Migrating Courses from Blackboard to Canvas

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Do you want to move course materials from Blackboard to Canvas? In making the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, it is important to complete the following three steps:

Migrating from Blackboard

  1. Export your Blackboard Courses
  2. Upload and save your Exported Blackboard courses Zip files into Box
  3. Import your course files from Blackboard into Canvas

We highly recommend that you Export all your Blackboard courses and then upload the Zip files into to your Box account. The Export file is used to import content into Canvas, such as all your course files. We recommend NOT importing your grade center columns and assignments. It is best to create these within Canvas.

We have detailed instructions on how to Export copies of your course to Box, and also how to Import your course files from Blackboard into Canvas.

Blackboard and Canvas Logos

For more questions about Canvas and Training visit our Canvas Training Center for faculty. We are here to help you get your courses started in Canvas.

Getting Started with Canvas

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CanvasAre you planning to switch from Blackboard to Canvas this fall?  We’re here to help!

Workshops are scheduled throughout the month of August:

 

Monday, August 10 1:00pm – 2:30pm Introduction to Canvas Library 115
Tues., August 11 10:00am – 11:30am Introduction to Canvas Library 115
Thurs., August 13 10:00am – 11:30am Assessment & Grades Library 115
Tues., August 18 5:30pm – 7:00pm Introduction to Canvas Library 115
Weds., August 19 1:00pm – 2:30pm Introduction to Canvas JBWS 361
Weds., August 19 2:30pm – 4:00pm Assessment & Grades JBWS 361
Friday, August 21 10:00am – 11:30am Assessment & Grades Library 115

If you can’t make a workshop or need additional assistance, please schedule a one-on-one appointment with any of the Instructional Technology staff by emailing instcom@stedwards.edu or calling 512-464-8804.

We also have curated lots of Canvas resources online in our Canvas Training Center .  The Canvas Community also has the answer to just about any question you might have about Canvas.

Open Peer Review of New Resource for Digital Pedagogy Ends August 3

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Digital Pedagogy Avatar for MLA BooksWe invite you to take part in open peer review of a new project on digital pedagogy that is being coedited by Rebecca Frost Davis. The brief essays and pedagogical artifacts present valuable models of innovative pedagogy.  Read on for details.

Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Concepts, Models, and Experiments, edited by Rebecca Frost Davis, Matthew K. Gold, Katherine D. Harris, and Jentery Sayers, is a dynamic open-access collection currently in development on MLA Commons. The editors invite your participation in the open peer review of this collection.

Each entry in the collection focuses on a keyword in the field of digital pedagogy (ranging from “queer” to “interface” to “professionalization”) and is curated by an experienced practitioner, who briefly contextualizes a concept and then provides ten supporting artifacts, such as syllabi, prompts, exercises, lesson plans, and student work, drawn from courses, classrooms, and projects across the humanities. New keywords will be added in batches throughout 2015, with fifty keywords to be included in the final project.

Please visit https://digitalpedagogy.commons.mla.org  to read through and respond to the first set of keywords, now available for open review. The official review period for the first set of keywords will end on 3 August 2015. You do not have to be a member of the MLA to take part in open peer review, and while this collection focuses on humanities pedagogy, many of the keywords and resources will be relevant to other disciplines.

Keywords and curators in the first batch are:

  • Hybrid (Jesse Stommel)
  • Interface (Kathi Inman Berens)
  • Praxis (Bethany Nowviskie, Jeremy Boggs, and J. K. Purdom Lindblad)
  • Queer (Edmond Y. Chang)
  • Rhetoric (Douglas Eyman)
  • Video (Daniel Anderson and Jason Loan)

Thanks in advance for reading and participating!

Select Innovation Institute sessions open to all faculty: May 20, 22, 26, and 27

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InnovationThe Center for Teaching Excellence, Department of Instructional Technology, and Munday Library invite all faculty to join us for select sessions from this year’s Innovation Institute.

Although most of the Institute’s sessions are only open to the 2015-16 Innovation Fellows, this year we are opening up five workshops to any interested St. Edward’s faculty member (full-time, part-time or adjunct, and staff who teach). The open workshops are listed below.  If you wish to attend any (or all!) of them, please sign up so that we can anticipate attendance.  To learn more about the workshops and register please see the full workshop listing on the Innovation Fellowship Blog.

