Migration Cleanup

This page will be updated as more information becomes available.
Last updated: 9/1/2023

This page is designed to help instructors clean up their course after it has been migrated from UNM Learn. The image below shows which items migrate over well, which require cleanup, and which do not migrate at all and need to be rebuilt. Before deciding to use a migrated course or build from scratch, please review the list below to determine the amount of work it may take to clean up your course.
 
Once you review this list and are ready to decide, the Migration Options page has the steps for Rebuilding your course from scratch, using an Individual Migration Requested course, and using an Automatic (Bulk) Migrated Course. If you decided to use one of the two migrated course options, you can refer back to the list below to reference the Recommended Migration Cleanup Workflow and the list of Learn items you may need to repair depending on which tools and functionality you used in your Learn course.

Migrated courses will be in a Read-Only state to preserve the content that came from UNM Learn. You will need to copy the content into either:

1. your Banner course that has student enrollments OR
2. a Temp Course

If you do not have either, you can request a Temp course using the Temp Course Request Form.
 
When copying from one Canvas course (Migrated course) into another course (Temp/Banner course), go into the destination (Temp/Banner) course and click “Import Existing Content” from the right menu on the Home page. You can: 

1. Copy all of the content OR
2. Copy part or select specific content (this lets you only import the materials you actually need)

 

Converts well into Canvas	Imports but requires editing	Needs to be recreated or the functionality is missing
Announcements Calendar Content Collection	Assignments Content Areas Discussions Grade Center Groups Learning Modules Self and Peer Assessments Tests Kaltura Media	Adaptive Release Banner Image Blogs Course Menu Links HTML Pages Journals Mashups Rubrics Themes Wikis

 

 

Recommended Migration Cleanup Workflow

1. Review the list of Learn items listed on this page to get more information on what migrates, what does not, and what requires cleanup.
   
   
2. Fix anything that migrated from UNM Learn that needs to be edited or rebuilt.
   
   
3. Run the Course Link Validator in your course to check for broken links, references to non-existent content, and more. It can be accessed by clicking on “Settings” in the Course Menu then clicking “Validate Links in Content” on the right. If you do not see that item listed, then it likely means you are in a course that is set to “Read Only”. Courses from a previous term (e.g., migrated courses) or past enrollments are automatically set to Read Only.
   
   
4. Review your course for its completeness.
   
   
5. Publish each item as you finish reviewing it and have completed any fixes needed.
   
   
6. Check your course using the Student View tool in Canvas to review your course from the student’s perspective.
   
   
7. If using a Temp course for migration cleanup, copy the course into your Banner course once it is available in Canvas. Banner courses will be available in Canvas starting:
   1. Mid-April for Summer/Fall semesters
   2. Mid-November for Spring semesters

 

 

Blackboard/UNM Learn Tools (alphabetical order)

A few less common tools, such as Glossaries, Contacts, Flickr mashup, Retention Center, etc., were purposely not listed below. For the tools that are listed below, if you find any migration tasks missing or that behave differently than described, please contact UNM Canvas Support so that we can look into it further.

 

Adaptive Release

Adaptive Release rules do not migrate to Canvas. You will need to add these rules back into the Assignments/Quizzes in Canvas using the Availability options within each item. To add more advanced content availability rules such as Grade Requirements you can build these rules by editing the Module Settings and adding Prerequisites and Requirements to the module.

 

Announcements

Announcements from Learn migrate well over to the Announcements tab in the Canvas Course’s Navigation Menu.

Course Links will be broken. If the announcement contained course links, then those course links will be broken.

 

Assignments

Assignments from Learn migrate over with a few issues. It is recommended that you go through the settings for each migrated assignment to make sure it contains the correct number of submission attempts, availability dates, and assignment type (individual or group).

