Resources & Information for EKU Faculty, Staff, and Students

EKU Logo
EKU Logo
eku.edu OneLogin Search

LMS Transition

Eastern Kentucky University is in the process off transitioning our learning management system (LMS) from Blackboard by Anthology to Canvas by Instructure. This exciting transition brings a host of benefits, including a more intuitive and user-friendly interface, enhanced collaboration tools, and a robust mobile experience. In addition, the transition will result in a single, unified LMS for all EKU faculty, students, and staff. We understand that change can be disruptive. As we embark on this journey, our goal is to provide you with a seamless experience, empowering you to excel in your academic pursuits. We look forward to unlocking the full potential of Canvas together!

Canvas Training Opportunities

Faculty will have access to Canvas starting around July 1, 2024 to create practice sites in EKU’s new LMS. A practice site, also known as a sandbox, enables faculty to learn and explore in Canvas with access to all of the available tools and features EKU has implemented at this stage of the LMS transition.

EKU will begin various levels of training at the same time and continue beyond the end of the LMS conversion in the summer 2025. Our goal is to provide training and support tailored to the diverse technological needs and pedagogical strategies of EKU’s teaching and learning community to make this transition and adoption of the Canvas platform as streamlined as possible.

Canvas Training Registration Portal

EKU’s Transition to Canvas LMS – Timeline

  • Assembling Implementation Team
  • Defining roles and responsibilities
  • Establishing the Implementation Timeline
  • Establishing LMS Governance and Operations

  • Instructure develops EKU’s instance of Canvas.
  • Development of Course Blueprints & Templates
  • Initial Integration with Banner

Who will have access to Canvas?

  • Canvas Consultants (~20 external support staff from Canvas)
  • Necessary Support Staff (~50 staff members across the university)

  • Migration of existing courses from Blackboard into Canvas.
  • Revision and adaptation of migrated courses, to utilize Canvas form and functionality.

Who will have access to Canvas?

  • Canvas Consultants (~20 external support staff from Canvas)
  • Necessary Support Staff (~100 staff members across the university)

Who will have access to Canvas?

  • Summer Institute Faculty (12 faculty members)
  • Faculty who developed a course with the IDC over the Summer will be teaching that course in
    Canvas for Fall.

What kind of support is available?

  • Faculty teaching in Canvas will have access to 24/7 Canvas Support

  • Curation of training material.
  • On-demand Training opportunities
  • Live Canvas Training workshops.
  • Individual consultations for Canvas adoption.
  • Self-paced learning opportunities.
  • 24/7 Canvas Support available to faculty, students, and staff

Who will have access to Canvas for PD opportunities?

  • All EKU Support Staff
  • All EKU Faculty

Who will have access to Canvas for course development?

  • Instructional Support Staff
  • Any Faculty planning to be an early adopter for Spring ‘25.

Who will have access to Canvas?

  • Everyone, for learning purposes.

Who will be teaching in Canvas?

  • Any EKU Faculty who have expressed interest in teaching in Canvas for Spring 2025.

Who will be teaching in Blackboard?

  • Any EKU Faculty who have chosen to remain in Blackboard for Spring 2025

Who will have access to Canvas?

  • Everyone

Who will be teaching in Canvas?

  • All EKU Faculty

Who will be teaching in Blackboard?

  • No one

When will the access to Blackboard expire?

  • On or before June 30, 2025, as the date our contract expires

FAQs

As you may recall, 2023 was spent assessing EKU’s LMS needs, developing a Request-for-Proposal (RFP) based on those needs, and evaluating systems to determine the best fit for our institution. These actions were necessitated by the fact that the current LMS contract with Anthology’s Blackboard expires on 30 June 2025. EKU is grateful for the work of the 14-person selection committee that consisted of faculty from each academic college and the library, staff from key offices such as IT, the Registrar’s Office, the OSHA Training Institute, and the Center for STEM Excellence, as well as a student representative from SGA. The selection process allowed for feedback from the university community through needs assessments, vendor demonstrations, system sandboxes, and feedback surveys. After analyzing the feedback from the committee and the university community, it was clear that Canvas had the overwhelming support of all constituencies.

By start of Fall 2024, we will have a host of Canvas training and professional development offerings to better assist with your journey to Canvas. Canvas will be available in the Fall of 2024 to begin learning.

Yes! A full calendar of offerings are available and can be found in the Canvas Training Portal.

Yes! All course migrations will happen over the summer of 2024 and we will do our best to ensure everything goes smoothly. Our rockstar Instructional Designers will be helping with format issues and introducing our new Canvas blueprint!

Yes! Your Blackboard courses from the past 2 years will still be made available.

Yes! You can view the Canvas Community Guides and learn more about Instructure on their website. Instructor Website | Student Website