Workshop 1: Gathering Digital Resources & Using Digital Tools for Research, Collaboration, and Projects, Wednesday, May 20, 12:15 – 2 pm, Fleck 305

Workshop 2: Designing Collaborative Learning Activities and Projects, Friday, May 22, 12:15 – 2 pm, Moody 212

Workshop 3: Approaches to Discovery, Inquiry-guided, and Problem-based Learning, Tuesday, May 26, 12:15 – 2 pm, Fleck 305

Workshop 4: Course Design Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement in Activities Outside of Class, Wednesday, May 27, 9:30 – 11:30 am, Fleck 305

Workshop 5: Scaffolding Student Learning In (and Across) Projects, Wednesday, May 27, 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Fleck 305

Canvas Selected as New LMS for St. Edward’s University

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On April 24, the Task Force for Learning Management System (LMS) Evaluation voted in favor of a  recommendation to switch from Blackboard, our current LMS, to Canvas. The LMS is an integral part of our St. Edward’s learning ecosystem that expands learning beyond the classroom by allowing students to interact with their instructor, fellow students, and course content outside of face-to-face course meetings.  Based on this recommendation, the Offices of Academic Affairs and Information Technology (which had jointly charged this task force), have decided that St. Edward’s University should transition from the Blackboard Learning Management System to Canvas beginning in Summer 2015 with all courses migrated by Summer 2016. 
CanvasStEdsLogo

Why Canvas?

The task force chose Canvas based on its service reliability, its design for digital learning, and its potential for serving future learning needs of St. Edward’s University students and faculty. Faculty input played a major role in the creation and evaluation of criteria used in making this decision. The task force included faculty from every school, drew on input from faculty surveys in 2010 and 2013, and evaluated data on current faculty use of the learning management system. Furthermore, eighteen faculty piloted Canvas in spring 2015 (including two teaching the same course in both Canvas and Blackboard) and their feedback gathered through three surveys and two course demonstration focus groups was a valuable asset in the task force recommendation. The task force also held vendor demonstrations, consulted with OIT staff who support Blackboard, and heard from other staff who support the academic mission.  The full recommendation report, which details criteria and data, is available online: Final LMS task force recommendation

You Choose When to Move to Canvas

Canvas is available to all faculty now, and courses for summer and fall 2015 are already populated, but faculty can choose to move when it is convenient to them at any point during the next academic year. Courses will be automatically set up in both Canvas and Blackboard for the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters. Beginning in summer 2016, active courses must use Canvas for their learning management system.  To see Canvas, go to https://stedwards.instructure.com/ and log-in with your SEU username and password.

You Choose How to Learn Canvas: Visit http://think.stedwards.edu/instructionaltechnology/canvas

To help faculty make this transition, Instructional Technology is offering a range of training options:
  • Introduction to Canvas Workshops: All courses are scheduled in the Library Training Room (Munday Library 115). Introductory workshops will be offered weekly in May and June, with additional workshops at all levels offered throughout the summer, in fall 2015 and spring 2016. The first available workshop dates and times are below.
    • Tuesday, May 5th from 1-2:30pm
    • Wednesday, May 13 1:00 – 2:30
    • Thursday, May 14 10:00 – 11:30
  • Do It Yourself with the Canvas Training Center—it’s a public course, so you can join anytime.  Go to https://stedwards.instructure.com/courses/5655 and log in with your SEU username and password.
  • One-on-one consultations: Instructional Technology Staff can help you back-up your materials from Blackboard and set up your courses in Canvas.  Open times in the Faculty Resource Center (Premont 110) will be from 10 am – Noon on Wednesdays and Thursdays and from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Appointments may also be scheduled with Instructional Technology staff by emailing instcom@stedwards.edu.

Canvas and Cupcakes: Brought to You by OIT

 On May 4, 2015

Join OIT on the Ragsdale Lawn

from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

We will have free cupcakes and a blank canvas in need of your artistry to promote our adoption of Canvas (a new learning management system like Blackboard).

Not to mention, you deserve a free treat during finals week!

Check out our Twitter, Facebook or OIT Blog for more details.

