Content Migration

Quick Access: Content Clean Up | Migration Guide | Feature Comparison | Feature Exceptions | Using External Tools

Need to move Blackboard content into Canvas! Follow the guides and recommendations below for the best results. We have compiled several resources and guides which will take you through this process.

1. Content Clean Up

Step One: Clean up your source! Best practice in moving content from one system to another is not to take unused and out of date material into a fresh shell. Check out our Spring Cleaning guide for detailed steps on how to thoroughly evaluate your existing content and prep it for migration.

2. Complete Migration Guide

This migration guide will walk you through the full process of assessing the content remaining in your course after cleanup. While most artifacts in Blackboard translate directly to Canvas, some will be converted into new items and some will need to be manually recreated. This breaks down each in detail, and provides guidance and recommendations on how best to translate Blackboard elements into Canvas when the import is not directly comparable.

Alternatively, view the Guide For Migrating Content From Blackboard To Canvas document.

This video demonstrates a very straightforward example of the actual process of exporting/importing:

Blackboard - Canvas Feature Comparison

If you used Blackboard...	You'll love this in Canvas!
Course Content Areas & Folders	Canvas Modules
Items	Canvas Pages
Assignments	Canvas Assignments
Discussions	Canvas Discussions
Tests	Canvas Quizzes and New Quizzes
Blackboard Annotate	Canvas SpeedGrader
Gradebook	Canvas Gradebook
Tasks	Canvas Calendar and To-Do
Announcements	Canvas Announcements
Open Content and OER	Canvas Commons
3rd Party Tools & Publisher Content	Canvas External Tools

What doesn't translate?

As we mentioned above, not everything has an Canvas counterpart. The three worth mentioning specifically are Blogs, Journals and Wikis. In Blackboard these act similarly to Discussions, but have shades of difference in their intended delivery. Canvas does not distinguish between them. You can use Discussions as a replacement, or utilize one of the suggestions below.

Blogs: You may consider replacing your blogs with Canvas discussions. Or you can use use a third party blogging application and have your students share the web address in an assignment.

Journals: You may allow students to keep journals in Canvas assignments or a third party tool.

Wikis: Wikis do not exist in Canvas as they do in Blackboard. However, in Canvas you can create pages and give students the ability to edit them. This would essentially be a single page wiki. If you'd like to assess students on their work, then you can create a separate assignment for grade entry.

Glossaries: You may use a page to emulate a glossary.

Using External Tools

An External Tool enables Canvas users with LTI learning resources and activities originating from other websites and academic technologies. There are also Canvas specific features that are available to link to courses as external tools. An External URL is a web link that we can add to Canvas to direct Canvas users to outside web sources.

COCC External Tools Guide and List

Canvas Guides