Canvas Transition
Canvas Transition
Blackboard to Canvas Transition
Teaching Remotely
Visit our remote teaching page for more resources for managing your classroom when you — or your students — can't be on campus.
Rowan University has started transitioning its learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas to streamline course delivery for faculty and provide a seamless experience for students across all schools and colleges.
See below for frequently asked questions, Canvas training options, Canvas course information and a full project timeline.
Spring 2021 Update
Starting Monday, Nov. 2, instructors can start creating Spring 2021 course shells in Canvas. See our most recent announcement for more information or review the FAQs below.
Submissions for eLearning Enhanced courses for Spring 2021 has concluded
The deadline to submit eLearning Enhanced (ELE) courses for Spring 2021 concluded on November 30, 2020. See below for more information about ELE courses.
No Personal Email Addresses and Cell Phone Numbers
As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, personal email addresses and cell phone numbers cannot be added to Canvas. Any personal email addresses and cell phone numbers added in Canvas prior to Dec. 29 can remain and notifications will continue to be sent. See our most recent announcement for more information.
Page last updated: Monday, Dec. 28, at 11:30 a.m.
Faculty FAQs
How do I create a course shell in Canvas?
Instructors can start creating Spring 2021 course shells in Canvas as of Monday, Nov. 2.
To create a course shell in Canvas:
- Go to the Rowan Online Portal
- Click Log In in the top navigation menu
- Click My Courses from the yellow menu bar
- Scroll down and select the applicable term from the drop-down menu
- Click on the Create Canvas shell button next to your course(s)
How do I combine multiple sections in Canvas?
Cross-listing is a self-elective system available in the Rowan Online portal that allows faculty to combine course sections into a single Canvas shell. For instructions, see our article on cross-listing sections in Canvas.
Please note the following functions and limitations for the cross-listing tool:
- Courses that are already published in Canvas cannot be cross-listed.
- You can only cross-list courses that you are the official instructor of record for in Banner and Section Tally.
- You can cross-list multiple courses, but they all need to be cross-listed at the same time.
- Courses that are already cross-listed to one course cannot be cross-listed to another course.
- You can only cross-list one set of courses at a time. You must repeat this process for each set of courses you would like to cross-list.
- Cross-list requests will be processed by Rowan Online within 5 business days of submission.
- All cross-lists are final! Once your request has been approved, cross-listing courses cannot be undone. Please review your request before submitting it.
How do I get started with Canvas?
When users elect to create their course shell, they are also enrolled in a self-paced training course in Canvas.
This training course houses all the information you need to build your course with the standard Rowan template. The self-paced training course guides you through Canvas and its tools. Access to this course is also available for instructors who are not teaching in the current semester.
Please see our Canvas training section for more information.
How do I import content into Canvas?
The functionality to import external content is not enabled on the Rowan instance of Canvas.
To migrate content into Canvas, you must download and save the materials you want to include in your Canvas course to a local drive or your Rowan University Google Drive account. You can then build out your course shell with this content.
New for Spring 2021, you will be given the option to copy existing course content into your shell for each of your Spring 2021 courses. For each course where you select “Create Shell,” you will be prompted to choose between copying content from an existing course or creating a new, blank shell.
- When you choose “copy content,” you will be able to select any one previous course. The system will copy 100 percent of the course content into your designated Spring 2021 course shell.
- When you choose to create a new, blank shell, a new shell with the default course template will be provisioned for you.
- Please note that an option to copy the course content from the previous term is only available at the time you are creating your shell for the term. You cannot select to do this at a later time. If you choose to copy your courses later, you will need to use the Canvas Commons system to manage the copy process. After you copy course content, you may update, edit, and/or delete any portions of the copied content in the new shell.
- After you submit your request, the course shell and copy process will begin immediately within Canvas. You will receive an email notification when the course is ready (course copy may take some time depending on the amount of content being copied). Once you receive the email notification, you can begin building and/or updating your course for the spring 2021 semester.
- Please plan for timely submissions since students are expected to view their courses 5 days before the course starts.
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.
How do I add a student or another instructor to my Canvas course?
Please submit a request for support if you are the instructor on record and wish to add another instructor or teaching assistant to your course.
When will Zoom be available in Canvas?
Zoom is now available to instructors for use with courses in Canvas. Please visit go.rowan.edu/zoom to get started with Zoom.
When will my course(s) be published/made available to students to view?
Canvas courses are automatically published five days prior to the start date. Once a course is published it will be visible and accessible to students from the Canvas Dashboard.
An unpublished course provides faculty the ability to build their course(s) with privacy. A course cannot be published earlier than five days before the start date.
Who can help me with building my course?
If you are developing an online-only/hybrid course or have been approved by your department to create an eLearning Enhanced course, please reach out to your instructional designer for help. See the section on course types below for more information about the options for online courses in Canvas.
Support to build a traditional-remote course can be found in the self-paced Canvas training course.
I'm interested in LTI tools and 3rd party integrations. Where can I get more information?
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.
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.
Student FAQs
After registering, where do I go to access my courses?
- Go to the Rowan Online Portal
- Click Access Your Courses in Canvas
- Log in with your Rowan Network username and password to access Canvas
- Upon logging in, you will have access to the Canvas Dashboard which houses all of your courses
Why are my courses not available in Canvas?
Courses become available to students five days before the course begins. Once a course is available, you will see the course on your Canvas Dashboard.
If I add a class after the term begins, how soon will the class be available to me in Canvas?
Canvas Training
Self-Paced Canvas Training Course
Faculty Teaching in Spring 2021
If you are teaching a course in spring 2021, you will gain access to a self-paced training course in Canvas after you create a course shell in Canvas for the spring 2021 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 Spring 2021
If you are not teaching a course in the spring 2021 semester or you have not yet been assigned to teach a course for the spring 2021 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
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
“Getting Started for Fall 2020: Tips & Tricks for Rowan Faculty Success”
The Office of the Provost, Information Resources & Technology, Rowan Online and the Faculty Center held several one-hour sessions in August to help faculty prepare for fall 2020. Watch one of the recorded sessions or review answers to questions asked during the sessions by clicking the links below.
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
- 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
Canvas Course Types
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 are entirely designed for online instruction, and hybrid courses are primarily designed for online instruction. Faculty who are interested in pursuing these types of courses 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.
- 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.
eLearning Enhanced vs. 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.
Service/Tools |
eLearning Enhanced |
Traditional-Remote |
Standard Template |
|
|
Instructional Design Course Review |
|
|
Training & Technology Support |
|
|
Proctortrack* |
|
|
Enhanced Instructional Design support |
|
|
*For eLearning enhanced and traditional-remote courses, departments must approve and fund the use of Proctortrack per course.
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 |