Duplicating an Existing Sakai Course Site
Overview
Instructions
Points to consider
Overview
When you create a new course from an existing Sakai course from one course to another, not all
the content and options are transferred. A good way to verify that students in the new course
will be able to view all the appropriate files is to add someone as a student to the new
course who does not have access to the old course (You may have to remove that person
from the old course.) Have that student access the tools in the new course to check for errors.
For anyone who has access to both courses, such as the instructor, problems might not be
obvious.
Note that only those with instructor access can duplicate an existing Sakai course. To copy a
course managed by another instructor, ask that instructor to add you to his or her course with
instructor access.
If you need help copying information from one course to another, feel free to contact the IT
Support Center. You can schedule an appointment by calling 831-6000 or send questions to
consult@udel.edu.
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Instructions
1. In the ORIGINAL course (the site you are copying), click Site Info on the course menubar
at the left.
2. Click the Duplicate Site option at the top of the window. You will see a window for you to
provide a title and select the appropriate term for the new course.
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3. Type a description for the Site Title. It is advisable to include the term and course number
in the title since this will appear as the tab label for all participants. For example, you
might use “09S-HESC220011”. Note that there is a limit to the number of characters you
can add to a title at this point but you can edit the title later using Site Info > Edit Site
Information.
4. From the Academic term pull-down menu, choose the associated semester for the new
course. When students are given access this term will be used to identify the correct
roster for the new course.
5. Click Duplicate. For the next few moments, you will see a message indicating that the
new course is being processed.
6. You will remain in the Site Info tool of the original course. You can access the new course
by clicking the course tab or My Active Sites and selecting the new course title.
7. In the new course, you must add the roster for the new term (specified in Site Info > Edit
Class Rosters > Add Rosters). Remember that students are given access automatically
prior to the first day of classes each semester.
8. The status of the duplicated site is the same as the original site. Only instructors have
access to a draft (unpublished) course site. Use Site Info > Manage Access to control the
status of a site.
9. When you duplicate a course, the Home page is also copied. Make sure you check the
Site Info URL or any other web addresses used on the Home page.
10. Any changes to the titles for tools on the menubar will be retained in the new course.
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Points to consider
1. Content can be duplicated from a Sakai course for the following tools:
Tool
Announcements
Assignments
Chat Room
Forums
Gradebook
Messages
News
Polls
Condition in the course receiving the information
Items are hidden. Those with dates must be reset (Edit, Save Changes).
Items merged from another site are kept.
Assignments are saved as drafts so they are not released to students or
added to the Gradebook. Permissions must be changed to allow instructors
to share drafts.
Rooms are retained. Individual postings are erased.
Forums are saved as drafts. Role permissions are retained. Individual
postings are erased.
Assignments and quizzes are discarded along with categories and weighs.
Other grades are not released to students or included in the Course Grade.
Forwarding is removed. Only default folders (Received, Deleted, Sent)
remain.
Links to RSS feeds are retained.
Questions are retained.
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Tool
Resources
Roster
Schedule
Syllabus
Tests & Quizzes
Web Content
Wiki
Condition in the course receiving the information
Permissions are reset. All items, including those hidden and those with
public and selected-group access, are reset to be accessible by the entire
site.
Although previous rosters are listed, the students do not have access to the
new course unless the roster is added using Site Info, Edit Class Roster(s).
Items are retained.
Items are retained, but not redirected pages. Attachments, although seen
by instructor, must be re-added.
Pending assessments are retained but must be replaced by importing.
Links to web pages are retained.
Content is retained. Comments are kept but labeled with instructor’s name.
2. Student material: Information created by students, such as Forum postings and
Assignment submissions, cannot be copied.
3. Linking to Resource items: If you link to any Resource file from another Resource file or
Sakai tool, it is important to make sure the new link points to the Resource item in the new
course, not to the old course.
The tools that tend to be affected in the new course include:
Syllabus – Redirect URL
Tests & Quizzes that contain images
Resources – links to other Resource files
4. Grouping: Groups created in the original course site are retained but individual
participants are removed from them. Roles are kept in the new groups.
5. You can either duplicate an entire course or import material for individual tools. See
Importing Tool Information from One Existing Sakai Course Site to Another for instructions
on copying information for individual tools.
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