Frequently asked questions

Eight courses representing a range of Faculties, class sizes, and instructional formats were selected for delivery in Canvas as part of a pilot project that began in January 2013. Additional courses will be added to the pilot project in May 2013, and in September 2013 the large-scale delivery of courses in Canvas will begin. The fall 2013 semester will be the last one in which any SFU courses are delivered in WebCT. As of January 2014, SFU's WebCT platform will be made "read-only" and will be accessible only to instructors.

IT Services will use an automated process to convert the content of all WebCT courses into a format that can be used in Canvas. To capture changes in content that may take place between January 2013 and January 2014, the process will take "snapshots" of all WebCT content on four dates:

• February 1, 2013 (content available to instructors as of March 1)
• June 1, 2013 (content available to instructors as of July 1)
• October 1, 2013 (content available to instructors as of November 1)
• January 1, 2014 (content available to instructors as of February 1)

Converted content will be available to instructors as of the dates indicated for use within Canvas.

All instructors will be able to request Canvas course shells as of March 1, 2013. Large-scale delivery of courses within Canvas will begin in September 2013, and SFU's WebCT platform will not be available for course delivery after the fall 2013 semester. If you are scheduled to teach a course in fall 2013 for which you plan to use Canvas, you should plan to do your course development by summer 2013.

A Canvas support site was launched in February 2013 at www.sfu.ca/canvas.

For instructors, the best starting point is the Learning Technology group within the Teaching and Learning Centre. Visit the Learning Technology portal for phone, email, and chat options.

The Learning Technology group will also be holding Explore Canvas sessions on all three campuses in March, April, and May 2013. For a list of dates and locations, visit the Explore Canvas web page.

Instructors within the Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE) can contact their program directors for help (see code.sfu.ca/webview/23651 for contact information).

Students can find help via the Student Learning Commons.

WebCT is the platform that SFU has been using as its institutional learning management system (LMS) since 2001. An LMS is an application, often web-based, for delivering and administering educational programs and courses. It can be used to host both online and face-to-face courses. An LMS typically includes modules for tasks such as content delivery, communication between and among instructors and students, assignment submission, and assessment and grading.

Blackboard Inc., the company that provides WebCT, announced several years ago that it would end support for the platform in December 2012. This decision prompted SFU, along with many other universities throughout North America, to seek a suitable replacement.

The new LMS will expand the possibilities for teaching and learning. The project team consulted instructors, staff, and students throughout SFU to determine the requirements and wishes for the next LMS. The consultation report stressed the need to "accommodate the future" by implementing a system that can take advantage of the "abundance of web-based resources, mobility, collaborative educational and work practices, cloud technologies, and more."

The decision to implement Canvas as a replacement for WebCT was announced by Jon Driver, Vice-President, Academic, on October 1, 2012. The final stage of the selection process began on May 31, 2012, with a request for proposals. The deadline for submissions was June 28, 2012. The proposals were reviewed by an evaluation committee, and candidate systems were evaluated by faculty, staff, and student volunteers during July and August 2012. Once that process was complete, the evaluation committee recommended a preferred LMS to the Executive Steering Committee.