Availability dates do not migrate over. This means you will need to set availability dates in Canvas after the migration from Learn. In subsequent semesters, however, you will be able to use the date adjustment tool within Canvas.
Migrated Rubrics are no longer connected to their assignments. The Rubrics transfer over during migration, but they are no longer attached to specific assignments. You must find the assignment in the course and click on its name. At the bottom you will see “+ Rubric” > Find a Rubric > Select the Rubric > Use this Rubric. Please review the Rubrics section below for more information about how a Rubric migrates before following these steps.
Group assignments migrate over as individual assignments. You will need to change those back to group assignments.
Multiple Attempt Assignments migrate incorrectly. If an assignment has multiple attempts, it will be migrated over with unlimited attempts. You will need to edit the assignment to give it a limited number of attempts again.

 

Banner Image

This item does not come over in Canvas. In Learn Customization > Teaching Style > Select Banner. This is not the same thing as an image you placed at the top of a content page.

 

Blogs

Blogs do not migrate over, and they do not exist in Canvas. Canvas does not have a standalone blog tool so Blog prompts will not migrate over. There is an alternative way to create blog posts in Canvas. This can be done by allowing students to create their own Discussion for a blog space. By default, students are not allowed to create a Discussion post, but this setting can be updated in the Discussions area.

To get this process started you must go into Discussions then click the cog icon in the top right-hand corner. In this menu put a check next to “Create discussion topics” under Student Settings. Then, instruct the students to use the following steps to create their own Blog:

1. In the Course Menu, click on the Discussions link
2. Click on the + Discussion button on the top right.
3. Type "[YOUR NAME]’s Blog" into the Topic Title
4. In the Options, check Allow threaded replies. Do not choose any other options.
5. Click on the Save

To post a new blog entry in your blog feed, enter your post in the top Reply area.

To comment on another student’s blog entry, click Reply underneath a specific entry.

 

Calendar

Items with due dates will appear in the Canvas Calendar.

Manual Calendar entries from Learn also migrate over just fine.

 

Content Areas, including Build Content> Items, Files, Images, Web Links, Course Links, Content Folders, and Blank Pages

Most of the Content Areas and Folders that were used to organize your course in Learn will be placed into Modules and will require reorganization and cleanup.

Some file attachments will not migrate over. If multiple files are attached to the same item, sometimes only the item listed first will migrate over. Additional attachments may not. 

Course Links don't migrate over. Any links to items within the course in Learn will not migrate over. 

Images don't migrate over. If the image was added to the course using Build Content > Images it won't migrate.

Course may become disorganized after migration. After a migration most of your content will be found in the Modules section. However, it may have become disorganized. Canvas does not allow nested folders (a folder within a folder) which means Content Areas and Content Folders do not always migrate over cleanly. You will need to spend some time reorganizing the content in Canvas to work in this new format.

Items migrate over as pages. If the Item did not contain any information in the Text field, it may not migrate over at all.

Web Links: Web Links migrate over to the corresponding area in Modules that its Content Area was placed in.

• Text in the description box for web links does not appear in the migrated content
• You will need to edit links to open in a new tab as they will try to open in the same page or an embedded page within Canvas instead

 

Content Collection/Files

Everything from the Content Collection in Learn migrates over to Files in Canvas.

 

Course Menu Links

The Canvas course menu is not as customizable as in Learn. Canvas recommends keeping your Course Menu as short and clean as possible in their trainings and to use Modules as a way to organize content instead. However, we have a third-party Redirect tool you can use to add links if necessary.

Blank Pages migrate over into the Modules area. However, it may create a duplicate text header which is easy to delete.

My Media has been moved to a new location. You can access My Media by clicking Account in the Global Navigation Menu.

Content Areas migrate over into Modules. This migration can be a little messy and will require some management. Please see the Content Areas item above for more details.

Web links don't migrate over.

Course Links do not migrate over.

Module Pages do not migrate over.

Tool Links do not migrate over. A few tool links are integrated into Canvas naturally (such as Announcements and Discussions) and will appear in the Course Menu by default.

Create a Support Ticket tool does not exist in Canvas. Instead, direct students to the Help item in the Global Navigation Menu.

“How to use Canvas” resources are not located on the course menu. You can access these resources through Help in the Global Navigation Menu.

