Learn to Canvas at USF

The spring 2013 semester marks the official beginning of the University of South Florida’s (USF) learning management system (LMS) migration.  Based upon the recommendation of a committee comprised of USF students, faculty, and staff, the University selected Canvas, a product of the educational software company Instructure. Canvas, which was pilot tested in fall 2012, is schedule to completely replace the University’s current LMS, Blackboard Learn 9.0, by spring 2014.

The migration process will occur in phases, with voluntary migration commencing this spring. Faculty can choose to use Canvas this spring for as many of their courses as they wish, unless their specific college, department, or program has indicated otherwise. Faculty and students can access their spring 2013 courses in Canvas now by visiting usflearn.instructure.com and logging in with their myUSF credentials. Students will not be able to view the content of their courses in Canvas until the course has been published, a function that is performed by the faculty member once they are ready to make the course content visible to their students.

It is important to note that Blackboard will still be available for faculty and students through December 2013. Thus, students will see all of their spring 2013 courses in both Canvas and Blackboard.  As such, faculty who decide to host their courses in Canvas are encouraged to communicate that to their students in Blackboard via an Announcement, including a link to the Canvas login page. In addition, it may be helpful to hide all navigation links in Blackboard (see example below). 

***IMPORTANT COURSE INFORMATION***

Greetings students and welcome to EDG 6947 Internship: CSA!  

This course will be offered via USF's new learning management system (LMS), Canvas.  

Please visit usflearn.instructure.com for all information and assignments related to this course. You will NOT need to access Blackboard for the remainder of this semester for this course.  Please consult with your other instructors to determine which LMS they are utilizing this semester. 

Dr. West

Several USF departments are assisting in the training and support of the migration to Canvas. For further assistance, please use the following contacts:

·      For assistance with the Canvas interface and tech help, contact the Help Desk at help@usf.edu or (813) 974-1222.

·      For assistance with pedagogy, course design, and Canvas tool selection for FULLY ONLINE classes, contact University College at etg@usf.edu.

·      For assistance with pedagogy, course design, and Canvas tool selection for Face-to-Face (or 50/50 hybrid) classes, contact the Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence at atle@usf.edu or (813) 974-8746. 
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--Nicole M. West