ACU ran a competitive tender process in 2021 to select a new LMS to replace Moodle, the LMS that underpins LEO. That tender was run so that ACU could provide a contemporary LMS that supported developing pedagogies at ACU and the possibility of new product lines, such as microcredentials. Canvas was found to be the most suitable LMS through that tender process.

Our current LMS is over 10 years old and is not meeting the demands of its users, especially around mobile technology.

Learning and Teaching
The Learning and Teaching stream are working to:

design and develop how Canvas will function across ACU to ensure the structure upholds ACU’s Quality Framework & Branding guidelines,

ensure the learning and teaching needs of the university are met in a fully functional environment,

define the process and clear goals for each unit’s transition.

Data and Content Migration
The Data and Content Migration stream will work in partnership with our vendors to:

migrate all active content from Moodle to Canvas

archive inactive content currently stored in Moodle appropriately

define and configure the Canvas dashboards for any relevant reporting.

Change and Transition
The Change and Transition stream will guide all staff and students through the change by:

helping to raise awareness of the change

providing the appropriate training opportunities and access to support

keeping all stakeholders informed of any decisions and associated impacts.

Technology
The Technology stream will work to:

create a safe, secure and supportable Canvas environment

integrate all learning tools and enterprise applications through testing and release phases.

Other universities who use Canvas have found that students find it intuitive and easy to use. Through this project we will create a consistent online interface for students. Every unit they undertake at ACU will have a familiar layout, so students can focus on their learning objectives.

Faculty input will be sought during all phases of the project. Part of the project governance structure is to have reference groups to provide a forum to review plans and designs, and to influence how Canvas will operate at ACU. Faculty staff will be involved in these groups. The project aims to be fully transparent and will encourage feedback and input at all stages.

User-friendly interface: the interface is designed to be intuitive and straightforward, making it easy to find information and complete tasks quickly.
Mobile compatibility: a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, allowing access to course materials and collaboration on-the-go.
Integration with other tools: integrates with a wide range of tools and applications, such as Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Echo360, and much more.
Customer support: provides 24/7 customer support, allowing users to get the help they need when they need it.
Analytics and reporting: provides advanced analytics and reporting features, enabling staff to make data-driven decisions to review and support student learning.

Self-paced training courses built into the Canvas LMS.

2–5-minute tutorial videos covering different Canvas features.

FAQ sessions in which participants can directly ask the workshop facilitator Canvas questions.

Interactive training workshops to provide an in-depth explanation of specific Canvas features.

A training menu depicting all available training options.

Canvas provides a 24/7 technical support number.

Project information communicated frequently to staff.

A dedicated project inbox for any questions, concerns, or feedback: LMSProject@acu.edu.au

Professional and academic staff are encouraged to discuss any training needs with their line manager. Workload is available for academic staff requiring paid time to access Canvas training.

All staff will have access to training in early June.

Staff will receive access to a Canvas sandbox account in line with training release dates.

First level support will be via the vendor - Instructure. Second level support to be provided by ACU via AskACU and Service Central with the exact support model being developed. This will be provided in the FAQs on the Canvas website in coming weeks.

Students will receive access to similar training resources as staff, with support mechanisms put in place to resolve student queries.

The Banner integration will create the Canvas unit, provide access to the primary instructor, enrol students and place them into campus sections. Further sections will be created, and the teaching team will be enrolled from the Allocate+ integration. 

Canvas will export grades ready to upload into Banner.

The Canvas Plagiarism Framework (CPF) will be the recommended way to connect to Turnitin. This will allow for marking to be filtered by sections and/or groups. Further investigation is underway to integrate your quickmarks library with the CPF.  

The Turnitin LTI does not recognise sections, and this will be problematic for large units.   

Quizzes and your question banks migrate to Canvas. We will have a team of QA testers who will check quizzes that form part of any assessments. The QA tester will spot check 10% of practice quizzes. Academics will need to confirm the quiz settings and answers are correct once the unit is handed over to them. 

Turnitin will be accessed via the Canvas Plagiarism Framework (CPF) which will allow you to use the inbuilt rubric tool of Canvas, which offers a greater range of functionality compared to those in Moodle and Turnitin. You will need to rebuild your rubrics in Canvas.

Staff enrolment into and out of Canvas sites is currently something we are working on. The aim will be to try and make it as quick and easy as possible, and to automate roles for staff identified as having responsibilities in each Unit. So, if a lecturer is named as the LIC for a Unit in banner, they will have LIC access in Canvas. We intend to use Allocate + data in a similar way to allocate lectures to a unit. LIC’s can assign other staff to their units in Canvas.

We are planning to have an undergraduate units migrated mid to late Q3 this year. Staff with a unit in Summer 2024 or Semester 1 2024 will have access to review that unit at that time. If a staff member requires access to Canvas earlier than that to prepare a new unit for teaching in a 2024 term, please let us know via LMSProject@acu.edu.au.  

