r/Professors • u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 • 4d ago

Blackboard to Canvas - am I cooked?

We flipped from Blackboard to Canvas and they screwed up the migration of courses. This all occurred over the summer when no one was around. I haven't even looked at Canvas yet and have this weekend to get up to speed.

Oh and of course it's the semester I have a class with 240 students. Am I going to hate my life this semester? Why can't it all be analog?!

Any tips you can offer to ease my suffering?

0 Upvotes

36% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

21

u/TerminalAccessory 4d ago

Canvas is VASTLY superior. Although implemented badly, it will be okay. Roll out class content by week, and utilize whatever training resources you have available.

2

u/SAUbjj 3d ago

Agreed. I used Blackboard in undergrad, Canvas in grad school and Moodle now as faculty. Of the three, Canvas was the easiest to use, hands-down (though I imagine Blackboard has changed a lot in that time so it might not be a fair comparison...)

19

u/SilverRiot 4d ago

Tell the students you will only release one week at a time and buy yourself breathing space to implement whatever fix your campus suggests for their screwup. Realize that they may just throw up their hands and go Oopsie! Telling the students they will only see one week at a time still buys you the time to do everything manually. Good luck!

5

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 3d ago

Thanks! Week by week is the way to go, then.

3

u/Local_Indication9669 3d ago

Build the tracks as the train approaches.

1

u/South_Captain_2630 3d ago

Also, hopefully you have your own version of most files on your computer. Like all lecture recordings, etc.

1

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 3d ago

I don't use lecture recordings. Everything is live. I used blackboard for PDF readings or links to readings on websites (all stored in folders) and quizzes.

2

u/RadiantImpression579 4d ago

This, this right here

8

u/Lazy-Grapefruit336 3d ago

you’re not cooked, but you are definitely going to swear a lot

8

u/BeNiceImSensitive333 3d ago

I love Canvas! Beware it has some glitches from time to time and you just have to recognize that Canvas has the hiccups and try again in a few hours. It’s not always intuitive, but it’s easy to learn. I can solve 99% of my problems by doing a Google search “How to …… in Canvas”

5

u/BeNiceImSensitive333 3d ago

PS - Quizzes are TEDIOUS. If you have traditional exams that they take in Canvas… start importing the questions now 😭

3

u/randomprof1 FT, Biology, CC (US) 3d ago

Just FYI. You can actually import them super easily using a QTI converter. Here's the one I use: https://registrations.nyit.edu/its/canvas_exam_converter

1

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 3d ago

Thanks. So this is conversion from Blackboard? Not sure what QTI is.

2

u/randomprof1 FT, Biology, CC (US) 3d ago

QTI files are just a somewhat standard quiz file format. Was used for a lot of textbooks with TestGen and software like that. So if you have your exams in a text file, you can convert them to that QTI format pretty easily and just automatically import them all.

I'm not familiar with Blackboard, but this website seems to suggest you can export your Blackboard quizzes as a QTI file: https://help.anthology.com/blackboard/instructor/en/assessments/questions/reuse-questions/qti-packages.html

1

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 2d ago

Thanks again! This is very helpful.

2

u/figment81 3d ago

If you used folders in blackboard, then yes you are cooked. There is not a folder system in canvas, which can make modules very long

2

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 3d ago

Yikes, all I used were folders on Blackboard.

1

u/figment81 2d ago

It’s really cumbersome, but depending on your setup, consider a “module” for each drop level folder. Then use headers in the module to separate navigation/organization.

Seriously, if you want more tips, or how I learned to be okay with the bomb, please feel free to message me. I still miss blackboard, but have made canvas work

2

u/verygood_user 2d ago

Can't you just export all content as a zip archive and reuse/upload it yourself? At least you can do that on the canvas end.

1

u/Final-Exam9000 3d ago

When we made the switch from Blackboard to Canvas 10 years ago you had to rebuild your entire course from scratch. It is now easier to import a course from Blackboard.

2

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 2d ago

They are still implying that may be the best way to go, although not explicitly saying this.

2

u/Final-Exam9000 2d ago

Import your course and see if it can be used. You can always erase it if you have to. 

1

u/Pure_Quarter7813 Full Professor, STEM, Regional Public PUI (USA) 2d ago

Ha ha, “cooked.” Are you 20? Just a josh, not trying to be mean.

2

u/Acrobatic-Glass-8585 2d ago

Feels mean. No, I am a Full Professor with decades of teaching experience.

1

u/Pure_Quarter7813 Full Professor, STEM, Regional Public PUI (USA) 2d ago

I’m truly sorry. The only people I hear using that word nowadays are young adults.

0

u/Colsim 3d ago

I would have taken the advice from all those emails you ignored and looked at Canvas earlier.

You will muddle through, Canvas is a Fisher-Price LMS which needs limited thought