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Canvas is now available at UNC! Instructors may teach their courses in either Canvas or Sakai starting with the Fall 2022 semester. Sakai will continue to be supported and available for teaching and other activities through the end of Spring 2024 (last semester instructors may teach in Sakai). Beginning May 15, 2024, Sakai will remain available in a read-only state until May 15, 2026 when Sakai will no longer be available. Please see the timeline, information about course migrations, and more details on the Canvas Project below.

Training & Support

Canvas Help Resources

• Help menu within Canvas: 24/7 chat and phone support
• Moving from Sakai to Canvas: UNC training videos and resources to help instructors move from Sakai to Canvas
• UNC Canvas FAQ: Curated list of guides to help users get started in Canvas
• Instructor Guides and Videos
• Student Guides and Videos
• UNC Help: Go through help.unc.edu for UNC-specific questions only (cross-listing courses, renaming sites, 3rd party tools, etc.). All other questions about how to use Canvas or issues should go through Canvas Support (Help menu within Canvas).

Canvas Training

Learn on Your Own

See Moving from Sakai to Canvas for video tutorials and guides to help instructors transition from Sakai to Canvas with tool comparisons between the two systems. This resource provides an overview of commonly used tools for instructors to manage their courses, communicate and share course materials with students, and collect and provide feedback on student work.

Personal Consultations

Need one-on-one help transitioning to Canvas? Sign up for a personal consultation to meet with an ITS-EdTech member over Zoom!

Live Group Training

Intro to Teaching in Canvas Workshop: Mon 4/17 | 2:30-4pm | Greenlaw 101

Note: Workshop canceled due to low interest. Please see Moving from Sakai to Canvas for recorded training videos.

Join us at this in-person, hands-on workshop in Greenlaw 101 to learn the basics of Canvas! Attendees will get an intro to Canvas and commonly-used teaching tools in the system. Time is built in for attendees to test things out on their own (bring your laptop!), and our team will be available to answer your questions.

End of Semester Tips: Tues 4/18 | 2-3pm | Zoom

Note: Workshop canceled due to low interest. Please see Moving from Sakai to Canvas for recorded training videos.

Join our team to get a demo of Canvas features useful for the end of semester. Topics will include managing final projects, exams, grades, and more. Time will be allotted for questions and a summary recording and list of resources will be shared after the training. This session is for instructors already teaching in Canvas.

Canvas Drop-in Office Hours: Wed 5/3 (Reading Day) | Zoom

Have quick, last-minute questions you need answered to help finalize your grades? Ready to start building out your summer course site in Canvas? Drop in during this online Canvas hour to chat with us!

Canvas Course Design Snapshot (Partnership with Center for Faculty Excellence)

Moving from Sakai to Canvas is a great opportunity to revisit the overall design of one or more of your courses. The Center for Faculty Excellence is hosting special 2-hour Canvas Course Design Snapshot sessions for instructors interested in refining and aligning their course goals around Canvas’ tools and organizational structure. The 2-hour interactive session will outline the process of making evidence-based course decisions and help you learn about the features of Canvas that can be used to help you achieve your course goals. After the interactive session, CFE and ITS team members will be available for specific questions and technology support to ensure you have a plan to build your course in Canvas and to answer any technical questions you may have about Canvas or the migration process.

Choose from one of the following and be sure to register to save your spot:

• In-person ONLY: Staff will remain on site between 11am-1pm each day to support individual work and answer questions.
  • In-person Option 1: Tuesday, May 16, 9am-11am in 111 Carroll Hall
  • In-person Option 2: Wednesday, May 17, 9am-11am in 111 Carroll Hall
  • In-person Option 3: Thursday, May 18, 9am-11am in 111 Carroll Hall – Note: This time slot is canceled.
• Online ONLY: Staff will remain online between Noon-2pm each day to support individual work and answer questions.
  • Online Option 1: Tuesday, August 8, 10am-Noon via Zoom
  • Online Option 2: Wednesday, August 9, 10am-Noon via Zoom
  • Online Option 3: Thursday, August 10, 10am-Noon via Zoom

Note: A self-guided DIY guide of the content covered in the Canvas Course Design Institute will be made available as well! Look for it on this Canvas page after spring semester exams.

Why Canvas?

Canvas’ Advantages

Canvas by Instructure is used by more institutions of higher education than any other learning management system, including other UNC System schools and UNC-CH’s peer institutions. In addition to being a more intuitive system for designing courses, below are several benefits of the Canvas system. Canvas’ cloud architecture also requires little to no downtime for feature upgrades and system maintenance.

• 24/7 phone and chat support provided by Instructure
• A more modern, straightforward, and easier-to-use interface
• A more accessible experience for all users
• Mobile apps for instructors and students
• Robust app and email notifications
• Improved calendar services
• Templates that can be created by schools and automatically populated into all of their courses
• Canvas is popular with K-12 school systems and across higher ed, so many first-year and transfer students will arrive already familiar with Canvas

Transitioning from Sakai to Canvas

While Sakai has worked well for the University, the number of educational institutions comprising the Sakai community has significantly decreased over the years and fewer improvements are being made from version to version. Our faculty members continue to experiment with external technology tools they can use in tandem with the campus learning management system. Unfortunately, many vendors are not developing their products to integrate with Sakai. As a result, the Sakai LMS is not a viable long-term option.

