Learning Management System Evaluation Initiative

Overview

The LMS Evaluation Initiative will involve a pilot program of the Canvas learning management system for the 2024-2025 academic year, enabling the University to engage in side-by-side comparisons of Canvas, the current market leader, with Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View, the latest offering from our current LMS vendor.

The Department of Information Technology will be responsible for providing the logistical, technical, and pedagogical infrastructure necessary to facilitate:

• A real-world trial of Canvas LMS by a representative group of pilot instructors.
• Systematic and comprehensive collection of feedback from instructors and students using Canvas as part of the pilot program and from those using Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View.
• Sharing results with relevant faculty stakeholder groups in order to enable informed decision-making regarding future LMS decisions.

For the past 20 years, Blackboard has served as the LMS used by faculty, staff, and students at the University of Miami for technology-enriched and online courses. The following factors supported the decision to initiate a review of our learning management system:

• Opportunity to upgrade: The University of Miami has reached a point where we have the opportunity to migrate courses to Blackboard Learn’s new course experience, titled Ultra Course View, or to move on to a new LMS, such as Canvas.
• Consistent faculty feedback: Based on ongoing feedback from University faculty members, Canvas, the current market leader for higher education LMSs, is frequently cited as a viable option for the University’s next teaching and learning platform.
• Mixed course experiences: The University’s LMS is currently operating in two course experiences - Blackboard Learn Original and Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View. As adoption of Ultra Course View increases, both students and faculty will need to navigate and understand the nuances of different courses experiences.
• Retirement of features: Blackboard has started the process to phase out Original architecture and integrations, which foreshadows a future end date for Original Course View, and switch to Ultra Course View.
  
• Increased product development: Blackboard has shifted focus to product development of Blackboard Learn's Ultra Course View, with a growing number of features, only available in Ultra Course View. Similarly, Canvas has recently performed an overhaul of their communication, discussion, and quizzes tools.
• Efficient integration with external applications: With Canvas as the largest LMS provider in higher education, third-party integrations are frequently designed for Canvas first, often resulting in a delay for support for integration within Blackboard.

The Department of Information Technology will include faculty members in a Canvas pilot program, and we anticipate forming a group of approximately 12 participants.

Selected pilot faculty participants will be asked to:

• Teach one or more courses in the Fall 2024 and/or Spring 2025 semester using the Canvas LMS.
  
• Transition, as needed, course materials from Blackboard Learn to Canvas
• Utilize resources relating to teaching and course management in Canvas
• Provide feedback regarding their experiences with Canvas through surveys, focus groups, and interviews.

Selection Criteria

In the interest of forming a pilot group that, to the extent possible, is representative of the University teaching community, pilot participants will be selected on the basis of forming a group comprising a mix of:

• Academic units/disciplines
• Course levels (100-level to graduate-level)
• Class sizes
• Faculty ranks
• Modality (face-to-face or online)
• Comfort/skill level with LMS platforms

Frequently Asked Questions

This section aims to answer your questions regarding the LMS evaluation and will continue to be populated throughout. If you have any additional questions, please submit them to Learning Platforms at: learningplatforms@miami.edu.

• How will faculty be involved in the decision?

  For this evaluation, Information Technology is partnering with the Academic Computing Advisory Committee, which is composed of faculty representatives from all schools and representatives from Faculty Senate. A small number of pilot instructors will be utilizing Canvas with live courses and providing feedback, and feedback will also be collected from instructors using Blackboard Learn Ultra. The compiled feedback will be presented to the Academic Computing Advisory Committee and Faculty Senate for consideration and to inform a possible vote.

• What are the differences between Blackboard Learn and Canvas LMS?

  Throughout the LMS Evaluation, we will be reviewing the feature set between Canvas and Blackboard Learn Ultra Course View. The current Blackboard Original Course View experience is significantly different from the two we plan to evaluate. Notably, both Ultra Course View and Canvas offer mobile-friendly, easy-to-use and intuitive interfaces for faculty and students.

  Access a brief overview of each LMS outlined below:

  • Navigate Ultra Course View
  • Canvas 101

• What if I would like to explore and test Blackboard’s Ultra Course View?

  Blackboard Learn’s newer, optional course experience, Ultra Course View, is currently available upon request. If you are a course instructor interested in adopting the Ultra Course View, we recommend following this guide before contacting learningplatforms@miami.edu.

  Request Ultra Course View

• How will this affect me if I already teach in Blackboard's Ultra Course View?

  If you’ve already migrated over to Blackboard Ultra Course View, you’re already teaching in the latest offering from Blackboard, our current vendor. If you’d like to try Canvas for the 2024-2025 academic year, you are encouraged to apply for the pilot program. We are particularly interested in the feedback from instructors who are willing to teach in Blackboard Learn Ultra and Canvas simultaneously.