Canvas Transition
Canvas Transition
Blackboard to Canvas Transition
Project Overview
The first step of the transition to Canvas will begin in summer 2020 and focus on non-medical undergraduate and graduate courses across all campuses. Canvas will replace Blackboard for those courses in the fall 2020 semester. Rowan University will begin transitioning its learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas in 2020 to streamline course delivery for faculty and provide a seamless experience for students across all schools and colleges.
Faculty at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) and the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM) will start receiving training on Canvas in the beginning of 2021. Canvas will replace Blackboard for medical courses in the fall 2021 term.
Latest Faculty Communications
- Update on Blackboard to Canvas transition for Glassboro faculty
- Migration from Blackboard to Canvas Learning Management System
Additional Information
Canvas Training
Self-Paced Canvas Training Course
Faculty Teaching in Fall 2020
If you are teaching a course in fall 2020, you will gain access to a self-paced training course in Canvas after you create a course shell in Canvas for the fall 2020 semester.
The course, which will be available in your Canvas Dashboard, will show you how to download existing course content from Blackboard and build a new course in Canvas.
Faculty Not Teaching in Fall 2020
If you are not teaching a course in the fall 2020 semester or you have not yet been assigned to teach a course for the fall 2020 semester, you may still enroll in the self-paced training course. Please note that enrollment in the self-paced training course will not provide you with access to develop course materials in Canvas.
To enroll in the self-paced training course, please visit our enrollment form.
Q&A Sessions
Our planned Q&A sessions in July and August have been canceled due to staffing issues. To watch a recorded Q&A session, please click play on one of the videos below.
Watch: June 4 Q&A Session
Watch: June 23 Q&A Session
Topic Training Sessions
Recorded Sessions
Watch one of our recorded training sessions on a specific Canvas topic by clicking the links below. We've also provided answers to frequently asked questions on specific topics in the relevant links. To access the FAQs, make sure you are logged in to Google with your Rowan University account.
- Canvas Commons (Coming Soon...)
- Modules, Files, & Pages
- Moving Content from Blackboard to Canvas
- Kaltura/Incorporating Media
- Assignments
- Grading & Speedgrader
- Discussions
- Groups & Group Assignments
- Tests, Quizzes, & Assessments
- Peer Review
- Help Link, Profile Settings & Notifications
- Course Settings & Home Page
- eLearning Enhanced Mini Lesson
- Video Conferencing (Conferences & Webex)
- Announcements
- Send Messages & Communicate with Students in Canvas
Project Timeline
Glassboro Campus
| Phase | Date |
| Create Canvas Course Shell | Starting June 1, 2020 |
| Canvas Replaces Blackboard | Start of Fall 2020 Term |
| Access to Blackboard Ends | January 31, 2021 |
CMSRU & RowanSOM
| Phase | Timeline |
| Training Begins | Starting Winter 2021 |
| Canvas Replaces Blackboard | Start of Fall 2021 Term |
FAQs: Glassboro Faculty
Why is Rowan University transitioning from Blackboard to Canvas?
The transition from Blackboard to Canvas will streamline course delivery for faculty and provide a seamless experience for students across all schools and colleges whether they are taking a traditional face-to-face, hybrid or online course.
While this project has been in the works for some time, the sudden need to move so many classes online due to COVID-19 highlighted the difficulties of operating one university with two different learning management systems. Courses developed in Canvas could not migrate easily to Blackboard or vice versa. As we anticipate further development of online courses and the need to be flexible in our course delivery options, the need to convert to a single learning management system has become clear.
When will I be able to begin using Canvas?
You will be able to create a course shell for your eligible courses in Canvas as of June 1.
To create a course shell:
- Go to the Rowan Online Portal
- Click Log In in the top navigation menu
- Click My Courses from the top navigation menu
- Follow the instructions to create a course shell for each of your eligible courses
What types of courses are available in Canvas?
There are four different options for online courses within Canvas: online-only, hybrid, eLearning enhanced and traditional-remote.
- Online-Only/Hybrid Courses: Online-only courses, which are entirely designed for online instruction, and hybrid courses, which are primarily designed for online instruction, will not be available as an option for the fall 2020 semester. Faculty who are interested in pursuing these types of courses for future semesters should submit a proposal through the Rowan Online Portal.
- ELearning Enhanced Course: More than 20 percent of course content and activities are developed for online instruction in eLearning enhanced courses. Faculty teaching eLearning enhanced courses will be provided with one-on-one instructional design support and given access to additional online tools to support online instruction. Please note that the Rowan Online eLearning Enhanced process is not required for any hyflex offerings; eLearning Enhanced has been recommended for any instructor who is offering a hyflex-flipped course section for fall 2020.
- Traditional-Remote Course: The traditional-remote course is designed to offer an online repository to accommodate face-to-face instruction. Faculty must develop a course plan and offer a syllabus and instructor bio for traditional-remote courses. Course shells for traditional-remote courses must be created at least 30 days before the start of the course.
What is the difference between a traditional-remote course and an eLearning enhanced course?
Most faculty transitioning to Canvas for the fall 2020 semester will have the option to pursue two course types: eLearning enhanced or traditional-remote. More than 20 percent of course content and activities are developed for online instruction in eLearning enhanced courses. Please see the chart below for more details about the support and tools that are available for each course type.
eLearning Enhanced vs. Traditional-Remote
|
Service/Tools |
eLearning Enhanced |
Traditional-Remote |
|
Standard Template |
|
|
|
Instructional Design Course Review |
|
|
|
Training & Technology Support |
|
|
|
Proctortrack* |
|
|
|
Poll Everywhere Integration |
|
|
|
Enhanced Instructional Design support |
|
|
(Required)
*For eLearning enhanced and traditional-remote courses, departments must approve and fund the use of Proctortrack per course. Instructors interested in using Proctortrack must submit a request to support no later than Friday, August 14.
What is Canvas Commons?
Canvas Commons is a system that allows instructors to share content across their courses. For more information and understanding of how Commons can be used, please carefully review the Canvas Commons Guide and Policy.
What will cross-listing of courses be available?
Cross-listing of courses went live in Canvas on Thursday, July 30. Self-service cross-listing in the online.rowan.edu portal (under the My Courses menu item) will allow an instructor to merge one or more of their own sections in a term into a single course. Details on how to cross-list your course sections can be found in the Canvas self-paced training course (available in Canvas).
I'm interested in LTI tools and 3rd party integrations. Where can I get more information?
Rowan Online has finalized its LMS Third-party Integrations Policy and Request Form. Please review the policy carefully and submit your request via the form. If you have already submitted a request to support, you may also be asked to complete a form submission. Rowan Online will do its best to review all requests for Fall 20. Note that technology approvals are subject to review by IRT and may take several weeks or more to review and approve. For Spring 21 and beyond, deadlines are posted by which requests must be submitted (deadlines are posted in online.rowan.edu).Where can I get help moving my courses from Blackboard to Canvas?
Please see our Canvas training section above for information about training opportunities.
How long will I be able to access Blackboard?
You will be able to access and download content from Blackboard until January 31, 2021.
Please note that while you will maintain access to Blackboard until January 31, 2021, students will not. All online course materials you intend to deliver to students must be transitioned to Canvas by the start of the fall 2020 semester.
