Faculty can log into Ithaca College’s new learning management system (LMS) and now is the time to get started! We are just a few weeks away from the semester start and there is work to be done to get Fall 2021 courses ready.
Your next steps in Canvas - Plan
- Log in to Canvas (canvas.ithaca.edu) and locate your Fall 2021 course shells. Review your course enrollments. Contact the IT Service Desk with any errors (servicedesk@ithaca.edu)
- Review your migrated courses. Compare your old courses in Sakai to what was migrated to Canvas. Begin thinking about what content you want to use as you develop your Fall 2021 course in Canvas. Remember, only course content from Fall 2020, Winter, and Spring 2021 was migrated for faculty. Courses in Sakai from Summer 2021 and special requests will be migrated in mid-August.
- Start organizing your materials. Before you start building in Canvas, list the components of your course you will need, for example, files, media, links, individual assignments, discussion prompts, quizzes, and question banks. Note where these materials are located.
To help instructors with the above steps we have provided a guide for faculty using Canvas for the first time. Please refer to the guide “Planning, Building, and Publishing your Canvas Course” available in the Canvas Resources @ IC course site.
Additional faculty training in Canvas
Faculty looking for guided video tutorials to learn how to navigate Canvas can explore the following videos. The recorded training facilitated by Instructure (the company that created Canvas) and offered in May can be viewed through media.ithaca.edu. We have the following four topics available.
- Getting Started in Canvas
- Content Pages
- Assignments in Canvas
- Canvas Modules
Additional training sessions from Instructure and drop-in support hours from the Learning & Innovative Technologies team will be offered later in August and September. Watch for announcements coming soon.
Hurdles the LMS Implementation Team is working on
- Errors with course migrations from Sakai to Canvas – we have been made aware that some of the Sakai courses copied into Canvas may have missing content due to a storage limitation of 2GB. If you discover content missing from your Sakai course, please submit a ticket to the IT Service Desk (servicedesk@ithaca.edu)
- Adding and testing 3rd party tools (iRubric, Kaltura Media Gallery, VoiceThread, Zoom, Office 365, and TopHat) to Canvas. These tools have been prioritized to be set up and ready before August 13. Any additional requests from faculty will be considered once these tools are available and working in Canvas.
- Canvas FAQs – The team has been collecting the most frequently asked questions about IC’s Canvas environment. We are still organizing and preparing answers. As we work through them, these FAQs and answers can be found in Module 5 of the Canvas Resources @ IC course and/or the IT Knowledge Base. We are adding more on a weekly basis.
Getting Help with Canvas
Ithaca College has arranged several support options available directly from Instructure. These resources are found in the Help menu of the navigation. Use the helpful resources to get advice on how to use any of the Canvas course tools. Please use these resources for anything on Canvas.
Canvas Support
- Available 24/7/365 for any Canvas related questions or issues
- Chat (link available in the Canvas Help menu)*
- Support Hotline call: (607) 241-0212
- Email support@instructure.com
*For the quickest response Canvas recommends using Chat
Faculty Support Offering - Panda Pros!
Canvas has announced a new free faculty consultation resource called Panda Pros!
- Faculty can register for a 25-minute 1:1 consulting session with the Canvas learning services team between the hours of 6:00 am MT - 6:00 pm MT
- Sessions will cover instructional design coaching, course construction guidance, quick course reviews, and answer "how-to” questions with Canvas and Canvas Studio products
- Appointments can only be scheduled one at a time. Please wait until you have finished your first consult before scheduling a second.
If you have not already done so, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of the support resources and complete the migration of your course. Support resources include online materials, in-person training, and consultation opportunities. For a complete list of resources, please visit Ithaca College’s dedicated Canvas space for faculty Canvas Resources @ IC.
We look forward to Canvas helping to support the creation of rich learning experiences for students, coupled with efficiencies and blended learning tools for our outstanding faculty here at Ithaca College.
Again, thank you for your hard work.
The LMS Implementation Team