At the end of December, WebCT will officially be retired from use at SFU. Canvas, an open source learning management system (LMS) by provider Instructure, was chosen as its replacement.

Implementation started at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester and was tested by eight SFU courses as part of a pilot project. The implementation expanded in the summer semester to the point where approximately 5,000 students were using Canvas.

“The implementation has actually been going really well, and we’re quite a bit ahead of schedule, actually,” said Mark Bachmann, communications officer at the Teaching and Learning Centre.

This semester, it was originally forecasted that half of of LMS courses would be delivered in Canvas. In reality, over three quarters of classes used the new platform, something that Bachmann is excited about.

Bachmann points to the fact that more instructors using Canvas than expected as proof that faculty are responding well to the pilot, something that has been echoed in student feedback.

“In terms of Canvas support, the help desks are reporting that there’s less activity than there has been in the past, even though they’re dealing with a new learning management system,” said Bachmann. “Either that means that Canvas is very easy to use, or it means that students are quick to learn. Probably both.”

According to Bachmann, in surveys of the pilot project done at the end of the summer semester, 64 per cent of students were either satisfied or very satisfied with Canvas, and 58 per cent rated it as easy to use.

While the progress of Canvas overtaking WebCT has been quicker than expected, Bachmann said there is still room for improvement.

That means that Canvas is very easy to use, or . . . that students are quick to learn. Probably both.”

– Mark Bachmann, Teaching and Learning Centre communications officer

 

One huge, and previously unexpected, improvement to the system, is the agreement with Instructure to create a mobile app, something that was not thought possible considering BC’s strict privacy legislation that doesn’t allow institutions like SFU to host information on the Cloud.

However, SFU and Instructure have negotiated an agreement to create a mobile app that doesn’t use Kaltura, a platform for hosting and delivering content that is built right into cloud versions of systems. Instructure and SFU will be building the Canvas app separated from Kaltura, so that it complies with BC legislation.

According to Bachmann, the Canvas mobile app should be available sometime in the spring 2014 semester.

One of the main strengths of Canvas over WebCT is the fact that it is an open source platform, which allows it to be constantly adding new features to the system. With the open source aspect, instructors are able to build their own modules, such as grammar tools or plagiarism checks, that can then be used by other faculty members.

Further adding to its flexibility, Canvas also uses Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI), which allows the system to integrate third-party plugins and modules. Bachmann believes as faculty become more accustomed to the system, use of LTI and modules will deepen the capabilities of the system.