What’s new with Canvas

Good afternoon,

As you know, Loyalist College will be moving to a new Learning Management System, Canvas, as of the Fall 2022 semester.  The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning has developed and curated a wide variety of options to support your teaching and learning practice as you transition to the new LMS.

Next Step – Attend a Getting Started with Canvas workshop:

Join us at one of the many Getting Started with Canvas workshops offered throughout the month of March. You will learn how to access your Canvas account and become familiar with the basic functions of the new LMS.  

Details:

• Workshops begin the week of March 7^th.  There are both in-person and virtual options.
• Please see the attached calendar, or our events page to register.
• You can also register directly through Corsizio.
• Workshops will continue to be offered in April/May/June as well – details to follow

 

Other Facilitated Workshops:

Essential Workshops (hosted by CATL team):

After completing the Getting Started with Canvas workshop, there are several other essential workshops for faculty to help you navigate various core aspects of Canvas, including topics such as:

• Importing your Blackboard content
• Assignments and Rubrics
• Quizzes and Item Banks
• Grading and Feedback

 

Supplemental Workshops (hosted by Canvas Live):

• These are additional webinars offered directly through Canvas.
• We have highlighted a few on the attached March events calendar and flow chart that would be beneficial as a supplement to the essential workshops being offered.
• Please join us at one of the Getting Started with Canvas workshops prior to attending any of the Canvas Live workshops (because you will need to know how to access your Canvas account to access these)

 

Recommended and Optional Workshops:

A variety of additional recommended and optional workshops are forthcoming in April/May/June, including topics such as:

• Using MS Teams in Canvas
• Groups and Collaborations
• Accessibility Features

 

Other Supports:

Open Lab Hours:

We will be offering in-person Open Lab Hours each week where you can work in Canvas with in-person CATL support present who can support you with any questions or challenges you are having.  These hours are listed below and on our events calendar.

 

All Open Lab Hours will take place in 2H11

Tuesday, March 15 – 1:00pm-3:00pm

Wednesday, March 16 – 10:00am-12:00pm

Wednesday, March 23 – 10:00am-12:00pm

Wednesday, March 30 – 10:00am-12:00pm

 

Virtual Lab Hours:

We will be offering virtual Open Lab Hours each week where you can work in Canvas with virtual CATL support at the ready to answer questions or help you with any challenges you are having.  Please visit the Teams link to join the virtual drop in during any of the following times:

Friday, March 11 – 1:00pm-3:00pm

Tuesday, March 15 – 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Thursday, March 24 – 1:00pm-3:00pm

Monday, March 28 – 10:00pm-12:00pm

 

Individual or Program Team Questions/Supports:

If you need to speak to one of CATL’s support team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by email at catl@loyalistcollege.com and we will connect you with the right person to assist you.

Stay tuned for more workshop information coming up for the months of April, May and June.

 

We are looking forward to working with you as we all transition to Canvas!

Centre for the Advancement of Teaching & Learning

Loyalist College of Applied Arts & Technology
376 Wallbridge-Loyalist Road
Belleville, Ontario K8N 5B9
catl@loyalistcollege.com
loyalistcollege.com
loyalistcatl.ca

The following message has been sent on behalf of Sean Monteith, Senior Vice-President Academic:

Good morning everyone,

December is here, and with only one month until the New Year, we are looking forward with hope and possibility! The end of year is also a good opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished together to achieve continuous improvement at Loyalist College. I recognize many staff and faculty have been anticipating the formal announcement and associated actions required for a successful migration from our current platform, Blackboard.

 

With this in mind, we’re very excited to announce that Loyalist College will be moving to Canvas as our new Learning Management System early in the New Year

The decision to change to Canvas follows an extensive review process that included focused consultations with faculty, students, support staff and leadership.  Results of a sandbox user experience revealed Canvas’s user-friendly interface, strong customer support, and robust set of tools that will empower faculty to create engaging, student-centered digital learning experiences.  The Canvas LMS will enable Loyalist to build a flexible, supportive, and future-focused digital learning environment.

The expected implementation timelines are as follows:

 

• November–December 2021: Technical configuration; implementation plan, and development of support resources.
• January–August 2022: Faculty, student and staff onboarding and preparation work in Canvas.
• September 2022: All courses delivered in Canvas; Blackboard decommissioned.

 

The team responsible for the implementation of Canvas is committed to providing a range of support resources to help faculty, students and staff navigate the transition effectively over the coming year. The technical set-up of the system, and the development of faculty training and support resources is currently underway.

For continued updates on the status of this project, please bookmark this page https://loyalistcatl.ca/canvas/ and check back regularly.

We would like to like to thank all members of the Loyalist community who participated in this process and helped to inform the selection of our new LMS.

Sincerely,

Sean

 

Sean Monteith
Senior Vice-President, Academic

Loyalist College of Applied Arts & Technology
376 Wallbridge-Loyalist Road
Belleville, Ontario K8N 5B9
613-969-1913
smonteith@loyalistcollege.com
loyalistcollege.com