The clock is ticking on Oncourse.
A retirement clock has been posted on the Oncourse log-in page and is counting down the fewer than eight months Oncourse has left in service.
After using the tool to post grades, share class materials and connect with classmates for 11 years, IU students, faculty and staff will fully transition from Oncourse to Canvas in August.
“Its functionality is essentially the same, but the way that the interface works is a little bit different,” said Stacy Morrone, associate vice president of learning technologies for IU’s Information Technology department. “The idea was to streamline and improve some of the navigational aspects.”
Like Oncourse, Canvas includes functions for assignments, announcements and discussions, but it also features additional tools for real-time web conferencing, course analytics, Google Docs integration and more.
Arthur Lopez, a clinical professor of business law, said he has used Canvas to assign student video and powerpoint projects, as well as to grade and review regular essay submissions.
“I have used rubrics to grade papers, provided personal video feedback to students as well as had group projects in classes of over 150 where the students independently signed up to groups and made a group submission,” Lopez said.
Morrone said the transition process began 18 months ago with a pilot program testing three different major web systems: Canvas, Blackboard and Learn2Desire. After receiving student and faculty feedback, Morrone said Canvas was clearly the preferred learning management system.
“We engaged faculty and students from across all campuses at IU to pilot each of the individual learning systems,” Morrone said. “What we found was really important. If we were going to make a decision about a successor to Oncourse, we really needed to do these pilots with our faculty and our students.”
While many instructors have not yet made the transition to Canvas, Morrone said live support as well as online resources are available for instructors learning the system.
A series of CanvasLIVE webinars include a brief tutorial, demonstration and question-and-answer session to explain use of various Canvas tools and features.
Canvas tour and orientation videos are also available through the Canvas website. With about 45 minutes of instructional videos, topics for both student and instructional use are broken down through step-by-step examples.
In-person help is available at the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.
“A lot of faculty have just picked it up without having to do too much,” Morrone said. “They’ve done it pretty easily without the need for too much support, so that speaks to the decision to move to Canvas.”
Morrone said instructors familiar with Canvas will also notice changes in the website’s user interface this semester to improve functionality.
The global navigation menu, where courses and various group pages can be found, has moved, and the Canvas dashboard now contains two views.
Ashley Hasty, a lecturer in the apparel merchandising department, said she began using Canvas as soon as it became available to instructors in 2014.
She said the media comment tool within a gradebook application called SpeedGrader has allowed her to foster a better relationship with students through audio recording.
“When my interactions with students are limited to written comments, sometimes miscommunication can occur due to the lack of facial expressions and tone of voice,” Hasty said. “This single feature has allowed my students to relax, enjoy the course and rest assured that I am a human wanting to help facilitate this class and tailor it to them as individuals.”
