Temple University and Canvas
Temple University in Philadelphia knew that switching its learning management system (LMS) would take time, effort, and buy-in. Canvas by Instructure brought its campus of 40,000 students and faculty together in ways they didn't expect.
The move delivered on four fronts: ease of use, student success, accessibility, and reliability. Watch how faculty addressed fears surrounding change and built community.
Overcoming the "fear of change" in Higher Ed
Temple University recognized that switching an LMS isn’t just turning on a new tool or introducing new tech; it requires buy-in and community building.
- Building community: Faculty worked together to address change-management fears and unify the campus.
- User-centric migration: By prioritizing ease of use, the university ensured the transition worked for both tech-savvy users and those hesitant about new tools.
- Accessibility as a priority: A core benefit of the move to Canvas was ensuring learning materials were accessible to Temple's entire diverse student body.
♪♪ [JOHANNA] We have an amazing and vibrant community. I love that we're in the city of Philadelphia. I think we really benefit from being in a city that's growing. We have huge diversity in our programs, our students, our faculty, and our staff. and so there's always something to learn, not just about Temple, but from Temple. [MATT] It's a large University 40,000 people here, so it's a really large ship to turn.
When we move to Canvas, we expected a very slow transition and that would be a lot of resistance. But, the change has been very well-received here. [CINDY] We expected of an uptake of around 15 percent. The first semester that we offered this, which was last fall, And by winter, we had 80 percent. [MATT] This is amazing how quickly this is happening and people are just buying into it, buying into it.
And as one person got it, they would teach other people to use it. And, it was just this amazing university thing that happened. It was a community change. And they were helping each other gain into this new technology. And I think that was fantastic.
I'm really proud of that. [PETER] Throughout the process we kept getting the feedback of This is much more simple, this is much more straightforward, this is a lot more what I need to do in a lot less of what I don't need to do. [MATT] 'Leveling up' that's a great term. It's something that we've used here for a really long time. What is the next thing that you can do? You're really good at what you're doing now.
Let's see if we could take that one step higher. [SIMUELLE] There's constantly the question of what else can Canvas do. You know, what else can we do with Canvas? and how can we use it to enhance our student's experience? [HAILEY] Having Canvas and having everything in front of you, it helped me a lot with my education because it really makes sure that I'm staying accountable and staying on top of all of my assignments. And that's definitely something that I wasn't doing before so Canvas is really good at helping me with that. [CINDY] We want to move to 'where can we add more value?' And having this very stable but also very modern and user-friendly LMS has really made a difference for us across campus.
When we move to Canvas, we expected a very slow transition and that would be a lot of resistance. But, the change has been very well-received here. [CINDY] We expected of an uptake of around 15 percent. The first semester that we offered this, which was last fall, And by winter, we had 80 percent. [MATT] This is amazing how quickly this is happening and people are just buying into it, buying into it.
And as one person got it, they would teach other people to use it. And, it was just this amazing university thing that happened. It was a community change. And they were helping each other gain into this new technology. And I think that was fantastic.
I'm really proud of that. [PETER] Throughout the process we kept getting the feedback of This is much more simple, this is much more straightforward, this is a lot more what I need to do in a lot less of what I don't need to do. [MATT] 'Leveling up' that's a great term. It's something that we've used here for a really long time. What is the next thing that you can do? You're really good at what you're doing now.
Let's see if we could take that one step higher. [SIMUELLE] There's constantly the question of what else can Canvas do. You know, what else can we do with Canvas? and how can we use it to enhance our student's experience? [HAILEY] Having Canvas and having everything in front of you, it helped me a lot with my education because it really makes sure that I'm staying accountable and staying on top of all of my assignments. And that's definitely something that I wasn't doing before so Canvas is really good at helping me with that. [CINDY] We want to move to 'where can we add more value?' And having this very stable but also very modern and user-friendly LMS has really made a difference for us across campus.
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