Sharing Your Course: Multiple Options for Instructors

At Bellevue College, we want to make it easy for instructors to share their course content while keeping accessibility and flexibility in front and center. If you’d like to share your course, you have more than one option available:

Option 1: Make a Request for a Reference Shell

A Reference Shell is your go-to solution for maintaining an up-to-date, accessible copy of your course. This ensures your content is always ready to copy into new sections each quarter. Don’t have one yet?

Request a Reference Shell

You can make a request to add or remove users for specific roles, such as Observers or Associate Teachers, without impacting your active teaching sections by submitting a ticket through the Technology Service Desk.  

To complete the Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request form log into the Technology Service Desk ticketing system Team Dynamix, TDX using your Bellevue College credentials in the upper right-hand corner here is the path: Service Catalog>Canvas>Canvas>Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request. 

You will be able to add a user to your Reference Shell. The Canvas Roles Add or Remove Request provides the necessary information fields to process your request. Please add any added details in the “Other” field.

  • Observer in a Reference Shell – Can view the content only.
  • Associate Teacher in a Reference Shell – Can view, edit, and download the course content.
Tip: To keep ongoing access to your materials, we recommend using a Reference Shell.

Option 2: Export Your Course

Prefer to keep a backup? You can export your course and save it in a repository of your choice, like OneDrive or Google Drive, and share it with anyone you choose. This gives you full control over where and how your content is stored.

We recommend that a backup be downloaded at the end of each quarter, along with a copy of the gradebook.

Note: Starting January 2026, no users will be added to the past quarter sections. To ensure smooth transitions and accessibility, past courses will be concluded and archived, on Day 1 of the following quarter.

Need Support?

For Canvas Accessibility Resources like Reference Shells, coaching, or tools, visit: Digital Accessibility web page.

Last Updated January 8, 2026