 

Discussions

The structure of how Discussions are set up is different in Canvas. Learn Discussions were structured like this: Discussion Board > Forum > Thread > Replies. Canvas Discussions are structured like this: Discussions > Topics > Replies. This means students will not be creating their own threads anymore. Instructors will build the Discussion Topic and students will reply to it.

Discussion Threads from Blackboard do not migrate over. If your instructions are posted within the Thread of a Forum, instead of the Forum itself, you will need to recreate that content.

Group Discussions are automatically added to the Group Page of each group (In Canvas go to People > Imported Groups > 3 dots at the end of the row of the group > Visit Group Homepage > Discussions). However, we do not recommend building your discussion boards on this page. Instead, you should build a discussion as normal, then designate it a “Group” Discussion” in the settings.

 

Grade Center

This is called the Gradebook in Canvas. This tool behaves a bit differently from Learn’s Grade Center. It primarily focuses on Grading and Grade management. Column settings, creation, and removal are mostly managed through the Assignments area.

• Instead of creating a column in the Gradebook, you will instead create an Assignment Group through the Assignments area. These are similar to Categories from Learn.
• Each created Assignment Group generates a column in the Gradebook. Deleting the Assignment Group deletes the Column from the Gradebook.
• Assignment Groups will become an important tool for organizing your course in Canvas. For example, to setup “weighted totals” or “drop lowest grade” settings, you must adjust the settings of the Assignment Group in the Assignments area, NOT the Columns in the Gradebook.
• You can create new Assignment Groups, delete unnecessary groups, and move Assignments from one group to another.
• Quizzes can also be assigned to an Assignment Group.

Graded Columns Migrate into Canvas. If the graded assignment migrates correctly from Learn it will also bring over its column to the Gradebook.

Remove excess Gradebook Columns /Assignment Groups: Many Grade Center columns will transfer over from Learn but don’t serve a purpose in Canvas. Text, calculated, or other columns not associated with gradable items (quizzes, discussions, assignments) will migrate over as Gradebook Columns/Assignment Groups but are not functional. You will have to rebuild grade settings such as " weighted totals" or "drop lowest grade". It would be best to just delete most of these columns. For example, the columns Blogs, Journals, and Weighted Totals should be deleted.

• How to Delete a Column: You can’t delete a column using the Gradebook. You must locate the Assignment Group under “Assignments” and delete it from there. That will remove it from the Gradebook. If you want to hide an item from the Gradebook, you can unpublish an assignment then filters out “Unpublished Assignments” by using the “View” item at the top of the Gradebook.
• Fixing “Weighted totals”: Once the Assignment Groups have been organized, click the three dots (kebab) in the top right-hand corner and choose Assignment Groups Weight. From this menu you can adjust the weights of each Assignment group. If you wish for a particular assignment to weigh more within its own group, increase the point value of that assignment or assign it to a separate Assignment Group.
• Fixing “Drop Lowest Grade”: Create or modify an Assignment Group by clicking the three dots (kebab) of the Assignment Group and choose “Edit”. On this new screen adjust the values to meet your needs. These settings will be applied to any Assignments or Quizzes located within the Assignment Group.

 

Groups/Group Sets

Groups migrate over but Group Sets do not. All Groups are migrated into a Group Set titled “Imported Groups”. The simplest option would be to recreate the Group Sets from scratch. However, below are a set of steps for fixing the Imported Groups if you want to give that a try:

1. For each Group Set that you want to migrate over Clone the “Imported Groups” Tab and rename it for the Group Set that you want this Tab to be used for.
2. Delete the excess Groups from your newly cloned and renamed Group Sets.
3. Delete the “Imported Group” Group Set.

 

HTML Pages

HTML Pages may link to content that was in Learn. You will need to rebuild this content so that it no longer links to Learn.

HTML Pages do not migrate over as a page. Instead, they come over as a file. You can recreate these as pages in Canvas. Consider adopting the UNM Canvas template for more visually appealing formatting or using the Canvas rich content editor to create your own.

 

Journals

Journals do not migrate over, and they do not exist in Canvas. If you would like to emulate how a journal worked in Learn, there are two methods.

