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What's a component?

What's a component?

Owned by Harmony Jankowski
Last updated: Apr 23, 2025

You’ve probably noticed a tab called Components at the top of your Terracotta screen. If you click to open the tab (as in the screenshot below), you’ll see this word a few more times. So, what are components in this context?

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Components in Terracotta are different kinds of assignments, surveys, or other linked activities that are part of an experiment. In all of these situations, you could have one version or more than one version of each component.

Types of Components

When you make your experiment, you’ll create the components that make up that experiment. Clicking the “create your first component” button lets you choose, first, if you’d like one or multiple versions, and then you’ll decide if you want to use the Terracotta Builder or an External Integration for your assignment.

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  • Terracotta Builder

    • This option allows you to create an assignment with multiple choice, short answer, or file upload questions.

  • External Integration

    • This option allows you to create an assignment that connects to a Qualtrics survey or other web object.

Both “Terracotta Builder” and “External Integration” create Canvas assignments that will look just like other Canvas assignments to your students.