Integrating Library Services and Resources with Canvas

Adding a DIY Library Module to your site is a great way to integrate research skills into your course. DIY Library Modules give your students the opportunity to learn and practice critical research skills on their own time and at their own pace.

You can preview our current DIY Modules by self-enrolling our Demo Site as a student.

This tutorial will provide you with the steps to add a DIY Module to your course site. This tutorial is intended as a supplement to the basic Canvas support documentation available at the Instructor website.

Once imported, you can edit the module content if you want. Please contact the library's e-learning group (e-learning-lib@umich.edu) for more information.

The following modules are some of the most popular for U-M classes and can be easily imported.

Follow the links below to preview the modules as an anonymous guest. If you want to import one of the modules below, make sure you are logged in to Canvas with your umich credentials before following the links.

Evaluating Sources - Teaches students how to evaluate a variety of sources for credibility, including social media, academic, and non-scholarly sources. Includes 3 quizzes with an estimated completion time of 30-45 minutes.

Library Skills Challenge - Explore the library's online environment and learn how to find, evaluate, and use information in academic work.  Popular with instructors that want students to get a good overview of the research process. 

Searching Databases - Find library databases, identify multi-subject and subject databases, and develop keywords.

Academic Integrity & Plagiarism - In depth look at importance of academic integrity, reasons plagiarism occurs, type of plagiarism, and strategies to avoid committing plagiarism.

Introduction to Citation - Explore different types of citations and understand how to compose a reference regardless of citation style.

Finding Books - Introduction to the library catalog and strategies to finding books.

Reading a Scholarly Article - Learn how to identify different sections of a scholarly article and effective reading strategies.

1. Open up Canvas and select the Canvas Commons icon located in your Canvas account navigation bar. You can also follow this link: Canvas Commons. 

2. Enter “umichlib" into the search bar. In the search returns, click on the module that best suits your needs. You can also find subject specific modules with the tag "UMLibDIY" or "HSSTEMLibrary."

3. The module detail page includes a Preview of each page, quiz, and file. Select the “Import/Download” button to save a copy of the module for yourself.

4. Select the course site(s) where you want Canvas to place the copy. Click Import.

5. Return to the course site, and view the new library module. Imported modules are Published by default. 

Variations:

After importing a library module in your course, consider adding your own discipline-specific pages or editing to include references to specific course assignments.

Search Commons by theme or topic to locate shared materials from other institutions. The search tool includes filters for material type (modules, assignments, images, etc.) and grade level (kindergarten through graduate programs).