Canvas/Panopto Migration
Canvas and Panopto Training Sessions
Registration is not required. Please log into CampusGroups to view the schedule and access the Zoom link.
About Canvas | About Panopto | Timing and Migration Logistics | Training and Support | From Blackboard to Canvas | From Ensemble to Panopto
Beginning with the fall semester in 2022, Bowdoin will migrate from Blackboard to Canvas for its learning management system and from Ensemble to Panopto for video and audio content management. If you have questions not covered in the information below, please contact Jennifer Snow for Canvas and Paul Benham for Panopto.
Canvas
What is Canvas?
Canvas is a cloud-based Learning Management System created by Instructure. It is used by many other colleges and universities, including Williams College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Princeton University, and Dartmouth College. It offers:- User-friendly tools that will streamline communications between faculty and students, including a mobile app.
- A calendar tool that makes course deadlines obvious and unambiguous for students.
- A grade center that speeds up and simplifies grading by allowing faculty to leave comments and feedback on students’ work.
- It integrates well with Bowdoin’s existing digital tools, including Zoom, Teams, and OneDrive.
Why are we moving to Canvas?
As announced at the December 2021 faculty meeting, the decision to move to Canvas is based on the overwhelming positive feedback from faculty and students participating in the Fall 2021 semester evaluation with more than three dozen courses and consultations with members of the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice (CoTCP) and the Working Group on Teaching with Technology.
When will the transition to Canvas happen?
The transition to Canvas will begin in earnest in April 2022 and continue through the early summer. All courses will use Canvas beginning this fall.
When will faculty and staff have access to Canvas?
All faculty and staff will have access to Canvas starting July 1, 2022.
When will students have access to Canvas?
Students will have access to Canvas beginning with their Fall 2022 courses.Will past course materials be imported into Canvas?
Course materials from the past two academic years (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022) will be migrated into Canvas. Please note, there will likely need to be some manual clean-up of content that did not migrate smoothly.Will Blackboard be available next year?
Blackboard will only be available to faculty and staff until June 30, 2023 to retrieve course content and student data. Students will not have access to course content in Blackboard.Does Canvas offer online guides and other support materials?
Yes, Canvas has a wide variety of guides and support materials available online.
Canvas Online Guide
Self-paced Faculty Orientation Course for Canvas
The faculty "Orientation to Canvas" course contains a series of resources to help build a course in Canvas. There are guides, white papers, and tutorials organized and sequenced within course development.- Getting Started
- Canvas Navigation
- Course Outlining
- Course Setup and Organization
- The Rich Content editor
- Building Assignments and Discussions
- Building Quizzes and Exams
- Communicating with Students
- Grading and Feedback
- Class Management
Find this asynchronous course titled "Orientation to Canvas" in Canvas
Panopto
What is Panopto?
Panopto is a cloud-based video and audio content management system that offers:- ACR and OCR to make speech and text searchable in all videos and provide transcripts.
- Web–based screen capture tools to record directly from a browser window and eliminate the need to upload files from your computer.
- Multi–camera recordings that let you combine webcam, desktop screen sharing and presentations in a customizable video player.
- Web-based editing tools that make it possible to cut, trim and rearrange content all within a web browser
- Modern iOS and Android apps that can record, upload and view content.
- A folder structure for content that can be customized for better organization.
- Smart search that lets you search for any spoken word or text displayed in a video.
- An integration with Microsoft Teams.
- Course pages that can be shared with individuals or groups
Why are we moving to Panopto?
Our existing video content management system, Ensemble, was purchased by Panopto, a leader in video content management systems in educational institutions. As a result, all our video content must be migrated to Panopto by Fall 2022. One immediate benefit of this migration is that Panopto is seamlessly integrated into the Canvas platform enabling easy access for faculty and students to these video course materials.When will the transition to Panopto happen?
The transition to Panopto will begin in earnest in April 2022 and continue through the early summer. All video and audio use Panopto beginning this fall.
Will past course materials be imported into Canvas and Panopto?
Course materials from the past two academic years (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, and Spring 2022) will be migrated into Canvas and all existing audio and video content in Ensemble will be migrated into Panopto. Please note, there will likely need to be some manual clean-up of content that did not migrate smoothly.Will Ensemble be available next year?
No. Ensemble will not be available after May 31, 2022, but all existing video and audio content in Ensemble will be available in Panopto. Ensemble content created after March 9 may take extra time to appear in your Panopto media library.Timing and Migration Logistics
When will faculty and staff have access to Canvas and Panopto?
All faculty and staff will have access to Panopto on June 1, 2022 and Canvas on July 1, 2022.
When will students have access to Canvas and Panopto?
Students will have access to Canvas and Panopto beginning with their Fall 2022 courses.
Who is handling the course migration?
The course migration work from Blackboard to Canvas and Ensemble to Panopto will be done by a team from Academic Technology/IT and Canvas/Panopto.
Training and Support
What training and support will be available for faculty and staff?
Beginning in April 2022 Academic Technology staff will provide a range of in–person and virtual trainings, including guided training in demo Canvas courses, for faculty and staff to help them learn how to use Canvas and Panopto and take full advantage of their tools.The goal is to provide training and support tailored to the diverse technological needs and pedagogical strategies of Bowdoin’s teaching and learning community, including:
- Canvas and Panopto show-and-tell sessions
- In-person training (small group sessions and/or individual consultations)
- Workshops on innovative uses of the tools
- Access to asynchronous courses in Canvas
- Help articles in Bowdoin’s Knowledge Base
- Self-paced, online training
Do Canvas and Panopto offer online guides and other support materials?
Yes, Canvas and Panopto both have a wide variety of online guides and support materials.
Canvas Online Guide and Panopto Online Video Guide
From Blackboard to Canvas
What will happen to course content in Blackboard?
During the migration process, two years (Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021, Spring 2022) worth of course content will be migrated into Canvas. There will also be some manual clean-up of content that did not migrate smoothly.The remaining courses and their course content (not student data) from 2005-present will be archived and available upon request.
Blackboard will be available next year until June 30, 2023. It will be available to retrieve course content and student data, if necessary. Faculty will be encouraged to download a zip file of their previous courses to store on their OneDrive.
How will Blackboard courses be moved to Canvas?
Two years (Fall 2020, Spring 2021 and Fall 2021, Spring 2022) worth of course content will be migrated into Canvas. The staff of Academic Technology will then work with faculty to copy any content into their Fall 2022 courses as needed.What will happen to the organizations in Blackboard?
Active Blackboard organizations and their content will be moved into Canvas. They will be available in the Dashboard with courses and will be renamed to help differentiate them.When will the placement exams start using Canvas?
The placement exams for the Class of 2027 will use Canvas beginning in spring 2023. The Class of 2026 will continue to use Blackboard to complete their forms and exams.When will the Fall 2022 courses be available in Canvas?
The Fall 2022 courses will be available in mid-July.From Ensemble to Panopto
What will happen to my video content in Ensemble?
During the migration process your video/audio content will be moved to your new Panopto account. You will be able to access it either directly through Panopto (https://panopto.bowdoin.edu), or through your Canvas course pages using the integration (https://canvas.bowdoin.edu).Ensemble playlists and quizzes will also be migrated to Panopto.