Introduction
A Sandbox is a practice course space where you can familiarize yourself with the features of Canvas. Please refer to the Canvas: Course Sandbox, Merge Courses, and Master or Manually Enrolled Courses article for an overview of the three types of course spaces that faculty and staff may request in Canvas.
NOTES:
- Course Sandboxes should never be used to enroll students or to teach credit or non-credit bearing courses.
- Create a sandbox is only available to instructors. Anyone else requesting a sandbox should request one from the IT service desk.
Step-By-Step Instructions
On your Canvas Dashboard, click the Request a Course Sandbox button to have a Sandbox created for you automatically. You will be added to the course roster in a "Teacher" role for your new Sandbox by default.
Figure 1: Click the Request a Course Sandbox button at the right.
Click the Courses button in the left-hand navigation menu and the link to your Sandbox is displayed in the Unpublished Courses section. Click this link to access your Sandbox.
Troubleshooting Tips:
Only one Sandbox per user ID may be created. If you already have a Sandbox associated with your user ID, the "Error: Sandbox already exists for user" message displays when you click the Request a Course Sandbox button.
- If you receive the "Sandbox already exists for user" error but do not see a Sandbox on your Canvas Dashboard, click the Courses button from the left-hand navigation menu and select the "All Courses" link. The All Courses screen shows every current, past, and future course in which you have been enrolled.
If your Sandbox is listed on the All Courses screen, select the star to the left of the Course name to add it to the Courses menu. Only courses with the star selected (red) will display on your Courses menu. - If your Sandbox is not on the All Courses screen, it may have been archived per the University's Canvas Archive Policy. Click the Course Archive Manager button on the right side your Canvas Dashboard to view your archived courses.
If your Sandbox has been archived, refer to the Canvas: Self-Restore an Archived Course article for instructions on self-restoring an archived course. - If you continue to receive the "Sandbox already exists for user" error but your Sandbox does not display on on the All Courses screen and was not archived, then contact your local Service Desk for support.
- While you can only have one official Sandbox Course, it is possible for faculty and staff to request a new Manually Enrolled Course that looks and feels like a Sandbox Course. A Manually Enrolled Course can have any name, like: John Smith's Sandbox, Jane Doe's Sandbox 2, etc. An official Sandbox Course is a type of Manually Enrolled Course that has these Location subcategories: Penn State University > Manual Course > Professional Development > Canvas Training > Personal Sandboxes. To request such a course, refer to: Request a Manually Enrolled Course .
Links
- Canvas: Course Sandbox, Merge Courses, and Master or Manually Enrolled Courses
- Request a Master Course
- Request a Manually Enrolled Course
- Merge Course Manager
- Canvas: Prides
- Canvas: Self-Restore an Archived Course