What’s happening on our journey to Canvas?
06 Feb 2025
We welcomed over 300 colleagues to the open meeting on Thursday 23 January to hear updates about the University’s move to Canvas from Blackboard Learn later this year.
This is an exciting time and will see the University move to a more modern, user-friendly central learning environment (CLE).
We have already made great steps in the Canvas implementation, thanks to the work from colleagues and students across the University. Technical teams have overseen the successful first technical release of Canvas and are preparing for a second release in February. Testing has taken place so colleagues can be confident that data from Blackboard Learn will be availablein Canvas. eLearning teams have been instrumental in establishing training and support in their local areas.
We appreciate there is work needed before the Canvas rollout in September 2025, but the move is set to improve student and colleague teaching, learning and work experiences.
Key takeaways from the meeting:
- All colleagues now have access to Canvas and should have a sandbox space to explore and familiarise yourself with the platform. Follow this link https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/. If you do not have a sandbox space, you can contact your local eLearning team for further support.
- Semester 1 2024/2025 course content will be available in Canvas following migration from Blackboard by the end of March, ready for colleagues to take and reuse in their Canvas courses.
- The Canvas Course Template and Course Unit Standards will be rolled out from March 2025 to support colleagues in rebuilding their courses.
- A University-wide Training Working Group has been established to support the consolidation of training materials to be accessed from a central area. Faculty eLearning teams have developed training materials and resources, including face-to-face drop-in and online sessions) to support colleagues in the transition to Canvas:
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Watch again
- If you missed the meeting or would like to watch again, you can access through the link here.
What’s next?
Our next open meeting is planned for April 2025 where we will provide you with further updates and information to help you prepare for the move.
We are reviewing our online content and updating our FAQs to provide you with important information and keep you advised of what you need to know and what you need to do to prepare for the Canvas go-live in September 2025.