GrandCentral Help Documentation

Course Space Models
Creating a Course Space
     Changing a Combined Course Space to a Separate Course Space
     Changing a Separate Course Space to a Combined Course Space
Adding Additional Sections to a Canvas Course Space
Deleting a Canvas Course Space
Canvas Sandboxes
Creating a Canvas Sandbox Course
Adding a Sandbox Collaborator
Removing a Sandbox Collaborator
Accessing Your Sandbox
Deleting a Sandbox
Managing Additional Students
Adding Additional Students
Removing Additional Students
Error-Unable to Remove Additional Users
Adding TAs to Courses Prior to 2020

---

Course Space Models

UCI Canvas supports two different course space models when creating a new course space in GrandCentral: Multi-Section (Combined) or Single-Section.

Please read the following article carefully, as it contains important information about each of the two available models, as well as the pros and cons to help you choose one model over the other.

If you have any questions about which course space model is best for you, please feel free to contact us.

Combined (Multi-Section) Course Space

This model is used to combine multiple sections, such as a lecture and associated discussions and labs, into a single space that shares course content, assignments, and a single unified Gradebook.

It can also be used to combine two or more cross-listed courses (and their associated discussions and labs) into a single course space.

Example: Imagine that you are teaching History 1, including a lecture section and 3 discussions, each led by a TA. In this model, you would have a single course space, History 1, which would include all of your sections. Your 3 TAs would have access to view the students in their section as well as record grades for them. However, they would also have access to all course contents, including quizzes and other materials.

Advantages

• Only one course space to manage
• Students are provided with a single space to access all course-related content
• If the course space contains a primary lecture section, the single Gradebook can easily be submitted directly to Webgrades

Disadvantages

• You can only have a one Gradebook for all associated sections
• If course work and content is radically different between each discussion or lab section, the assignments and Gradebook can become difficult to manage.

Single-Section Course Space

Single section course spaces sequester students, content, and course activities for each section into an individual course space. Course materials can be copied between course spaces, but materials are not shared.

Example Imagine that you are teaching History 1, including a lecture section and 3 discussions, each led by a TA. In this model, you would have 4 course spaces – one for the lecture, and one for each of the three discussion sections. This would allow each of your TAs to create content, including quizzes, discussions, etc. for only their sections.

Advantages

• Each section is able to have its own content and Gradebook
• Allows each associated instructor and TA the most flexibility

Disadvantages

• Grades cannot be submitted from a discussion or non-primary lab section course space
• Difficult to move grades from one course space to another
• Canvas be harder for students to know where to go for course-related content if there’s more than one course space for a single class

Back to Top

---

Creating a Course Space

Because instructors can choose from a number of possible configurations when creating a new Canvas course space, they will not be automatically created each term. Instead, instructors will need to take specific steps using EEE+ GrandCentral to create a course space for each course taught in a given term.

The steps below outline creating a combined (multi-section) course space. If you are interested in the other types of course space models available, please see our guide on Course Space Models.

1. Go to EEE+ GrandCentral’s My Canvas Course Spaces area. Please login If you have not already done so.
2. Click the blue + Create Canvas course space button located on the page’s middle or upper right side.
   
3. Change the Term selector dropdown to the desired term.
   
4. Click the checkbox next to each section you want to include in the course space and click Next.
   
   Note: If multiple sections are selected, you will have the option to create either one combined (multi-section) course space or multiple separate single-section course spaces. Please see our Course Space Model guide for more information about the two available models.
5. Choose the appropriate course space model. In this example we are creating a combined course space, so we’ll click Combined.
   
6. Review the title of the course space. If you would like you can use the Edit button to change it. For this example, I have created a course space that combines two separate sections into one course space. Because each section has its own name on the Schedule of Classes, you will be asked to give it a new name. I have chosen to name it in such a way that students in either section would be able to identify it.
   
   Note: You can use the following characters in the course title: letters (i.e. a-z, A-Z) numbers (i.e. 0-9) : – ( ) ‘ , & and space.
7. To finalize the process, click the Create course space button.
   

You have successfully queued the creation of a Canvas course space. The course space will finish processing in approximately 1 hour. Once completed, you (and any other instructors on the SOC) will receive an email confirmation once the course space(s) are available on Canvas.

Changing a Combined Course Space to a Separate Course Space

If you have a Canvas course space with sections that were not intended to be in the space, you’ll need to delete the space entirely and then recreate them, since there isn’t a way to remove individual sections from the course space. 

If your course space is unpublished or can be unpublished, follow the steps for Case #1.

If your course space cannot be unpublished, follow the steps for Case #2.

Case #1:

To change your combined course space: 

1. If you don’t have one already, create a backup of the course content by either exporting the course or importing the content into an empty Sandbox course space.
   2. Go to the homepage of the Canvas course space and click the Unpublish button near the top-right corner of the page.
   3. Go to EEE+ GrandCentral and delete the Canvas course space in question.
   4. Allow one hour for our system to process the deletion.
   5. After the hour, go back to EEE+ GrandCentral and recreate the course spaces, making sure to select the correct sections.
   6. If needed, import your course content back using the Course Import tool. 