Twitter: @StEdsOIT

Facebook: facebook.com/stedwardsOIT

OIT Blog: think.stedwards.edu/informationtechnologyblog

 

Task Force for Learning Management System Evaluation Votes for Canvas

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The Task Force for Learning Management System (LMS) Evaluation has voted to recommend that St. Edward’s University move to the Canvas learning management system.  This recommendation has been submitted to Mary Boyd, Vice President for Academic Affairs and David Waldron, Vice President for Information Technology, who will make the final decision.  This recommendation report outlines the reasons, as well as a proposed migration plan:  Final LMS task force recommendation

Faculty Recognition Ceremony and Faculty Gathering

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FacultyCeremonyImage_300Please join us for this new event, which combines the faculty awards presentation (formerly part of the Honors Night program) and the final faculty gathering of the 2014-2015 academic year.

Thursday, April 30
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Mabee Ballroom

The program will open at 4:00 p.m. with the recognition ceremony. The ceremony will be immediately followed by a reception with food, wine, other drinks, and the music of St. Edward’s Jazz Band, “Steady.”

Those individuals who will be recognized include:

  • the Distinguished Teaching Awards and Outstanding Teaching Award for Adjunct Faculty  recipients and finalists;
  • the Distinguished Teaching Career Award recipient;
  • the Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction recipient and finalist;
  • the Outstanding Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Award recipient;
  • those who were promoted and/or tenured;
  • the 2015-16 Innovation Fellows;
  • the 2015 Technology for Innovative Learning & Teaching Pilot Project Grant recipients;
  • those who have piloted new technologies on behalf of the university in the 2014-2015 academic year;
  • the 2015 Presidential Excellence Research Grant recipients:
  • and those who have applied for grants, both external and internal.

Please join us in celebrating your colleagues’ accomplishments!

This gathering is sponsored by the Center for Teaching Excellence, the Department of Instructional Technology, the Office of Sponsored Programs, and the Office of Institutional Assessment.

Quality Matters Comes to St. Edward’s

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In 2014, St. Edward’s subscribed to Quality Matters, a nationally recognized program for ensuring excellence in online and blended courses.  This blog post is intended to give the St. Ed’s community a quick overview of QM and what we can hope to gain from the program:

What is Quality Matters?

  • QM is a Not-for-Profit, Subscription-based service
  • QM provides tools and training for Quality Assurance of Online and Blended Courses
  • Originally developed at MarylandOnline via grant funding
  • Used by hundreds of Universities in 45 states
  • QM is a set of Rubric-based standards for the design and structure of online and blended courses
  • Can be used by individual Instructors or as part of a committee-based review process
  • Campus QM programs are always Faculty led
  • The QM organization provides training and professional certifications

What is the QM Process?

From the Faculty Perspective the QM process is designed to be:

  • Collaborative – It’s about the course, not the individual Instructor
  • Collegial – It’s about course quality, not faculty evaluation
  • Continuous – It’s an iterative process of improvement, not a “win/lose” or “pass/fail”
  • Centered – It’s about diagnosis and improvement, not judgment

When reviewing Courses, there are 8 components that are evaluated.  The components are listed below, in the order in which they are evaluated:

1. Course Overview and IntroductionQM Pie chart graphic

2. Learning Objectives or Competencies

3. Assessment and Measurement

4. Instructional Materials

5. Learner Interaction and Engagement

6. Course Technology

7. Learner Support

8. Accessibilty

 

How can St. Ed’s Faculty take advantage of the QM process?

There are three ways in which the QM process can be used:

  • Individual Instructor uses QM Rubric to evaluate and improve her course
  • Individual Instructor works with SEU QM Peer Reviewer to collaborate on conducting the QM review process
  • Individual Instructor works with SEU QM Committee to complete formal course review and certification

As indicated before, the QM process is always Faculty-led.  Individuals are free to use the QM process and rubric to evaluate their own courses, while evaluation committees are convened to perform official reviews that result in QM certification.  Review committees are comprised of three reviewers.

