Here are tool equivalents and details between the Sakai and Canvas learning management systems. See Canvas Instructor Guides to learn more about each tool.
Sakai
Canvas
Site Info > Import from Site
Settings (Course Details) > Import Course Content | Course Content Import (Video)
Statistics
New Analytics | New Analytics Overview (Video)
People: Student activity, access, interactions, summary of all student interactions
Tests & Quizzes
New Quizzes | New Quizzes Overview (Video)
Classic Quizzes | Classic Quizzes Overview (Video)
Note: Classic Quizzes will be removed from Canvas. See New Quizzes Roadmap.
No built-in template options
HMC Canvas Course Template
Provides a starting point for building and organizing course content using Pages and Modules
Uses visual style, formatting, tool use examples, built with digital accessibility in mind
Students get a similar learning experience across their courses using the template
Schools and departments can use a template for all of their courses. Contact us via arcs-l@g.hmc.edu
Sakai
Canvas
Instructor
Teacher
Student
Student
Teaching Assistant
TA, Tutor, or Designer (based on desired permissions)
Auditor
Auditor
Guest
Observer
Sakai
Canvas
Canvas Details
Sakai Home
Canvas Dashboard
Using the Dashboard as an instructor
The Dashboard displays courses in the current term.
Your To Do list will show items you still need to grade.
Hide courses from the Dashboard through Courses > All Courses. Star the sites you want displayed and then the un-starred courses will be removed from your Dashboard.
Sakai Home > Membership
Canvas Courses >
All Courses
View current and past courses.
When at least one course is starred, the un-starred courses will be removed from your Dashboard.
Site Info > Manage Tools / Tool Order
Settings > Navigation
Managing course navigation links.
External Tool Integrations: Gradescope, Zoom.
Site Info > Import from Site
Settings (Course Details) > Import / Export Course Content
Copy content between Canvas courses.
You can choose exactly what content to copy between Canvas sites, including the entire course or specific items within tools.
Easily adjust dates during import by shifting or removing dates.
Important Note: Import content into a course from the same source only once. Importing the same content more than once will replace existing content in your site you previously imported.
Sakai Home > Preferences > Notifications
Canvas Account > Notifications
Managing Canvas notifications.
You can choose what email and app notifications you receive and customize these per course. Download the Canvas Teacher App to receive push notifications.
Home > Profile
Account > Profile / Settings
Add your photo and personalize your Canvas Profile.
Add your pronouns any any additional email address or devices in your Canvas Account Settings.
View Site As > Student
Student View
View your course as a student.
Student View allows you to upload materials, take quizzes, and navigate the course as a “Test Student.”
The Test Student and their applicable scores will appear in the Gradebook. You can reset the Test Student anytime.
Publish Site / Site Info > Manage Access
Home / Settings > Publish
Publish your course to grant students access.
Important Note: Even if a course is published, students will not get access outside of Term dates. You can view and modify your course start and end dates in Settings.
Course goes into a read-only mode after the Term end date has passed. This means instructors also cannot make any updates after the end date.
Course cannot be unpublished once student submissions have been received.
Sakai
Canvas
Canvas Details
Announcements
Can allow students to reply or react to announcements.
Can require posting before viewing replies on announcements.
Messages
View, reply to, and send messages to individual students or the entire class from the Inbox located in the Global Canvas menu, not within a course.
Filter your Inbox by course, group, favorites, unread, etc.
Forums
Group discussions possible.
Can require students reply to a discussion before viewing others' replies.
By default, students have ability to create discussions. Instructors can disable this.
Graded Discussions are automatically sent to. Assignments and the Gradebook.
Note: It is currently not possible to set up anonymous discussions.
Calendar
Schedule office hours using a Scheduler appointment group.
Changes made to assignment due dates are automatically updated everywhere in course.
The Calendar tool allows for a one-way sync of a calendar feed from Canvas to an external. Calendar like Outlook.
Site Info > Manage Groups
Create Group Sets through People tool. Can automatically or manually assign group members; allow for self sign-ups.
View Groups and their Group Homepages through People tool. For students, Groups will be accessible through People tool and Global Canvas menu.
Assign group leaders to help manage your groups.
Finalize groups before publishing group assignments.
Site Info > Manage Participants / Add Participants
People: Enrolled students from the Portal will automatically appear. Canvas synchronizes with the Portal 3 times a day, like Sakai, at 2:30 A.M., 12:30 P.M., and 5:30 P.M. PST
Students who drop course will remain in the course but as Inactive
Contact helpdesk@hmc.edu to manually add auditors, TA's, and graders.
Statistics
People and New Analytics
People: View last time student accessed course and total time spent in course; summary of all student interactions.
People > student's User Details: View student grades, interactions between student and instructor, course access, outcomes.
New Analytics: View individual student analytics.
New Analytics: View average course grade and weekly online activity; filter by section, assignment, students.
Sakai
Canvas
Canvas Details
Overview
5 different layout options for the course Home page: Course activity stream, Pages tool Front Page, course Modules, Assignments list, Syllabus.
