Canvas Pilot

All instructors who plan to teach in the Fall semester are eligible to participate.

Note: There is no obligation to teach with Canvas if for some reason you are not ready to launch your course in Canvas in Fall. BeachBoard will still be available to you.

Please complete this short interest form:

Interest Form

• May 9: Live Canvas and BeachBoard Courses released.
• Mid-June: ATS will migrate the past 2 years of BeachBoard courses into your Canvas account.
• July Recommended Actions:
  • Utilize the Canvas resources found at Canvas Faculty Support and Training.
  • Complete the self-paced "Growing with Canvas" course.
  • Attend ATS Canvas workshops and Friday Feedback Forums: visit our Events and Workshops page to see the options.  
  • Within Canvas, access the Training Portal to attend a live or on-demand session.  Training Portal Access Instructions [PDF]
  • Check in with ATS Instructional Designers for help setting up and preparing your course for Fall. 
• August:
  • Check-in with ATS on course quality assurance. Use the Canvas Quality Assurance Checklist [PDF] to ensure that your course meets these basic guidelines.

Faculty pilot participants will receive the following resources to develop their courses during the Summer:

Canvas Sandbox
A sandbox is an empty Canvas course where you can experiment with the settings, copy content from BeachBoard, test integrated tools, and reset it all to default if you want to start over. Sandboxes are created every Friday by ATS. If you request a sandbox on a Friday, please allow one week for your request to be completed.  The Sandbox will appear in your Canvas dashboard when it has been created.

CSULB Canvas Welcome Packet:

• Canvas Course Layouts - ATS has developed these Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced layouts to help you build your course quickly with quality assurance standards. Easily import the layout of your choice and edit the content to fit your subject matter and course structure. 
  • Get instructions on finding the layouts inside Canvas Commons (see Canvas Resources below to learn more about Commons): Accessing Canvas Layouts [PDF] 
  • Compare the Layouts to decide which is best for you: Canvas Course Layouts Comparison Chart [PDF]
• Instructors' Training Course: "Growing with Canvas"
  This self-paced course will take instructors through everything they need to know about using Canvas. Instructors can try a number of the concepts in their own Canvas courses through the practice activities. 
• Canvas Quality Assurance Checklist [PDF]
  This checklist provides CSULB instructors with recommendations for ensuring that their courses meet established quality assurance guidelines. The items outlined are helpful to identify once your course has been migrated or imported from BeachBoard to Canvas.
• Faculty Canvas Pilot Pre- and Post-Survey (by request to ATS-Instructionaldesign@csulb.edu) 
• Student Canvas Pilot Pre- and Post-Survey (by request to ATS-Instructionaldesign@csulb.edu)
• For Your Students:
  • Passport to Canvas Course - this self-paced course designed by Canvas provides everything students need to know about using the platform. It covers how to keep track of assignments, check grades, and view feedback from instructors. It also helps students learn how to organize learning material and stay in touch with classmates. Students can request access by completing this form: Passport to Canvas Request Form. Share the link with your students!
  • Canvas Student Quick Start Module- this "orientation" module gives students the basics of using Canvas tools needed to communicate, submit assignments and take quizzes in your class. This has already been added to your course! For more information, review our Student Quick Start Module job aid (coming soon).

Additional Resources

• Migrated Courses:
  The past two years of all your BeachBoard will be migrated automatically to Canvas (June).
• Canvas Training Portal:
  This portal is available to CSULB faculty within Canvas until January 2023 and includes a vast library of tutorials, live sessions, and on-demand training sessions.  The Training Portal link appears in the "Help" section on the left navigation panel of your Canvas account.
• ATS Instructional Designer Consultations:
  Hands-on assistance with course design including importing the CSULB course layout template, accessibility reviews, and 1:1 trouble-shooting sessions.
• Course Accessibility Review:
  ATS accessibility experts will provide a quick review of your course using BlackBoard Ally and make suggestions for improvement.  

Our goal is to guide participants in becoming familiar with the Canvas self-service resources and provide support in designing courses aligned with established quality assurance standards.

• Participants are supported in Summer 2022 with the goal of teaching in Canvas in Fall 2022.  BeachBoard will remain available if more time is needed for course development.
• Participants are committed to supporting the campus pilot by providing feedback to ATS about their Canvas experience to help guide the CSULB implementation (pro, cons, challenges, concerns, challenges, ideas, etc.). ATS will provide you with the following resources Commitments include:
  • Adding a message to your BeachBoard course indicating you will be using Canvas this semester.
  • Sending an email to your students before the semester begins to let them know you will be utilizing Canvas instead of BeachBoard.  ATS can provide you with a recommended message. 
  • Completing two surveys:  a pre-and post-evaluation. 
  • Distributing two student surveys: a pre-and-post evaluation 
  • Joining any of the bi-weekly Open Friday Feedback Forum sessions with ATS Instructional Designers (schedule to be announced).
  • Connecting with ATS to report ongoing issues or ideas for improvement via Zoom virtual support consultations and through email.
• Participants may be asked to volunteer to join information sessions or workshop panels to share their experiences with other faculty new to the platform.  

Faculty at the forefront of the Canvas transition will help shape the effectiveness of this tool to not only improve instructors' workflows but also impact student learning outcomes for years to come.

Participation in the pilot will give you a head start in becoming familiar with the Canvas platform and an extended amount of time with BeachBoard as a backup until Summer 2023.