Canvas
Where Can I Find Canvas?
Western has our own Canvas instance at http://wwu.instructure.com or you can find the Canvas icon once you have logged into myWestern.
What is Canvas?
Canvas is an open-source Learning Management System, built on a modern web framework and offered as a fully supported cloud-based application. The Canvas user interface is attractive to both faculty and students, and Canvas has many options for interoperability with other systems and services through its open-source API (Application Programming Interface).
Is Western Moving to Canvas?
Yes. The Faculty Senate approved the recommendation of the Academic Technology Committee to convert our learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas. The recommendation for this conversion is that: "full access to Blackboard be maintained through the end of summer quarter (2013). Beginning fall quarter (2013), the default Learning Management System will be Canvas. Please read the full memo to campus on the conversion.
When is Western Moving to Canvas?
The move has begun. Nearly 400 instructors and 10,000 students are actively using Canvas this spring term. And, as of May 8th, faculty have access to begin developing their fall courses.
Because it is in the best interest of students and the university to support a single LMS system, all faculty should migrate to Canvas by the Fall 2013 term. Access to archival materials from Blackboard will remain available to faculty until June 2014.
In support of this transition, ATUS offers frequent workshops on the use of Canvas, has available online tutorials, and can provide direct assistance in migrating content from Blackboard to Canvas.
Why Is Western Moving to Canvas?
Satisfaction with the Blackboard system has substantially declined over recent years. Canvas was identified by the majority of our pilot faculty as more user-friendly and reliable. Students in our pilot favored Canvas over Blackboard by a 4-1 margin.
In addition, Canvas was the selection by the Washington State Board of Community & Technology Colleges and both the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University have been successful in their adoption of the product.
Can Materials from Blackboard Courses be Converted to Canvas?
Yes. Canvas supports different methods for importing course content. Most Western faculty involved in the fall pilot uploaded new files into their Canvas course rather than importing materials from Blackboard. A majority of the faculty found that preparing course content in Canvas was easier than Blackboard and thought that it was time to re-organize their course content and re-think how they used an online system while moving to Canvas.
How Do I Get Started with Canvas?
ATUS is conducting training on a regular basis. Find upcoming sessions on the training website under the category of Academic Technology & User Services. All courses for the spring term and beyond will automatically be created and made available to faculty. Requests for courses not tied to Course Record Numbers (where manual-enrollment will need to be performend) can be made at http://wwu.edu/canvasrequest.
Where Can I Find More Info?
• More information about Canvas can be found at the Instructure Website.
• Tutorials on using Canvas are now available at our Knowledge Base site.