Plan ahead for spring semester with Canvas workshops

Ohio University will be hosting several workshops and office hour sessions in January to support instructors with the continuing transition to Canvas. Participants can use the training opportunities to set up their Spring 2025 courses, which are now available in Canvas.

Representatives from Canvas will be leading various workshops on the Lancaster, Athens and Chillicothe campuses Jan. 6-8, 2025. Participants can attend remotely or onsite.

Workshop topics range in complexity, from introductory sessions intended for instructors who may be using Canvas for the first time this spring semester, to more advanced topics designed for those who have already familiarized themselves with the basics of Canvas previously.

To view full session details or to register for the workshops, visit the links below. (GivePulse links require OHIO ID and password to register.)

Lancaster campus workshops

• Assignments: Jan. 6, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m.
• Grading and Feedback: Jan. 6, 2025, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Course Communication: Jan. 6, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Course Data and Analytics: Jan. 6, 2025, 2:30-4 p.m.

Athens campus workshops

• Content Creation and Course Communication: Jan. 7, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m.
• Assignments: Jan. 7, 2025, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
• New Quizzes and Item Banks: Jan. 7, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Grading and Feedback: Jan. 7, 2025, 2:30-4 p.m.
• Course Design Considerations: Jan. 8, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m.
• Student Experience: Jan. 8, 2025, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Accessibility in Canvas: Jan. 8, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Course Data and Analytics: Jan. 8, 2025, 2:30-4 p.m.

Chillicothe campus workshops

• Assignments: Jan. 8, 2025, 9-10:30 a.m.
• Grading and Feedback: Jan. 8, 2025, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
• New Quizzes and Item Banks: Jan. 8, 2025, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Group Work and Collaboration: Jan. 8, 2025, 2:30-4 p.m.

Additionally, Canvas will be hosting virtual office hours at select times throughout the month of January. Instructors can leverage an expert Canvas consultant to answer their questions and work on their course in real-time. To learn more or add these to your calendar, visit the CTLA’s event registration webpage and search “Canvas”.

Spring semester considerations

As a reminder, all instructors must follow the guidance put forth from their colleges regarding which LMS to use this semester. The Spring 2025 semester is the last period that courses will automatically appear in Blackboard to support the few remaining programs that still leverage that system according to their college’s plans. 

As we near the spring semester, continue to only publish your course in the LMS your college decided to leverage. Publishing the same course in both systems (Canvas and Blackboard) will generate confusing messages to students. To help students find your course, consider sending them an email with course information.

Additionally, spring semester is a great time to start saving your Blackboard course content in preparation for the system shut-off in June 2026. 

• To view your courses, select “Courses” in the left global navigation menu in Blackboard. 
• If you’d like to save an entire course or files from the course, follow the instructions in the Saving Blackboard Content help article. 

If you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Information Technology at servicedesk@ohio.edu. Please note, OHIO will only save PeopleSoft-generated courses with student data after Blackboard has been deactivated; if you need any other content (for example, manually created courses, organizations, etc.), you will need to save it on your own before June 2026.

To explore training options or to get started with Canvas on your own, visit the Canvas Faculty Hub.