ITS Educational Technologies and Digital and Lifelong Learning conducted a pilot of the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) as a potential replacement for Sakai over Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters. The pilot consisted of a diverse cohort of undergraduate and graduate courses representing a variety of schools and academic units across campus. Although the preferences of the more than 600 students surveyed for the pilot were mixed between Canvas and Sakai, an overwhelming majority found Canvas easy to use. A strong majority of pilot instructors who were surveyed or participated in focus groups also support the move to Canvas, while recognizing that there will be a period of adjustment for all.

Based on the results of the pilot and diminished development support for Sakai, the University is replacing Sakai at UNC with Canvas. Sakai will continue to be supported and available for use through the end of Spring 2024. Beginning May 15, 2024, Sakai will remain available in a read-only state until May 15, 2026, when Sakai will be no longer available.

Timeline

• Fall 2021 – Spring 2022: Pilot conducted through several courses across various academic units.
• Summer 2022: No summer courses taught in Canvas. System access only available for future course development.
  • May 20: FA22 courses made available in Canvas (in addition to Sakai). All active Onyen users granted access to Canvas.
  • July 15: Begin accepting requests for non-Registrar courses.
• Fall 2022: Canvas and Sakai available for any course listed in ConnectCarolina (instructor chooses which LMS to use). Content migration from Sakai to Canvas not available.
• Spring 2023 – Summer 2023: Canvas and Sakai available for any course listed in ConnectCarolina (instructor chooses which LMS to use). Migrated Sakai content from SP22 and SS22 now available in Canvas (see details on getting course content into Canvas).
• Fall 2023 – Spring 2024: Canvas and Sakai available for any course listed in ConnectCarolina (instructor chooses which LMS to use). Migrated Sakai content from FA22 now available in Canvas. Content migration from future terms will be available.
• May 15, 2024: All Sakai course and project sites available for viewing only.
• May 15, 2026: Sakai no longer available.

Course Migrations

We are working with a third-party vendor (K16) recommended by Instructure to migrate courses from Sakai to Canvas. This means that the content in some (but not all) of your Sakai courses will be automatically transferred to a similar (but not identical) structure in Canvas.

Migrated content from University Registrar courses that were taught in Sakai in the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2022 terms is now available in Canvas. If you taught a course from these terms in Sakai, you should now see an archive of each of your courses on your Canvas Dashboard, titled in the form of “DEPT101.001.FA22_k16_SAKAI_Archive” (note: SP22 archive sites do not include “SAKAI_Archive” in the site name). Instructors can choose to reuse this copied content and import it into their official Canvas courses. We advise reviewing migrated data as soon as possible to identify where you will need to make adjustments. See full details on getting course content into Canvas.

Notes:

• The Sakai data from past courses was extracted on the following dates. Updates made after this will not be available in the Canvas archive sites.
  • Spring 2022 courses: June 3, 2022
  • Maymester, Summer Session I, Summer Session II 2022 courses: December 12, 2022
  • Fall 2022 courses: December 12, 2022
• Sakai content from upcoming semesters will be copied into Canvas archive sites as well, to be reused during future terms.
• As of April 2023, faculty can request migration for select courses they are scheduled to teach again but have not taught since Fall 2021. For example, if the last time you taught DEPT101 was Fall 2021 and you are scheduled to teach it in Fall 2023, you could request migration. Also, faculty and staff can request migration for select project sites with planned reuse in Canvas.  

When Should I Move to Canvas?

Other Canvas Sites and Guest Accounts

We are pleased to share that as of December 2022, Canvas is available for more use cases related to University work! In addition to hosting non-credit training and instruction, Canvas may now be used for administrative purposes (committee work, communications, reviews, etc.). Although availability has expanded, please consider if Canvas is the appropriate choice or if another system or tool would be a better fit for the use case.

Non-Onyen guest accounts may be requested for individuals not eligible for an Onyen account who will serve in instructional, advisory, or other coordinating roles in Canvas sites. Guest accounts can also be requested for students from other institutions enrolled in credit-bearing courses at UNC-CH as well as for students enrolled in non-credit bearing courses or training sponsored by a UNC-CH operating unit. Note: Guest accounts are intended only for users who do not have Onyens. Users with Onyens are NOT permitted to request guest accounts for themselves to access Canvas with a personal email address.

Note: Faculty/Staff Onyen required to access request forms.

New Site Request Form

New Site Request Form: Submit site requests for a brand new Canvas site for course development or training, instructional, or administrative purposes.

Guest Account Request Form

Guest Account Request Form: Submit requests for Canvas account creations for non-Onyen users.

Additional Sakai to Canvas Migration Request Form

Note: Sakai migrations have already been completed for courses taught in SP-SS-FA22. Future migrations are scheduled for Sakai courses taught in SP-SS-FA23 and SP24. This request form is for Sakai courses taught prior to SP22, non-term courses, and project sites.

Additional Sakai Migration Request Form: Submit requests to migrate 1) Sakai course sites (pre-SP22) that are scheduled to be taught again in Canvas, or 2) select Sakai project sites and non-term course sites with planned reuse in Canvas. 

UNC Community Testimonials

Read about Canvas in The Well!