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Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues:
During the past year, nearly 4,000 faculty and students in more than 60 course sections participated in piloting a new learning management system (LMS) for Carmen. We are grateful for their insightful feedback to support our continual goal of innovating our educational processes. Based on input from your colleagues and students, we have clear direction to adopt Canvas (pending contract negotiations) as our new learning management system.
In addition to pilot participants, an LMS advisory committee and tens of technical assessment teams considered the merits of remaining with D2L or moving to Canvas. Throughout the pilots, faculty and students consistently rated Canvas as the stronger option. Faculty cited several superior features in Canvas: course and syllabus organization, content development, SpeedGrader, and management of group assignments. Students cited the calendar, course organization, and mobility as invaluable Canvas features.
A member of our advisory committee spoke eloquently about the value of our LMS:
“The right LMS is an opportunity to motivate, energize, and even inspire students. It can stimulate the imagination of faculty, and encourage more creative instructional design. It can provide deep analytics, and reveal insights into how well our students, and we, are progressing. It can create new connections and build communities of learning. Yet, we realize these additional benefits only if we adopt a platform that goes beyond what is merely functional and familiar.“
Transitioning to a new system will generate concerns about how and when to proceed, and we are committed to providing you with flexibility and support during this multi-term transition. During the coming weeks, the Office of Distance Education and eLearning will contact your department to provide details and answer any questions. In the meantime, please visit the Canvas Adoption Site to learn more.
Thank you for your direction in providing an improved Carmen experience. We look forward to supporting you through a smooth transition in the coming year.
Sincerely,
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