Connecting CLAS to Canvas

As of September 2022, the CLAS LTI plugin is available to all Canvas courses within the Faculty of Arts. For more information, contact Arts ISIT.

Enabling CLAS in Canvas

You can enable the CLAS LTI plugin through Canvas Course Settings:

1. In the Course Navigation (left-hand sidebar), scroll down and click Settings. 

2. In the Navigation tab, you should see two lists of links. Scroll down and locate CLAS in the second list.

3. Click on the options icon (three dots) next to the name, and select Enable from the dropdown menu that appears.

4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Save.

After the plugin has been enabled, click on CLAS in the Course Navigation. If you have not already connected a CLAS course, this will direct you to either create and connect a new CLAS course, to connect an already existing CLAS course, or to duplicate and connect an existing course. Otherwise, it will redirect you straight to the homepage of the connected CLAS course.

Note: You can only connect one CLAS course to one Canvas course at a time. To request assistance with disconnecting a CLAS course from a Canvas course, please contact your Faculty Instructional Support Unit.

Creating a New CLAS Course

Creating a new CLAS course will add all users in this Canvas course to a brand new CLAS course with the specified settings. Settings are optional and can also be modified after the course is created.

1. Select the option Create a new course.

2. If preferred, select an optional course template to apply before clicking Next. You do not have to create a CLAS course with a template applied.

3. On the next page, select your preferred options if you would like to enable student uploads/downloads for your course, before clicking Next.

4. On the next page, select your preferred options if you would like to adjust the comment visibility options for your course, before clicking Next.

5. Select your preferred course options if applicable, before clicking Create new course.

6. In the pop-up window that appears, select Confirm. A new CLAS course will be created and connected to your Canvas course.

Connecting An Existing CLAS Course

Connecting an existing CLAS course will add all users currently in your Canvas course, and allow them to view existing media, playlists, assignments, groups, annotations, and discussions. Each CLAS course can only be connected to 1 Canvas course at a time. This option may be helpful if you set up a CLAS course before your Canvas course was created. For CLAS courses containing student interactions from previous terms, we strongly recommend that you duplicate the CLAS course instead, due to privacy and security policies.

1. Select Connect an existing course.

2. Under Select an existing course, click on the dropdown menu to choose the CLAS course you would like to connect. Only courses where you are an instructor that have not been connected to Canvas will appear here.

3. Select Connect course, and click Confirm. The CLAS course will be connected to your Canvas course.

Duplicating An Existing CLAS Course

If you already have another existing CLAS course, you can also choose to duplicate it. This will create a new course with all of the same settings, and add all of the users currently in your Canvas course. The duplicated course will only include files shared with everyone or in playlists, and not files uploaded to assignments or groups. It will not include any users, annotations, or discussions from the previous CLAS course.

1. Select Duplicate and connect an existing course.

2. Under Select an existing course, click on the dropdown menu to choose the CLAS course you would like to duplicate. Only courses where you are an instructor will appear here.

3. Select Connect course, and click Confirm. The duplicated CLAS course will be connected to your Canvas course.