Rich Text Editor
The RCE is much more than a basic text editor. In addition to external links, you can easily link to items in the course including assignments, quizzes, discussions and embed media and documents.
Robust Accessibility Checker verifies links, headers, images, text size and color contrasts, and table elements and provides details on failed accessibility items.
Resources
Actual files must be uploaded into the Files tool. You can share links, text, and a variety of content through the Rich Content Editor on Pages.
There are 3 file types in Canvas: Course, Group, Personal. In a course, Files tool displays the course-related files. Group files can be accessed via the Group Homepage > Files. All course and personal files can be accessed via the Global Canvas menu > Account > Files.
Schedule student visibility on files or folders.
*Important Note: It is currently not possible to restrict access to items in Files to certain sections or groups. Access is either to all or no students.
Files are also set to Published on upload.
Syllabus
Syllabus Course Summary is automatically generated with assignments and course events.
Top of Syllabus can be edited to include your course syllabus as text or uploaded file.
Course assignment groups and grading weights are listed in the Syllabus.
Can be set as the course Home page.
Lessons
Content (text, documents, PDFs, embedded media, course links, external links, etc.) is added through the dynamic Rich Content Editor on Pages. Pages are then organized into Modules.
Control the flow of your course through Modules. Modules then become checklists for students to see what items to complete.
Lock Modules until a certain time. Set prerequisites and required items within a Module.
View student progress in Modules.
A Page (must be set as the Front Page) or the Modules tool can be made the course Home page.
*Important Note: It is currently not possible to restrict access to items in Pages or Modules to certain sections or groups. Access is either to all or no students.
No built-in option for a shared template
Course Template
HMC Canvas Course Template
Provides a starting point for building and organizing course content using Pages and Modules.
Uses visual style, formatting, tool use examples, built with digital accessibility in mind.
Students get a similar learning experience across their courses using the template.
Schools and departments can use a template for all of their courses. Contact us via arcs-l@g.hmc.edu
Sakai
Canvas
Canvas Details
Assignments
Allows for multiple submission options: File upload (can restrict file type), text entry, media recording, URLs, or student annotations (students annotate document uploaded by instructor).
Students may use only one submission option (e.g., cannot submit both an uploaded file and entered text.
Group assignments are possible. Finalize student groups before publishing group assignments.
Set different assignment due dates to sections or individual students.
Batch-edit due dates and availability
Peer Review: You can manually assign or have Canvas automatically assign peer reviewers. Individual and Group assignments can be peer reviewed and made anonymous to students.
Tests & Quizzes
Quizzes
2 Quiz creation engines (Quiz Comparison Doc): New Quizzes (rocket icon filled in) and Classic Quizzes (rocket outlined).
Note: Classic Quizzes will be removed from Canvas. See New Quizzes Roadmap.
4 assessment type options: Graded quiz, practice quiz, graded survey, ungraded survey
Settings in New Quizzes; Settings in Classic Quizzes.
Feedback visible to students by default in New Quizzes. Restrict student result view in Settings.
Question Pools: Item Banks in New Quizzes; Question Banks in Classic Quizzes.
Set different quiz availability dates to sections or individual students.
Provide accommodation for student on a quiz: Moderate New Quiz; Moderate Classic Quiz
Grading Assignments, Forums, Tests & Quizzes
Use SpeedGrader to grade Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions.
View student submission (including attachments), grading rubric, feedback options all on one page.
Instructor can record audio or video feedback comments directly on student submission.
Hide student names in SpeedGrader
Enable anonymous grading on individual assignments.
Use fudge points to manually adjust a student's overall score.
Gradebook Setup
Combination of Assignments and Grades
Gradebook weighting and setup happens in Assignments.
In addition to Assignments, graded Quizzes (published and unpublished), graded. Discussions, and Attendance are automatically sent to Assignments (see Canvas Assignments vs. Activities). Organize your graded items into Assignment Groups to include % of total grade (similar to Sakai Gradebook categories).
Grading scheme is configured in course Settings.
Gradebook
Gradebook is automatically populated with columns corresponding to items in the Assignments list.
Cells are color-coded based on status (i.e., late, missing, resubmitted, dropped, excused).
Enter grades, change a student's submission status, or curve grades.
Leave comments and send messages based on submission status or scores.
Set a default grade on an assignment (can apply to all or only ungraded students) or apply a score to all ungraded items within an assignment group or entire Gradebook.
Manage student visibility of grades automatically or when manually posted.
Set policies to apply automatic grade deductions on late submissions or automatic grades on missing submissions.
What-If Grades allow students to calculate their total grade by entering hypothetical scores.
View history of all grading changes in Gradebook. Filter by student, grader, artifact, or dates.
Rubrics
Use Rubrics as grading criteria on Assignments, Quizzes, and graded Discussions.
Provide automatic feedback for students with pre-set grading criteria.
A rubric cannot be edited once added to an assignment.
TA Grading
TA Grading
Moderate assignments so instructor reviews and finalizes scores on assignments graded by TAs. Can be set up with anonymous grading.
Teaching Assistants are automatically granted grading permissions.