As of August 15, 2013, instructors now have access to Biola's Canvas server at http://canvas.biola.edu, which is the permanent address (so you can bookmark that site).
For Fall 2013, we're recommending that most classes still use Blackboard. However, we have created all Fall 2013 courses on Canvas so that instructors can begin to learn how to use Canvas, in preparation for using Canvas instead of Blackboard for Spring 2014. Every instructor also has a "Sample" course to use for testing.
All courses are hidden from students.
Even though every Fall 2013 course exists on Canvas, they are all initially listed as "unpublished" which means that students cannot see them yet. Instructors cannot yet "publish" a course on their own. If you want to use Canvas for Fall 2013, contact Matthew Weathers by email. We will review your course to make sure it's ready for students to see, then publish it. (Eventually, we will have more of an automated process to do this.)
Students do not yet have access to Canvas.
Their accounts will be created by August 20th. But even after that, they will not see "unpublished" courses.
To add a T.A. to your class,
contact Matthew Weathers for now. The Registrar's Office has requested a change in policy for adding a T.A. (due to FERPA regulations) We will eventually have a process that allows instructors to add a T.A. on their own after the system checks that they have been officially hired as a student worker through H.R. (i.e. after they have legal access to student data).
To consolidate several sections into one course,
contact Matthew Weathers. You'll notice that cross-listed courses are already consolidated into the same course. In Canvas, all content, files, and images reside in a "course" and each course then has one or more "sections." Student and teacher enrollments are attached to "sections." If you're teaching more than one section of the same class, you can put all the sections into one course. Eventually, we will have a more automated system so that instructors can do this on their own.
To get help with Canvas: the Department of Distance Learning will have some workshop seminars throughout the semester, to be announced later. If you're trying to get things up & running before the beginning of Fall 2013, you're mostly on your own at this point although the Distance Learning Department will attempt to assist where possible. Additionally, there is support available from the IT Help Desk for basic issues, and there are also a few faculty in each school who will function as "point people" to assist with some basic functionality in addition to the Distance Learning staff.
For Fall 2013, instructor access to Canvas is intended mainly to be experimental. There are online help files, and well-crafted Google searches may answer most of your questions. The Department of Distance Learning is primarily supporting a handful of online classes which are using Canvas in Fall, but we may be able to answer various questions for other classes before the semester begins depending upon the demand.