Add Course Materials

The Course Materials feature in MATS provides a means for instructors teaching IVC broadcast courses to distribute course materials to their students across the state. Course materials are typically something an instructor would print themselves and bring to a face-to-face class for their students, like a printout required for an in-class activity.

What Shouldn't I Upload as a Course Material?

Tests, quizzes, testing materials, course notes, large readings, copies of textbooks, student sensitive date, grades, or any private information should not be uploaded as a Course Material. While the data you upload is protected, we ask that you follow these guidelines. Course materials should be limited to non-test handouts that you want students to have on a specific date. Tests and quizzes that require a proctor should be uploaded as an Exam in MATS. Due to limited resources and in an effort to reduce paper usage at, course notes, large readings, and copies of textbooks should be uploaded to Canvas for students to view online or print themselves.

When Do Course Materials Need to Be Uploaded in MATS?

Course Materials must be uploaded at least 2 business days before they are needed.

How to Upload Course Materials:

To add a course material to a course, first log into MATS. Once logged in, select the course from the Courses Teaching dashboard. From the course details page, go to the Materials tab and select Add Material.

add course material page

Material Form

After you click Add Course Material you will be prompted to fill out the course material form. There are 4 fields on the form, with the Notes field being optional.

material form
Name
This is the name of the file and will be displayed to the classroom facilitators. The name is not critical, but can be helpful for those organizing materials for class.
Handout Date
The handout date is the date of your class in which you want the material distributed.
Resource File
The resource file is the file you upload. While most common file formats are permitted, we recommend using PDFs as they will always maintain their formatting when printing. Uploading word documents or other file types may lose their formatting when the facilitator prints them.
Notes
Add any special notes needed about the file or it's distribution in this field.

How to Preview a Course Material

After a material has been added, you can go back to the course details page at any time and download the material for viewing or printing. Simply click the material name in the list, and when the material form comes up, click on the link in the form.

modify material form

Can I Change the File After I Upload It

No, you cannot. If you wish to alter the file, simple delete the course material and upload another version of it.

What types of files can I Upload

The following file formats are accepted, however we recommend PDF files where possible:

  • PDF - Portable Document Format
  • GIF - Graphics Interchange Format
  • JPG (JPEG) - Joint Photographic Experts Group
  • PNG - Portable Network Graphics
  • CSV - Comma Separated Values
  • TXT - Plain Text
  • DOC (DOCX) - Microsoft Word
  • XLS (XLSX) - Microsoft Excel
  • PPT (PPTX) - Microsoft PowerPoint
  • RTF - Rich Text Format