Method 1
The first method involves creating an Assignment with the submission type set to “Text Entry”. This works well if you want to grade each student’s individual submission. You would need to create a separate “Journal” assignment for each submission that you expect from the student.

Method 2
The second method involves creating the Journal as a Group Discussion, then assigning each student their own group. This method is useful for grading a student’s journal as a whole or for allowing students to keep all Journal entries in one place.

1. In the Course Menu, click on the Discussions link
2. Click on the + Discussion button on the top right.
3. Type "Journal" into the Topic Title
4. Add: instructions, grades, availability... etc.
5. Scroll down and choose This is a Group Discussion
6. Type in the Group Set Name.
7. In the Group Structure, choose to Split students into groups with [1] student per group
8. Click Save

Now that each student has their own Group (and therefore a personal Discussion) they can use their personal Discussion as a Journal. For organizational purposes you may use the following steps to re-name each Group after the Student that has been assigned to the group.

1. In the Course Menu, click on People
2. Click on the new Group Set at the top.
3. Click on the arrow to the left of each Group within the Group Set to see which student is in each group.
4. Click on the Options icon and choose Edit.
5. Change the name of the Journal to a student's name.
6. Click Save

 

Learning Modules

Learning Modules are migrated over as Modules.

Nested Learning Modules or Folders are separated into either their own Module or are changed to Text Headers with the nested content placed underneath the Text Header.

It appears that many items migrated from Learning Modules are duplicated.

 

Mashups

Any item built using the Build Content > Mashup will not transfer over into Canvas. There will also be no indication or warning that these items didn't come over so be sure to double check these when reviewing your course.

Kaltura: See the Kaltura section in Third-party tools in the last section of this page

YouTube: Mashups embedded using Build Content > Mashup will not migrate.

Note: YouTube Mashups embedded in an Item piece in Learn will Migrate over to Canvas within a Page.

 

Rubrics

Rubrics migrate over but the formatting and point totals will need to be edited. We suggest rebuilding these from scratch while reviewing the original rubric from Learn/screenshots of the Rubrics from Learn.

Add Rubrics Back to Assignments: The Rubrics transfer over during migration, but they are no longer attached to specific assignments. You must find the assignment in the course and click on its name. At the bottom you will see “+ Rubric” > Find a Rubric > Select the Rubric > Use this Rubric.

 

SCORM

SCORM packages migrate but require some work for them to function.

SCORM content is unpacked into the Files area. Instead of trying to rebuild the content from Files, it is recommended that you download the original file then re-upload it into the SCORM area of the course.

 

Self and Peer Assessments

Self and Peer Assessments require some editing to work functionally in Canvas.

Self and Peer Assessments migrate over as an Assignment. You will need to edit the Assessment to allow Peer Reviews in the settings. You will also need to remove the ”>> View/Complete Assessment” link in the assignment as it links back to Learn. The " How do I use peer review assignments in a course” page explains what students need to do after you enable the Peer Review setting.

 

Tests

Tests migrate as Classic Quizzes in Canvas. There are many differences when transitioning from Learn Tests to Canvas Quizzes. It is recommended that you thoroughly review each Quiz to make sure that questions come over as the correct question type.

Unsupported Questions do not migrate over. Unsupported questions will appear with a description notifying you that it is unsupported while editing the quiz. Either remove the question or recreate it using a different question type that can supplement it. For example, “Quiz Bowl” questions can be repurposed as Short Answer questions in Canvas. Keep in mind that total quiz points will be inaccurate until unsupported questions are addressed.

Learn questions that will not migrate at all:

• Hotspot
• Quiz Bowl

Certain questions will migrate but will automatically change question type upon import.

Question in Learn	Migration to Canvas
Either or	Multiple Choice
Jumbled Questions	Multiple Dropdowns
Opinion/Likert	Multiple Choice
Ordering	Matching
Short Answer	Essay

These question types can be adjusted by editing the Quiz>clicking on the pencil icon next to a question>select a question type from the dropdown menu.

File Upload questions do not migrate properly and will show as unsupported. Manually edit the quiz question and set it as a File Upload by going to Quizzes>select your quiz>Edit>Questions tab>Hover over the question>Click the Pencil icon that appears>Change question type to File Upload.

