February 19, 2025cdtlsd

Using the Classroom Data Management System (CDMS) in Canvas

CDMS dashboard
The CDMS dashboard. (Screenshot courtesy of the CDMS team)
In this post, we present the Classroom Data Management System (CDMS), a University initiative to further enhance teaching and learning experiences through Canvas, spearheaded by the Office of the Provost (PVO), Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT), and NUS IT.

 

Why CDMS?

CDMS intends to help Faculties and Schools at NUS gather and organise semesterly teaching-related information at the start of each semester. Located in all Canvas Academic courses, CDMS can be used for the following purposes:

  • Populate the Canvas Syllabus. This also allows the Syllabus page to be ready ahead of the CourseReg in every semester.
  • Provide additional information like technology usage and teaching modes. These information will be captured for University administration without the need for additional surveys.
  • Course sites combination. Course sites combination used to be captured in the Curriculum Management System (CMS), and require additional request to IT colleagues. This functionality is now provided in CDMS directly as a self-service tool.

Note: Refer to CDMS – Guides for Instructors, for more details.

 

Who can use CDMS?

  • All teaching faculty at NUS (as per CMIS tagging) will have automatic access to CDMS via their designated Canvas course. It is an extension tool in Canvas.
  • Course coordinators and administration colleagues at NUS may also enrol into the system for access.

Note: Refer to CDMS – Guides for Administrators for details.

 

How to update the Syllabus information in Canvas?

  • If your course is ‘University/Faculty controlled’: Information in CDMS would be fixed, as per the latest information in the Curriculum Management System (“CMS”).

What This Means: No changes to these sections—Learning Outcomes, Assessment, Syllabus and the other static course information such as Course Description, Pre-requisites, and Workload Hours —in CDMS; changes or updates for these sections will be submitted via CMS exclusively. Teaching faculty can only verify and publish these items in CDMS.

 

  • If your course is ‘Instructor controlled’: Course information can be edited directly in CDMS by the course instructor or designated colleague.

What This Means: The base information in CDMS will still be copied from the CMS; Instructors are allowed to edit the information directly in CDMS. Note that these updated information are not uploaded back to the CMS. Teaching faculty need to check their Department’s processes, and whether approval is needed to update the syllabus or whether the new information need to be update at the CMS.

Note: Refer to the guide ‘CDMS Update Sources‘ for details.

 

What are my next steps for CDMS?

  • Populate your Syllabus content if you have not done so.
  • Publish your Canvas course once it is ready, so prospective students can access your Canvas course/ Syllabus content during CourseReg.

Note: Refer to the article ‘CDMS Auto-publishing‘ for details.

 

What else should I know?

  • CDMS only applies to Academic courses in Canvas. Non-Academic courses, short courses, WSQ courses and the likes are not impacted or scoped as part of CDMS workflow.
  • Should the CDMS contents be left untouched and unpopulated in your course, CDMS will automatically populate the static course information into the Canvas Syllabus one day before CourseReg in every semester. The information is identical as per reflected in CMS.
  • We hope you will be able to provide the University accurate course information as much as possible, thus please do fill up all sections in CDMS where possible.

Note: Refer to the guide ‘Canvas Course Publishing‘ for details.

 

Where can I get support for CDMS if I require it?

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email