Digital clutter robs our brains of time and mental energy as we rifle through old files, assignments, and quizzes that we keep around “just in case” we want to use them again. Schedules from past semesters, files attached to announcements, outdated readings for which you have now found more recent and relevant replacements. It can be so easy to just let those files accumulate and think that you will declutter it someday but not now, it’s August, the semester starts soon, who has time for that now?!
Enter TidyUP. Tidy Up is a tool in Canvas from Cidilabs that quickly identifies unused Canvas items, files, and folders. Maybe you have noticed the TidyUP button at the top of Files in one of your Canvas courses. We were hoping you would. Click that button, then click the Scan Course button. Within seconds, you will have a list of Canvas assignments, files, and folders in your course, and TidyUP can sort them in various ways to indicate which ones are not being used so you can decide to remove them from the course.
A screenshot of the TidyUp welcome screen:
If you usually import content from one semester’s Canvas course into the new semester’s Canvas course, consider using TidyUp in the old semester’s Canvas course first. This will ensure that you are only keeping content and files that you actually did use and plan on using again.
I highly recommend that you read the TidyUp KB doc to learn more and watch a short, 18-minute Getting Started with TidyUp video. One of my biggest takeaways when I watched that video and scanned one of my courses is to start with tidying up the Canvas items before you tackle files.
Cidilabs held a TidyUp webinar on July 23, 2024. You can watch the recording to learn straight from their training team.
As always, if you have questions about using TidyUp, Canvas, or any other instructional technologies, reach out to your campus teaching and learning center to connect with a consultant.
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