Let’s pack up our stuff, and prepare to make the move to our new online home, Canvas! What do you do when you prepare to move? Plan, clean, pack, and make the move! In this four-part series, we will share some tips for making the transition easier. In case you missed it, check out Part One of the series, all about Planning. Today's post is all about cleaning up Blackboard, because why bring along stuff you don't need or use?
In this second phase of the moving cycle, we discuss how to clean-up before you make the move to Canvas! It will help you in the future to only have moved what is essential, rather than moving everything. First, we’ll cover the items that will not transfer to Canvas from Blackboard. Then, we will share the top six areas you need to consider cleaning up before you move your Blackboard course to Canvas.
Great job on getting started early! Cleaning is an often forgotten part of a move, but it is essential. This can save you time later if you only transfer over the items you will actually use. If you have any questions about this, feel free to reach out. This four-part series will continue with Part Three: Pack!
Cleaning
In this second phase of the moving cycle, we discuss how to clean-up before you make the move to Canvas! It will help you in the future to only have moved what is essential, rather than moving everything. First, we’ll cover the items that will not transfer to Canvas from Blackboard. Then, we will share the top six areas you need to consider cleaning up before you move your Blackboard course to Canvas.What will not transfer
Most things will transfer from Blackboard to Canvas, but it is good to be mindful of those that do not. These include the following:
- Blogs, journals, and wikis: there is no exact match for these on Canvas. There are alternatives to use in Canvas, such as Google Docs.
- Student info and grades: as usual these things don't transfer from course to course over semesters. Be sure to download your grade book if you need the information, or any assignment submissions that need to be saved.
- Menu titles: anything that has its own link in the navigation menu on the left side of your Blackboard course will transfer over into a Module. In Canvas, you'll no longer be able to create links for the navigation menu. You can only show/hide what is available.
Top 6 things to clean-up in Blackboard
- Delete unnecessary files, assignments, discussion forums, and quizzes.
- Space is limited on Canvas, with 2GB per course.
- Host video or audio files in MediaAMP (or Wistia for ASU Online courses), YouTube, or another streaming service.
- Think of this as a fresh start! Canvas should not be used as a file system for all the things you could possibly use in your course. You'll want to save videos elsewhere to then embed in your course, which will save GB space.
- Quiz question pools, shuffled answers, and question types.
- These are different in Canvas. Be mindful that while the quizzes will transfer over, you'll have to fix some settings (like shuffled questions or answers). Also, you'll want to move the quiz question types into separate banks, as Canvas cannot handle multiple question types in the same question bank. Instead they are in question groups.
- Find an alternative for blogs, wikis, and journals.
- See above regarding what will not transfer!
- Group discussion boards
- Be on the safe side, and save the discussion questions as regular discussions (not in group discussions). Or save the questions elsewhere and start fresh with discussions in Canvas.
- Rubrics
- These will need to be revised in Blackboard to be points-based rather than percentage-based.
Cleaning Completed!
Great job on getting started early! Cleaning is an often forgotten part of a move, but it is essential. This can save you time later if you only transfer over the items you will actually use. If you have any questions about this, feel free to reach out. This four-part series will continue with Part Three: Pack!
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