FAQ about Evaluating the Learning Management System

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Blackboard and Canvas LogosMembers of the Learning Management System Evaluation Task Force have received many questions about their work.  This blog post is a round up of questions and answers.  To see more information about the task force and its activities, check out the other blogs posts tagged with “lms” on this blog:  https://sites.stedwards.edu/instructionaltechnology/tag/lms/

1. What is the process?

  • The Office of Information Technology supports and monitors technology platforms for the university.  Based on their knowledge of the Learning Management System (LMS) marketplace, they recommended an evaluation of our LMS.
  • The Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Information Technology jointly charged a task force composed of faculty representing each school, level of student, and delivery mode for courses, as well as related staff to evaluate the LMS.
  • The task force began meeting in Fall 2014 and has promised a decision by April 24. If a change is recommended, instructors would have until Fall 2016 before they had to move from Blackboard to Canvas.
  • The task force has met to review information about learning management systems, has gathered data on use of Blackboard and pilot use of Canvas, has hosted demos from vendors and by Canvas pilot faculty, has decided on criteria for evaluation based on all of those activities, and will make a recommendation based on those criteria.
  • Mary Boyd, Vice President for Academic Affairs, and David Waldron, Vice President for Information Technology will review the recommendation and make the final decision.

2. How long does it take?

  • The LMS was last reviewed in 2010 by a subcommittee of the TLTR which had vendor demos attended by faculty, surveyed faculty about the LMS, and made a recommendation to move to Blackboard 9 rather than Moodle.  That committee was convened in October 2010 and made its recommendation in January 2011.
  • This task force has taken longer for its review to allow for in-depth exploration of a potential new LMS by having faculty pilot it for courses.  Pilot faculty are representative of every school, level of student, and delivery mode for courses.

3. How can I find out what the task force did and what they decide?

4. Why Now?

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) recommended an evaluation of the learning management system for the following reasons:

  1. It is a regular process to review technology platforms to ensure the best solutions for the university.
  2. There have been ongoing support and reliability challenges for supporting Blackboard. While OIT has reduced the amount of down-time that impacts the campus, cloud hosted solutions promise greater reliability (greater than 99% up-time).
  3. OIT has a strategy of choosing cloud-hosting for reliability.  The impact of upgrades is also reduced because there are many tiny upgrades without taking down a service.
  4. There has been a change in the web since the university last chose an LMS.  In particular, there has been a growth of social media, increased use of easy audio and video, more intuitive interfaces, and the growth of mobile use for web access.
  5. The university needs learning tools that meet students where they are, e.g., with free mobile access and personalized communication choices.
  6. There has been a change in the approach to the learning management system since the university last reviewed the LMS.  The new approach focuses on integrating more external tools through the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard and views the LMS as part of a larger ecosystem rather than a walled garden. (To find out more, see Carl Straumsheim. “The Post-LMS LMS.” Inside Higher Ed 18 July 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.)

5. Would switching the LMS require too much change given faculty workloads and other changes on campus?

  • It is true that there is a lot of change on campus, but there may never be a time when that will not be true.  For example, a new general education curriculum is scheduled to be in place by 2018, with substantial work by faculty to create new courses in 2017.  Any new LMS should be in place before those courses are created.
  • The proposed migration plan lets faculty pick 1 of 3 semesters for a move: Fall 2015, Spring 2016, and Fall 2016.  Instructors can pick the time that best fits their work load.
  • Canvas is intuitive and offers a wide range of do-it-yourself resources.
  • There are ways to export/import content from Blackboard to Canvas.
  • Instructional Technology will provide extensive support and training for migration.

6. What about contingent faculty? How would they make the change?

  • Yes, Instructional Technology has thought about contingent faculty and are including support for their migration in their plans. Some contingent faculty already have experience with Canvas from other universities.  For example, UT uses Canvas.

7. What about students?

  • Students were surveyed about their preferred LMS features and their use of Blackboard and Canvas.  There is a student representative on the task force.

8. What is Blackboard’s future? Why don’t we wait for their new offering? 

  • Blackboard’s new version is not yet available for testing, but in demonstration it seems to copy Canvas.  Availability is still more than a year off.  OIT has concerns about Blackboard’s ability to implement this drastic change, especially based on previous versions.  Either way, however, faculty would be faced with a changed interface.
  • Although Blackboard is promising a cloud-hosted version, past experience with Blackboard support makes OIT question their reliability for cloud-hosting.

9. Why is the task force looking at Canvas?

  • Canvas is the industry leader for this new type of interface and is rapidly gaining market share from Blackboard.
  • Canvas is approved by Internet2, a higher ed IT consortium of which St. Edward’s is a member; 252 US universities, 41 regional and state education networks, 82 corporate partners (service providers) are members of Internet2.  One of the benefits for members is consortial pricing and validating services, with a rigorous process (functional, technical, contractual, legal evaluations). Canvas is a general availability product, which that means is that it has been tested, piloted, and proven to be a reliable service.

