UTS is currently supporting two Learning Management Systems: Blackboard (UTSOnline) and Canvas. But not for much longer!

The year’s first Town Hall discussion was held on June 12th, with the theme ‘Towards One LMS’. There are two cloud-based front-runners in play: Blackboard Ultra and Canvas. Because it’s currently only used for a selection of postgraduate courses, a big focus has been on the functionality and usability of Canvas, and we recently held three introductory sessions at the LX.lab to offer a wider group the ability to compare and contrast both LMS options.

The best way to experience Canvas is to jump in and play around in your very own ‘sandpit’ – make stuff, break stuff if you can, and have fun!

Five easy steps to get access to your sandpit

  1. Go to ServiceConnect.
    A screenshot of the navigation bar on the ServiceConnect homepage. The option in the centre of the page, 'Requests', is circled in red.
  2. Select Requests
    – Expand Learning Technologies in Categories
    – Select Canvas and ITD
    – Select Access to Canvas Sandpit
    A screenshot of the request menu in ServiceConnect. On the left side of the page is a list of options. In this list, the 'Learning Technologies' option has been expanded. The first option in this expanded list is 'Canvas and ITD'. Both of these options have been circled in red. To the right of the list is a tile labelled 'Access to Canvas sandpit'. This tile is also circled in red.
  3. Fill out the required information on the form
  4. Under Terms and Conditions, select Yes from the drop-down to agree
  5. Submit when you’re ready

More features on Canvas

Once you have your sandpit, you’ll also have access to a UTS Canvas Staff Community site for ideas, lots of help guides, a Canvas support hotline and live chat with Canvas support. Feel free to use them!

Join the discussion