Case #2:

Before you can delete the course space, it must be unpublished. However, if you cannot unpublish your course space, this typically means students have already participated in the course and grades have been entered. There are a few items that need to be completed on your end and by our team before the course space can be deleted.

Before you continue, here are some actions to be aware of:

• A backup is needed for the course content and grades
• Students will need to resubmit assignments
• Previous grades need to be imported in 
• The EEE team will need to reset the course 

To change your combined course space:

1. If you don’t have one already, create a backup of the course content by either exporting the course or importing the content into an empty Sandbox course space.
   2. Export the grade book to save a copy of any existing scores.
   Note: if students have submitted any assignments, quizzes, or discussions, they must resubmit them once the new Canvas course space has been created.
   3. After you’ve created a backup of the content and student grades, contact our team at eee-support@uci.edu, as they will need to reset the course content which will revert the space to an unpublished state.
   4. Once the course space is set to ‘unpublished’, you can delete the course space in EEE+ GrandCentral.
   5. After our system processes the deletion, you can recreate the Canvas spaces with the correct sections.
   6. Import course content using the Course Import tool and import grades back into the gradebook.

Changing a Separate Course Space to a Combined Course Space 

If you’ve created two or more separate Canvas course spaces for your sections and you’d like to combine all sections into a single space, you’ll need to delete all but one of the spaces so that you can later add them to the remaining space. The course spaces must be unpublished before moving forward with this process.

Example: A course space was created for LAB 1 and another for LAB 2, but now LAB 1 and LAB 2 should be in a combined Canvas space.

Note: before you delete your spaces, be sure to create a backup of the course content either by exporting the course or importing the content into a Sandbox. 

To change your Separate Course Space into a Combined one:

1. Go to EEE+ GrandCentral’s Canvas course spaces page and delete all but one of the course spaces, by following the instructions listed here.
2. Wait a few hours for our system to process the deletion.
3. Go back to GrandCentral and under the remaining section, click the Add section button to add the recently deleted sections. For instructions, jump to this section of the help guide.
4. Allow a few hours for the two sections to get added.

Back to Top

---

Adding Additional Sections to a Canvas Course Space

If you determine that you would like to associate an additional course code to your existing Canvas course space, you can do so within EEE+ GrandCentral.

Steps to add additional sections

1. Go to the Canvas Course Spaces area of EEE+ GrandCentral. If you have not already done so, please login.
2. Locate the course you would like to add a section to.
3. Next, click Add Section.
4. Check the checkbox next to the section(s) that you would like to add, then click Next.
5. Review the request, then click Add section to course space to request the change. You can press Back if you need to make any changes to the request
6. The request to add a section will now appear in the Pending Actions table at the top of the page.

Note: This request will be processed in approximately one hour, and your existing course space will be modified to include the additional section(s).

Back to Top

---

Deleting a Canvas Course Space

If you have created a Canvas course space by mistake, or unintentionally combined the wrong sections into a single combined course space, you can use the following guide to delete it. Doing so will free up the section(s) to be used elsewhere.

Please keep the following points in mind before beginning the deletion process:

• Make backups of any course materials you wish to retain.
• Deleting a course space is PERMANENT and cannot be undone under any circumstance.
• The course space must currently be set to Unpublished before beginning the process.
• If the course space is currently published, and you do not have the option to unpublish it, it can’t be deleted any longer.

To Delete:

1. Go to EEE+ GrandCentral‘s My Canvas Course Spaces page.
2. Click the Manage Course Space button for the course space you wish to delete.
3. Click the Delete this unpublished course space button.
4. Next, you will be asked to type out DELETE THIS COURSE SPACE to proceed.

Finally, click the Yes, delete this course space, along with all content inside of it button.

Please Note: The deletion process can take up to a couple of hours to process. Once complete you can use the section(s) to create a new course space, or add them to an existing one.

Back to Top

---

Canvas Sandboxes

You can explore the features and functionality of Canvas within a personal sandbox course. Each Canvas Sandbox is provided as a working space in which you can create content, explore the features of Canvas, explore various organizational models, and experiment with instructional designs. All materials created in a sandbox course space can be copied into a regular Canvas course space.

Additionally, you can import content (i.e. quizzes, exported courses, content from official course spaces) directly into your Canvas sandbox.

Note that the following functionality will not be available within a sandbox course:

• Transfer to WebGrades through Gradebook
• Enrolling Students
• Teaching assistants and Observers

Creating a Canvas Sandbox course

Instructors can create a sandbox course within EEE+ GrandCentral using the following process:

1. Open the EEE+ GrandCentral Canvas Sandbox tool. Please login If you have not already done so.
2. Click the Sandbox button located at the top of the page.
3. Press +Create Sandbox.
   