(Optional) Formulas generated using Wiris for Calculated Formula questions will appear incorrectly in Canvas as a URL . Edit the question in Canvas and update the Formula Definition. This formatting issue does not affect the validity of the formula, or the correct possible solutions.

Non image-based file types (such as PDFs) embedded as images in question text or answer choices in a Learn Test will migrate as broken links. These will need to be re-embedded in Canvas.

Unable to label Multiple Choice answers with letters or numbers. Multiple choice options will be listed with a circle that the student clicks to select their answer. It will not show sequential numbering or lettering (1,2,3,4 or A,B,C,D etc.) You will need to modify questions with answers such as "D - None of the above" or "Both A and B".

 

Surveys

Surveys will migrate into Canvas as Graded Classic Quizzes. The quiz type for Surveys will need to be changed to either a Graded or Ungraded Survey. This can be done by going to Quizzes and clicking on the 3 dots (kebab menu) next to your Survey>Edit>Change the Quiz Type to Graded or Ungraded Survey>Save.

Notes:

1. Surveys are managed by the Quiz tool in Canvas. This means that the import behavior for Survey questions is identical to what was listed in the “Tests” section above.
2. Once we transition over to New Quizzes in Canvas, surveys will no longer be an option since Canvas does not support that functionality in the New Quiz tool.

 

Pools

Quizzes migrate with excessive Question Banks. Each quiz imported from Learn will create a question bank even if the questions were not pulled from a question pool. Delete any unneeded question banks after importing by going to Quizzes>Click the 3 dot (kebab) menu and select Manage Question Banks>click on the X icon next to the question bank to delete it.

Individually importing Quizzes that contain Question Sets or Random Blocks will import their associated pools, but the pool name will appear with a reference name instead of the original name e.g., " single.qti.export.referenced.canvas.name.prefix”. To rename the Question Bank go to Quizzes>Click the 3 dot (kebab) menu and select Manage Question Banks>and click on the pencil icon next to the question bank to rename it.

Note: This will not happen with a full export/import of a course since the Pools are included in the export.

Question Sets and Random blocks contained in a Learn quiz will migrate into Canvas with inaccurate ”Points per Question”. For example, If the ”Points per Question” value was set to 10 for a Question set or Random Block in Learn, it will come over into Canvas as only 1pt per question. Manually adjust the point value for each Question Group by clicking on the Pencil Icon next to the question>Enter in the correct number of points per question.

Learn Tests that have questions linked using Reuse Question>Find Questions will import into Canvas with each question in their own Question Group. Drag and drop each question out of their Question Groups and delete the Question Group by clicking on the trashcan icon next to the title. Afterwards, re-adjust the point value for each question if they appear inaccurate.

 

Themes

Themes from Learn do not exist in Canvas and do not migrate over.

 

Wiki

Wikis don’t properly migrate into Canvas. You can find the wiki page under ”Pages” but it will be missing all the wiki content.

 

Third Party Tools

 

Kaltura Media

All Kaltura Media located in your My Media space will still be available to you through Canvas. You will have to do some relinking to make sure that the media appears where you want it in your Canvas course.

Media Mashups links do not migrate over to Canvas. If the Media was added to the course in UNM Learn as a Mashup in a Content area (Build Content), it does not migrate over to Canvas at all. There will be no evidence of the Media in the course. To restore this content in Canvas, you will need to create a Page in Canvas and relink the Media. If you are having trouble locating the video you can view these instructions to help re-link content from Learn into Canvas.

Rich Content Editor embedded videos migrate as broken links. If the Media was added to the course in UNM Learn using the Rich Content Editor, the video will migrate with an error. Re-link the video by searching for it via My Media.

Media Gallery content does not migrate over. Content contained in a Media Gallery will not Migrate over to Canvas. Videos will need to be re-published in the Media Gallery in Canvas. The Media Gallery can be copied to any future term courses in Canvas by using the Import Media Gallery feature.

For more detailed information about Kaltura Migration Cleanup, visit Kaltura – Fix Imported Content from Blackboard Learn.