\nCanvas allows each user to set their notification preferences<\/a> globally. Faculty and students may decide whether to receive notifications for certain actions (ex Announcements, Grading, Discussion Board posts), how often they receive the notifications (immediately, daily summary, weekly summary, no notification), and where they receive notifications (Lesley email, personal email, text message). Each individual sets his\/her own preferences on a global level; they cannot be set for individual courses.<\/p>\n
Calendar<\/strong> Unlike in Blackboard, there is no date management tool<\/a>\u00a0within courses. Instead, you can shift dates when importing content or by manually moving the items on the calendar.<\/p>\n Content\/Text editor<\/strong> Files, images, and links to course content (such as Assignments, Pages, Quizzes, Discussions, etc.) can easily be added from the Insert Content Into Page module in the right sidebar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Modules<\/strong> Once in the module, students page through content sequentially using Previous\/Next buttons. To view content out of order, students return to the Modules table of contents view and select the item they wish to view.<\/p>\n Instructors can easily set restrictions\u00a0for when students are able to view content, including time release conditions<\/a>, requirements<\/a>, or prerequisites<\/a>\u00a0before content is made available.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Collaborative Tools<\/strong> Faculty may create groups<\/a> for their course, where students can create pages, share files, have discussions, and participate in web conferences.<\/p>\n Assignments and Grading<\/strong> Similar to Blackboard, SpeedGrader<\/a> allows faculty to\u00a0view, grade, and provide feedback to students without ever leaving Canvas. A SpeedGrader app is also available for grading on a tablet.<\/p>\n When grading, instructors can provide text or media feedback as well as send messages to students who haven\u2019t submitted their assignment, haven\u2019t been graded yet, or scored less than or more than a certain grade.<\/p>\n Peer review<\/a> is built directly into the Assignment tool, allowing students the option to review their peers.<\/p>\n Unlike Blackboard, all grading columns must be associated with a gradable item, such as an assignment, quiz, or graded discussion. Instructors cannot manually create grade columns such as for participation or a classroom oral presentation. Instead, instructors would create an assignment and specify \u201cnon submission<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n How customizable is the course look and menus? <\/strong> Canvas does have themes, though they are only for branding and look and feel. These themes can only be customized at the admin level and applied to certain programs or schools.<\/p>\n How can I share quizzes or other content with other faculty?<\/strong> Can I add captions\u00a0to a video that I upload to Canvas?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Does Canvas offer Screencasting capability, for example to create course tours?<\/strong> How well are courses imported from Blackboard into Canvas?<\/strong> <\/p>\n Learn more about the LMS Review<\/a> and check out the info sheets<\/a> on all of the options we are reviewing. Please share your thoughts and questions with us by emailing elis@lesley.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, folks from Canvas joined several Lesley faculty and staff to give us a tour of the Canvas LMS and discuss what a Lesley course may look like if it were in Canvas. Overview of Canvas … Continue reading ![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/files\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-15-at-9.29.01-AM-300x226.png\")
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\nCanvas allows you to create events directly in the calendar<\/a>. Events added to the course calendar are automatically added to the syllabus area of the course.<\/p>\n
\nCanvas\u2019 Rich Content Editor<\/a> is easy to use, featuring formatting options similar to those in most standard content editors. You can record or upload audio and video directly into the text editor.<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/files\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-15-at-9.36.11-AM-300x116.png\")
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\nCanvas course content is organized into modules<\/a>, which function similarly to Blackboard’s learning modules. Clicking on Modules in the course menu takes users to a table of contents style list of course content. Clicking on a topic will take you to that item.<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/files\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-15-at-9.44.49-AM-300x146.png\")
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\nBigBlueButton<\/a> is built in to Canvas, allowing faculty and students the opportunity to meet online in real-time. BigBlueButton allows users to share audio, video, presentations, and more. BigBlueButton is browser-based, but requires Java in order to use the screen share function. The basic version of BigBlueButton is free, but Lesley may require a premium license in order to download and keep recordings for longer than 14 days.<\/p>\n
\nCanvas Assignments<\/a> can be set up to accept a variety of submission types, including the ability to accept URL content such as from a OneDrive or Google Doc.<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/files\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-15-at-11.01.15-AM-300x205.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nQuestions from the Audience<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\nUnfortunately, Canvas is not as customizable as Blackboard.\u00a0The course menu in Canvas contains links to course tools and content areas\u00a0and\u00a0is somewhat customizable. Faculty can choose to show or hide course areas in the menu and rearrange the order of the items based on their needs. You cannot add non-course tools to the menu such as links to outside websites or tools or create links to a specific part of the course.<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.lesleyelis.com\/elisblog\/files\/2016\/04\/Screen-Shot-2016-04-15-at-11.52.52-AM-116x300.png\")
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\nCanvas has a built-in learning object repository\u00a0called Canvas Commons<\/a>, which allows faculty to find, import, and share resources with each other.<\/p>\n
\nYes, you may add a caption file to any video you upload to Canvas.\u00a0You will first need to upload the video then use the Subtitle Creation Tool <\/a>to add subtitles or captions via Amara.<\/p>\n
\nNo, Canvas\u2019 video recording tool is webcam only. Faculty can currently use Kaltura CaptureSpace Lite<\/a> for this purpose.<\/p>\n
\nGenerally speaking, courses imported to Canvas from Blackboard map out pretty similar.\u00a0Folders and learning modules will import as Canvas modules, Blackboard items will import as Canvas pages, Discussions, Assignments, and Tests will import as their respective Canvas tool. Some content, such as blogs and journals, will not import as Canvas does not have those types of tools.<\/p>\n