4. Enter a name, then click Create sandbox.
   

Your sandbox will be created immediately. You can open the sandbox course by clicking on the sandbox title.

Adding a Sandbox Collaborator

You can add collaborators to your sandboxes so that you can work with others to develop course space content.

To add collaborators:

1. Open the My Canvas Sandboxes area in EEE+ GrandCentral. Please log in If you have not already done so.
2. Click Manage collaborators under the appropriate sandbox.
   
3. Press Add collaborator.
   
   
4. Enter the collaborator’s UCInetID and press Lookup.
   
   
5. Verify that the user information is correct and press Add people.
   
   
6. The new collaborator should now be able to access the sandbox as well as add and update content.

Removing a Sandbox Collaborator

1. Open the My Canvas Sandboxes area in EEE+ GrandCentral. Please log in If you have not already done so.
2. Under the name of the Sandbox, click the “Manage Collaborators” link.
   
3. Check the box next to the names of the collaborators you’d like to delete.
4. Click “Remove Selected”.
   
5. Click “Yes, remove”.
   

Accessing Your Sandbox

You can access your Canvas Sandbox course either from EEE+ GrandCentral or Canvas.

To access your sandbox from EEE+ GrandCentral:

1. Open EEE+ GrandCentral. Please log in If you have not already done so.
2. Click Canvas Sandbox on the menu at the top of the page.
3. Press View on Canvas.
   

To access your sandbox from within Canvas:

1. Open Canvas. Please log in If you have not already done so.
2. Locate the Sandbox on your Canvas Dashboard.
   
3. Click the title of your sandbox course.
   Note: If your sandbox course is currently not visible on the Dashboard, go to Courses > All Courses then select your Canvas sandbox from the full listing.

Deleting a Sandbox

1.  Open the My Canvas Sandboxes area in EEE+ GrandCentral. Please log in If you have not already done so.
2. Find the name of the Sandbox and click “Delete Sandbox” located near the right side of the page.
   Note: You must remove all Sandbox collaborators before deleting the Sandbox. For steps to remove a Sandbox collaborator, click here.
   
3. Read the information displayed on the screen and confirm that the Sandbox you’ve chosen is correct. If correct, enter the name of the Sandbox and click “Delete”. Otherwise, click “Cancel”.
   

Back to Top

---

Managing Additional Students

By default, anyone officially enrolled in your course is automatically added to your Canvas course space. However, you can grant access to non-enrolled individuals using the Additional Student role.

Additional Students can interact with the course (e.g., view announcements and submit assignments) similar to those students who are officially enrolled in the course.

Adding Additional Students

1. Go to GrandCentral’s Canvas Course Spaces area
2. Click on the Manage Course Space for the course you wish to add additional students to.
3. Click on the Students tab.
4. Then click on Additional Students.
5. Next, click on +Add additional students.
   
6. Enter the UCInetID of the student(s) you wish to add.
   
   Note: You can add multiple students at one time by listing them out ‘comma separated’.
   
7. Click Next.
8. You will be given a chance to confirm the full name, email address, and UCInetID of the person(s) you are adding.
   
9. Click Add people to complete the process.
10. The additional students will be added to your Canvas course spaces within one hour after clicking Add people.

Removing Additional Students

1. Go to GrandCentral’s Canvas Course Spaces area.
2. Click on the Manage Course Space for the course you wish to add additional students to.
3. Click on the Students tab.
4. Then click on Additional Students.
5. Check the box next to the student you wish to remove Additional Student access.
   
6. Click Remove Selected.
   
7. In the confirmation “pop-up”, click Yes, remove person.
   Note: If you made a mistake, you can click No, don’t remove to cancel the removal.

The additional student(s) will be removed from your Canvas course spaces within one hour.

---

Error-Unable to Manage Users

If you see this error because you clicked the +People button in Canvas, but…

1. You are not logged into EEE+ GrandCentral. Please log in to GrandCentral and try again. Or
2. You are not listed as an Instructor on the Schedule of Classes and therefore not authorized to add or remove Additional Students, Observers, or Teaching Assistants. We recommend that you contact the course’s primary instructor to request that they manage the additional users directly.

Please get in touch with the EEE Support Team for assistance if neither of these use cases explains why you received this error.

Back to Top

---

Adding TAs to Courses Prior to 2020

If you are trying to add a TA to a course older than Winter 2020, you can grant the assistant access by using EEE+ GrandCentral’s Assistants tool (our former Assistants tool).

To find the Assistants tool, you’ll want to:

1. Go to GrandCentral’s Canvas Course Spaces page.
2. Select the term under the View more terms link.
   
3. Under the ‘course card’ click the Manage course space button.
4. Select the Assistants tab.
5. Click the blue +Add Assistant button then follow the steps on the screen.