Optima Course Kit

1 Find your course

CPALMS course code

Type the seven-digit code from your course assignment, or start typing a course name.

2 Choose your kit

Find a course first.

3 Customize your home page

Choose a kit first.

Your name, as students see it

Title

Course mode

Term

Section

Study Hall or class meeting

Study Hall link (Teams), optional A few lines about you, optional

Your house, optional

Tagline under the course name

First announcement (date line) First announcement (text)

Module cards (edit titles, untick to hide)

Commonplace Corner, optional

Quote Author Prompt

4 Dates and publishing

Choose a kit first.

5 Set up your gradebook

Choose a kit first.

6 Download and import

One file. Your home page is already inside it, set as the course front page, with the module cards linked to the real modules.

In your Canvas course: Settings → Import Course Content.
Content Type: Canvas Course Export Package. Choose the file you just downloaded.
Content: All content. Leave dates unadjusted. Leave Import existing quizzes as New Quizzes unchecked: that option drops the module Intro and Outro surveys and hands you empty quizzes.
Click Import and wait for the green check.
Open Home. Your page should be there with your name on it. If not: Pages → set it as Front Page → Home → Choose Home Page → Pages Front Page.
Check Modules (count matches the kit) and Assignments (group weights present), then Publish the course.

Importing the same kit again later updates the course in place instead of duplicating it.

Home page preview

Links work after import, not here.

1 How many tiles

2 Fill in the selected tiles

Tile style

In Canvas: Settings → Course Details → Image → upload the tile for that section. Dashboard cards are small, so the text is set large on purpose.

Click tiles to select or unselect them. Everything you type on the left goes on every selected tile.