Individuals with working UTORids can access Quercus, the University of Toronto’s new Canvas-based teaching and learning environment, at q.utoronto.ca.

To change your preferred display name in the Quercus please visit https://my.auth.utoronto.ca.  Changes will be represented in Quercus after approximately 24 hours.

A learning management engine or LME is a software service that operates like an ‘operating system’ on a smart phone. The service platform will allow for the integration of other educational technology tools. This allows for greater pedagogical flexibility.

We expect that you will enjoy the Canvas as part of a renewed academic toolbox. You will quickly discover how easy it is to use. Here is a video that gives a quick overview of what can be done with Canvas

The aim is to have all courses in the new environment by September 2018. The expected implementation timelines are as follows:

The Learning Portal, currently power by Blackboard 9.1, is being used through-out the 2017/2018 academic year. The portal will be phased out through the spring and summer terms of 2018, with no more teaching occurring on the Blackboard Portal as of September 2018.

Canvas was selected through a formal RFP process that included community consultation. You can learn more about the selection at https://toolboxrenewal.utoronto.ca/the-portal-is-changing/

A student contest was conducted in the fall of 2017 to name the new LME. Three students proposed the name Quercus, all citing it as the Latin word for the Oak tree genus and its relation to the University of Toronto coat of arms’ oak tree and motto “velut arbor aevo”, Latin for “as a tree through the ages”. Learn more about the name in our blog post about the contest winner.

Please refer to our Contact Information page and find your division’s contacts.

Canvas is the modern LME software made by Instructure Inc. that U of T has selected to power its academic toolbox.

Portal Organizations will be migrated over to a number of destinations.  These include Microsoft Office 365 website Teams, OneDrive and simple tools such as listservs.  Course-related Portal Organizations that make use of the assessment tools (e.g., training modules) will be migrated to Quercus.

Please refer to our Contact Information page and find your division’s contacts.

Almost anything that could be done in the Blackboard portal can currently be done in Quercus.  Third-party tools will be integrated into Quercus soon.  A Feature Comparison Chart for U of T Instructors and Course Staff has been prepared.

Yes. Not all components of a Blackboard 9.1 course can be imported into Canvas, but most can. Though it is possible to import entire sites, as some types of content will be lost and the organization is different.  It is recommend that instructors take a strategic approach: creating from new when possible, exporting and importing only certain areas as needed. There is more information in the Content Migration section of this site.

If you would like to retain a copy of your courses please follow the standard Portal export or archive procedures to create a copy of course content for your records. The package can be uploaded to Quercus through the Add Existing Content icon on the home page of every blank shell and in the Settings, though building a site deliberately for Quercus is recommend. There is more information in the Content Migration section of this site.

Instructor guides are available on the Canvas Community website.

A Sandbox course is a space created for an individual instructor to experiment with Quercus.

Yes.  A 16 step process is outlined on our website.  You can import Portal content at any point, but you can only export archives from Portal before August 31st, 2018.

Not all content can be exported in a way that can be reviewed on a computer, for example discussion posts, but much is available for download, for example grade.

Not all parts of a Portal Organization can be imported into teams, but the file content can be imported by zipping all Organization content, unzipping it, and adding it to the files area of a Teams channel. This PDF contains instructions on how to migrate Orgs to Teams.

Apple’s Safari web browser automatically extracts ZIP files once they are downloaded from Portal. Quercus expects Blackboard exports to remain zipped.

Only individuals in the Instructor or Course Builder roles have to the course Control Panel‘s Packages and Utilities area.

The Toolbox Renewal Project has been reaching out to the identified training and support contacts to schedule Quercus Content Migration Clinics in divisional locations.  The clinic consists of an overview of the basics of the migration process outlined on our website and practical support exporting and importing content between the two platforms.

No.  Instructors have the opportunity to make great courses in Quercus, and the best way to create a course in Quercus is to design the course for Quercus.  In addition, the difference in interface and technical incompatibilities require that instructors review course content before it is shared with students.

Yes. A Quercus Student Guide is available and the following video provides an overview:

A limited number of courses will be offered in the new LME as part of an early adopters program. If your course is involved in this program your instructor should contact you to let you know, and has likely added a helpful link in the current Learning Portal directing you to the Canvas site. All courses with online content will be in the new academic toolbox as of September 2018.