Downloading a Canvas Cartridge .imscc file from openstax.org
Important: What is included in the course cartridge?
The Canvas course cartridge contains individual links to the OpenStax textbook content. It does not include the additional materials available under the Instructor Resources tab, such as .docx, .pptx, .pdf, and Google Forms files.
If you want to use these additional Instructor Resources in your LMS, you will need to download and convert them separately. OpenStax does not currently provide LMS-compatible versions of these resources. For assistance, contact your institution’s LMS support team, technical support team, or IT administrator.
Download a Canvas cartridge into your course from openstax.org by following these steps:
1. Log in to your OpenStax Educator Account.
2. Select the category for your textbook on the Subjects page on openstax.org. Under the Humanities category, we will choose the OpenStax Writing Guide with Handbook as the example for the screenshots below.
3. On the Categories page, click the dropdown menu under Writing Guide with Handbook and select Instructor resources.
4. On the Instructor resources page, click the Download button in the Course Cartridge tile.
5. Click on the Go to your resource button.
6. The cartridge file will automatically go to your device’s download folder.
In Canvas
7. Log in to your Canvas account.
8. Create a new course (empty). Please Note: Depending on your Canvas permissions, you may need to contact your LMS administrator to set up a new course on your dashboard.
9. Open your new course and select Settings from the menu on the left.
10. On the right-hand menu, select Import Course Content.
11. Under the Content Type dropdown menu, select Canvas Course Export Package.
12. Next, click Choose File and navigate to the Downloads folder on your device. Locate and select the cartridge file.
13. Choose All content
Note: You do not need to adjust events and due dates, as OpenStax course cartridges are not built with these parameters.
14. Click Import. The import progress will be tracked below under Current Jobs, indicating when the content has been imported and is ready to view. The cartridge resources may take a few minutes to appear in your selected course.
15. Return to your course shell; the content will be in Modules. You may need to refresh the page if the content doesn't load immediately.
Reminder: The course cartridge contains links to the OpenStax textbook content. Additional materials from the Instructor Resources tab are not included in the cartridge and must be downloaded and added to your LMS separately.