10. Which is better? Blackboard or Canvas

  • The task force has gathered data on LMS usage, especially what features the majority of faculty use (communication, file repository, collecting assignments, gradebook).  They are using this data to help determine which platform–Blackboard or Canvas–has features that best meet the needs of the majority of faculty.
  • The task force is conducting a pilot of Canvas and surveying faculty about both Blackboard and Canvas to see which LMS has features that best meet the needs of the majority of faculty.

11. If we move to cloud hosting, will someone in the Digital Infrastructure department lose their job? 

  • No. Digital infrastructure staff support other platforms besides Blackboard.  There is no staff member who only works on Blackboard.  Cloud-hosting, however, would give Digital Infrastructure staff time to implement more tools like Box or a new email and calendaring system.

12. If we change LMS platforms, what about the people in Instructional Technology who support the LMS?

  • Instructional technology staff will continue to support the LMS, whether it is Blackboard or Canvas.
  • Canvas does offer some features that might allow instructional technology staff to focus on more innovative uses of technology and complex instructional design rather than more basic tasks for supporting Blackboard.  For example, it is easy to see how to publish courses (make available to students).  Also, faculty members can add their own TAs.  Canvas also has easily available online guides and a vibrant user community.
  • Instructional technology looks for tools that will empower faculty so they do their work without having to wait on instructional technology.

Have more questions?  Reply to this blog post, contact one of the task force co-chairs, Amy Burnett or Rebecca Frost Davis, or one of the task force members, listed here: https://sites.stedwards.edu/instructionaltechnology/2014/11/18/learning-management-system-evaluation-task-force-named/

Update from the Learning Management System Evaluation Task Force

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The Learning Management System (LMS) Evaluation Task Force has been communicating to faculty and students about Canvas and Blackboard through events on campus and gathering information about the current use of the LMS.

Events included

  • Demonstrations from Instructure (Canvas) and Blackboard.  Both vendors spent a day on campus meeting with faculty and Task Force members.
    • Blackboard is developing a new cloud-based product called Blackboard Learn 2015 Premium with a new user interface, Ultra.  The Ultra interface is completely different from the existing Blackboard interface.  This product is still in development and is scheduled to be released in the 3rd Quarter of 2015.  You can view a recording of a webinar introducing this product at http://youtu.be/tLxKxHa34WU . The instructor view starts around minute 21:00.
    • Canvas staff demonstrated the product that 18 faculty at St. Edward’s are currently piloting.  The full list of Canvas pilots is available on this webpage: Canvas Pilots.  If you missed the demo and would like to look at Canvas, all faculty may log into Canvas at https://stedwards.instructure.com and experience Canvas.  Instructional Technology staff will also be happy to answer any questions about the use of Canvas.
  • Panel discussions from some of the 18 faculty piloting Canvas on March 3 and 24th. Some of their favorite things about Canvas included:
    • Attendance Tracking
    • Student notifications of announcements and updates via text messaging
    • Ease of linking to content, for example a PDF in the middle of a descriptive paragraph of text
    • The button for making the course available to students is easy to find

Information Gathering

  • Surveys to faculty and students piloting Canvas have been sent out asking faculty and students to rate features both on functionality and ease of use.
  • Gathering Data around Blackboard use.  In Spring 2015
    • 86% of contracted and 77% of contingent faculty use Blackboard to some extent
    • 985 courses are currently available
    • 15% of available courses are accepting assignments online
    • 8% of available courses are using discussions

LMS Evaluation Task Force Timeline

  • April 13: Final Survey to Canvas Pilot Faculty
  • April 24: LMS Evaluation Task Force recommendation to Mary Boyd, Vice President, Academic Affairs and Dave Waldron, Vice President, Information Technology
  • May 1: Decision by Mary Boyd and Dave Waldron

If a decision is made to move to Canvas, we will be migrating from Blackboard over the course of the next year. Extensive training, support and migration assistance will be available.  Faculty will have the opportunity to use Canvas starting Summer 2015, but Blackboard will remain available for course use until Summer 2016.