The idea
A course has more than lecture files. Assignments change, announcements arrive and new versions of material appear. I wanted those changes to arrive in an organised local workspace.
I built a workflow that checks Canvas for new and updated files, sorts them by course and collects assignments and announcements alongside them.
A workspace with clear boundaries
Illustration, not live sync status or private course content
The diagram describes the organisation. It does not display private course content or claim that a sync has just completed. The study overview shows the collection information, while downloaded course files stay local.
Keeping up with changes
- Collect from Canvas
- Compare with saved state
- Organise by course
- Record the outcome
The workflow compares each collection with a saved record of the previous state. It can therefore pick up changes after a missed run. New material is collected in a weekly summary rather than a separate email for every file.
Vaktmester checks the completion records. Collecting data and checking that the collection finished are separate responsibilities.
The important design choice
The sync owns its downloaded originals, not my work. My explanations, study aids and other derived material have separate locations. A later collection must not overwrite work created from the source files.
Each source has its own collection method. Separate OneNote and GoodNotes workflows bring my notes into the same course structure without pretending that those services behave like Canvas.
What you can explore
The public overview provides a view into the organisation and recorded sync information. It is an overview of the workflow, not access to downloaded teaching material or private notes.