is especially important in online asynchronous courses where content can sometimes feel impersonal. Introducing yourself through a video or providing background information helps students connect better to you and the material.
• The Student Introductions, FAQ, and Casual Conversations discussions provide a space for your students to create a sense of community through discourse.
  • You can replace the prompts for the Student Introductions discussion to tailor the responses to better suit your course or your teaching style.
• For more detailed information on each Template Page, see our tutorial, Blueprint: Course Information Module Overview.

How Should I Use the Syllabus Template?

• The Syllabus should be used in conjunction with the Course Information Module to help outline your course details and communicate important information to your students.
  • The Syllabus template focuses more on information students will need at the start of the semester, while the Course Information Module focuses more on information, activities, and policies students might need to easily find and refer back to throughout the semester.
• Use the Syllabus template to communicate any requirements for the course, such as prerequisites or required materials, as well as general policies and the course schedule.
• For more detailed information about each section of the Syllabus template and how to edit it with your specific course information, see our tutorial, Use the Syllabus Tool.

How Should I Use the Sample Module?

• The Sample Module provides a variety of templates for you to use to help format your course learning materials and content within Modules.
  • These provide scaffolding for your content that you can fill in to save you time and structure your content for a better student experience.
• Leave the Sample Module unpublished, and don’t directly edit the pages in the Sample Module. Instead, duplicate them and then edit the newly created pages.
  • This allows you to preserve the original template and can make more duplicates later. Once you’re finished, you can move the edited page into whichever module you like.
  • A step-by-step walkthrough of this process is detailed below.
• The page templates incorporate instructional design and andragogical principles, such as priming the student with information, chunking content for smooth progression, and providing citations of sources you’ve used to write the content.
  • See below for more information on these principles.
• For more detailed information on how to use the Sample Module to help structure your course content, see our tutorial, Blueprint: Sample Module Overview.

How Should I Use the University Policies and Resources Module?

• The University Policies and Resources Module includes links to MSU Denver policies and resources focusing on accessibility, inclusion, and support.
• Leave this module published and at the top of your course so students know where to find it.
• Do not import the University Policies and Resources Module when copying your course over.
  • Instead, use the one that comes with the new course shell, as the module links are updated with the most current information.

Instructional Design Focus

The blueprint was designed with Instructional Design Principles in mind. Below are a few that the templates focus on.

• Priming – Students learn better when they know what to expect before they begin. At the start of the course and each module, let them know what they’ll be learning, why they’ll be learning it, and what kinds of content, activities, and assessments they’ll use to learn it.
  • The Course Overview in the Course Information Module and the Module Overview page in the Sample Module are designed to help with this purpose.
• Chunking – Chunk readings, videos, and activities into manageable segments, giving students natural points to pause, rest, and reflect on what they’ve learned.
  • Information dumping, or giving students everything all at once, can overwhelm students, making it more difficult to engage with the content and retain the information.
  • Use the Reading and Video templates in the Sample Module to divvy up content and include Next Steps so students can consider whether to keep going through the module or take a break.
• Alignment – Use the Course Alignment Map to break down how all of the course content supports the objectives and provides students with worthwhile, relevant information.
  • All of the content and learning activities in your course should support the course learning objectives to help students understand the purpose behind the content they are engaging with.
    • See our spotlight, How to Start Building Your Course Part 2, for some guidance on creating learning objectives and assessments that align with them in your course.
  • Use the Module Review templates in the Sample Module to help students reflect on what they just learned, how it supports what they learned before, and how it will be meaningful going forward.

Where Should I Start?

• If you’re importing an existing course, follow the steps in our tutorial, Copy a Canvas Course, to ensure the modules with your course content are copied over correctly and to avoid duplicates.
  • Since every course has the Blueprint content in it, copying over the entire course can cause duplicate blueprint modules and pages, which can clutter your course shell and make it more difficult to locate the modules/pages with your course information.
• If you’re building a course from scratch, start with the Course Information Module and Syllabus.
  • The Course Overview and Alignment Map in the Course Information Module, and the Schedule of Activities in the Syllabus can be great places to start determining the objectives and organization of your course.
• When adding new content to a course, use the Sample Module as a guide for a structure you can emulate.
  • The Module Overviews and Reviews are frequently neglected but can be very valuable, both for you in planning a module and for your students in priming and recalling information.
    • Students absorb information more readily when they already have an idea of what to expect and retain information more completely when they recall it and relate it to future learning.
• To really get the most out of the modules you build, see our Advanced Module Building spotlight.

Let’s walk through it together

Note: This video uses an outdated version of the Blueprint. See the written spotlight for updated information. New Video Coming.

1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
2. Click Quick Links on the top right of the page.
3. Click Canvas from the menu options that appear.
4. Log in to your Canvas Account.
5. Select the Course you’d like to work in.

Edit the Course Information Module

1. Click Modules in the left-hand course navigation menu.
2. Scroll down to the Course Information Module.
3. Click the More Options (3 dots) icon to the right of the Module title.
4. Click Edit.
5. Enter your Course Name after “Course Information” in the Module Name text field.
   • Ex. Course Information – Psychology 1001
   • This helps identify this as the Course Information Module with your course content in it for when you copy your course for a new semester.
6. Click Save.
7. Click the name of the page you wish to edit.
8. Click Edit in the top right corner.
9. Replace bracketed text with your Course Information.
   • Take note of what the text says before deleting, as it will provide a description of what to include.
10. Click Save at the bottom right of the page when ready.
11. Repeat steps 7-10 for all pages.
12. Click on a discussion (indicated by comment boxes) to edit it.
13. Click the three dot (more options) icon to the far right of the discussion.
14. Select Edit from the dropdown menu.
15. Edit the discussion as desired.
    • See our tutorial, Edit a Discussion in Canvas, for more guidance.
16. Click Save at the bottom right of the screen.
17. Repeat steps 13-16 for each discussion.

Duplicate and Edit Sample Module Content

1. Click Modules in the left-hand course navigation menu.
2. Scroll down to the Sample Module.
3. Click the More Options (3 dots) icon to the right of the template Page you want to use.
   • You can also duplicate the entire module by clicking the 3 dots to the right of the Module Name rather than the Page.
4. Click Duplicate.
   • The copy will appear directly under the Page you selected.
5. Click the name of the Copy.
6. Click Edit in the top right-hand corner.
7. Enter a New Name for the Page.
8. Replace the Bracketed Text with your own content.
9. Click Save in the bottom right-hand corner when you are done editing.
10. Click Modules in the left-hand course navigation menu.
11. Scroll down to the Sample Module.
12. Click the More Options (3 Dots) icon to the right of the new Page you created.
13. Click Move To.
14. Select the Module you would like to move the Page to from the drop-down menu under Modules in the right-side panel that appears.
15. Select the Position within the module from the drop-down menu.
    • If you select “Before” or “After”, you will need to select an item in that Module from a third drop-down menu.
16. Click Move in the bottom right-hand corner.
    • Alternatively, click the 8 dot array to the left of the page to drag and drop the page to a new location.

Edit Syllabus

1. Click Syllabus on the course navigation menu to the left.
2. Click Edit in the top right corner.
3. Enter Course Information using the provided template.
4. Check the box next to Show Course Summary to enable the Course Summary and Calendar features.
   • If this is unchecked, neither the course summary nor the calendar will be visible for students in the syllabus.
5. Click Update Syllabus.

Have Questions?

Need additional support on this or other teaching and learning topics? Please visit us for drop-in support (10am-3pm, M-F) or try one of our self-help tutorials. 

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