What is the difference between a "sandbox" and a "live course"?

• Sandbox: A Canvas sandbox is a course shell that students do not have access to. Sandboxes are used to build content in a space that can be reset and changed, without the worry of students seeing any in-progress content. Sandboxes will not be deleted unless requested by the instructor. Sandboxes will also not be created unless requested by the instructor, so if an instructor wants to begin working on a new course, they should request a sandbox by completing the Sandbox Request Form.
  
• Live Course: Live courses are the courses that are tied to Solar, are tied to a specific semester, and are the courses that students have access to. Live courses automatically come into Canvas 90 days before the first day of class and the instructor can choose whether or not to make that course visible to students by "publishing" that course. If an instructor wants to keep the content from a live course indefinitely (not including student data) or would like to begin developing a new course, they should request a sandbox by completing the Sandbox Request Form. 

How can I tell the difference between a sandbox and a live course?

There are a few different ways to tell the difference between a sandbox and a live course. The main difference will be the course card on the Canvas dashboard. By default, live courses will come into Canvas with the name that they have in Solar and they will have a semester listed underneath the course code. Sandboxes will not have a semester listed and will have "Sandbox" in both the course title and course code.

Below is an example of what a sandbox will look like on a course dashboard vs what a live course will look like on a course dashboard. The sandbox is on the left and the live course is on the right.

How do I make my sandbox into a live course?

Sandboxes and live courses are two separate types of courses. A sandbox cannot be changed into a live course, however, the content from a sandbox can be copied into a live course. To copy content from your sandbox into a live course, instructors can either email servicedesk@uwp.edu and make a request or follow these instructions: How to Copy Canvas Content