The project team uses a consultation forum made up of Heads of Discipline to seek guidance on how Canvas is set up and used. We also seek informal feedback as opportunities arise in other forums.

LEO will be available until the end of Semester 1 2024 and the access links for both platforms will be different.

At this stage, content in a Canvas module can’t be restricted like a ‘Campus Tile’ in LEO. There can be campus specific content, but it will be visible to all students enrolled in the unit.

Canvas sites will go into a read only mode.

Using the Banner to Canvas integration, Canvas will create Unit Sites for all offered units in a teaching period. Lecturers in Charge (LICs) will be able to choose to import the content from a previous Canvas site. Canvas has an import function which is quick and easy to use. With some units being taught in both Semester 1 and 2, this allows LIC's to choose the version of the unit that suits them. 

The Unit Master List process will determine the scope of the main migration exercise. There may be instances where content from sites not included in the Unit Master List is required. This can be accessed and managed individually, however in some circumstances, the use of Canvas may negate the need for additional sites, or may require alternatives to how informational pages are maintained.

ACU teaching staff will be able to make changes to learning and teaching material in Canvas as they currently can in LEO.
One exception is that lecturers will not be creating Canvas sites as the student cohorts and sites will be created by the Banner to Canvas integration. We will have a set of core practices, which are largely administrative, that will apply to all units in Canvas.

Canvas Sections (equiv. Our campuses) do work with native Canvas tools (e.g., assessments & discussions) so they can be used to apply different due dates or to communicate to your campus (section).

We recommend that students use the Canvas Inbox when messaging staff directly, that way there is a record in the unit.  

The Canvas inbox will send emails to your Outlook inbox that you can respond to via Outlook and a copy will be sent to the Canvas inbox. You can manage individual notification preferences in your user settings. 

There would be no reason for an administrator to access your email unless you had contacted them with a technical problem. In such cases, they would be bound by ACU privacy and confidentiality policy.  

The Unit Master List (UML) is a document used by the Canvas Implementation Project team to collate all necessary information about units for migration from LEO to Canvas. This information includes:

LIC contact details.

URL of the unit to be migrated.

Which units require migration.

The UML for select postgraduate units has completed. The undergraduate UML has commenced and will end late May 2023.

The project team has worked closely with the schools who have advised which units will migrate and which will not. This has been agreed upon and formalised via the Unit Master List process.

The migration team will provide support to LICs via email and weekly drop-in sessions to answer any questions related to migration and quality assurance.

The LIC/NLIC will be required to review and accept the migration of their unit within 3 weeks of unit handover from the Quality Assurance Team. Some examples of the work required by LICs are:

updating time sensitive information

pedagogical updates

assessment review and due dates

creating discussion boards and announcements.

Yes, LEO will remain accessible into 2024 after we have confirmed that the complete migration is successful. No content is being removed from LEO, rather the migration process copies content and enters it into Canvas via an automated script. When we retire LEO, the content will be archived and managed access will be available. 

Units will be created automatically via Banner integration which will allow for new units to be developed. A National delivery approach has been approved by the University which will create one Canvas site per unit code. A request and approval process will be in place for units that do not fit this model. LICs will be able to update content from previous years should this be required. This is a quick and simple process in Canvas.

A National delivery approach has been approved by the University which will create one Canvas site per unit code. In terms of the learning materials, LICs are welcome and encouraged to include campus specific content where required however, this content will be viewed by all students within the unit. Canvas uses "sections" which allows for targeted communication, discussion boards and gradebook management on a campus-by-campus basis, so in most instances students can still be provided with Campus-specific communications and information as needed. 

Unit QA review will be prioritised by first available teaching period. Schools can also flag high priority units for early review via the Unit Master List process. 

The migration team will be responsible for troubleshooting and re-building content in the first instance. Any content that can’t be re-built will be flagged for LIC review. 

Canvas will integrate with CMAS and display the GUO as a Unit Outline menu item. Any updates required on the GUO will need to be managed via CMAS. LICs will no longer be required to create EUOs as all other information such as assessment schedules will now be displayed in Canvas. LIC’s will also have ability to export core canvas content via PDF if needed for accreditation submissions. 

The units will be migrated and quality assured by the project team. Only after they pass the QA test they will be handed over to the LIC. The nominated LIC will be required to review the unit and update the unit in preparation for the upcoming teaching period as they normally would. Canvas training will be provided by the project team in bite sized videos and should be factored in the preparation for teaching. 

Migration will occur in batches however, quality assurance will be done unit by unit. Units will be migrated into a set Canvas template and style guide. LICs can seek learning designer support after they sign off their unit migration.

Schools can flag units that are high priority in the Unit Master List so they can be released for LIC review earlier. We expect to start migrating Undergraduate units as early as June for Canvas delivery in Semester 1 2024.