Importing Quizzes from Blackboard and Migrating Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes in Canvas

In Canvas, any exam, test, or assessment is called a “quiz”. This article explains how to migrate your Blackboard content to Canvas Classic Quizzes and how to upgrade your existing Canvas Quizzes to New Quizzes.

Description

Canvas has two quiz engines: Classic and New. Classic Quizzes are the default and must be used (initially) to import quizzes from Blackboard. Established Classic Quizzes can be migrated to New Quizzes, which is an updated engine that offers more question types and settings functionality. We recommend using New Quizzes from the start if you do not need to import tests from Blackboard. Canvas has not published an end date for support of Classic Quizzes at this time, but all new development of future functionality is focused on New Quizzes, rather than Classic Quizzes.  

Environment

Canvas and Blackboard in your web browser.

Solution 

Table of Contents

• Classic Quizzes versus New Quizzes
• Enable New Quizzes in a Canvas course
• Exporting quizzes from Blackboard
• Importing quizzes to Canvas
• Migrating Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes in Canvas

 

Classic Quizzes versus New Quizzes

The table below shows some of the major differences between the two quiz engines. Please refer to this document from Canvas for a complete comparison. Classic Quizzes are distinguished by a rocket ship icon outlined in black while New Quizzes are designated by a solid black rocket ship icon. When a quiz is published, the icons turn green. 

Enable New Quizzes in a Canvas course

By default, the New Quizzes feature is not enabled in your course and will need to be turned on to complete any migration of Classic Quizzes or creation of New Quizzes. 

1. Log in at canvas.ohio.edu
2. In the green Global Navigation Menu, select Courses
3. Select the course for which you will turn on New Quizzes
4. In the course menu, select Settings
5. Select the Feature Options tab
6. Scroll down to locate New Quizzes and enable it by selecting the red circle with an x; it will turn into a green check mark

NOTE: Once the New Quizzes feature is enabled in the course, you will have the option to select either a Classic Quiz or a New Quiz when creating quizzes, unless you also turn on the Disable Quiz Creation option in the Feature Options tab. We recommend enabling this feature if you do not plan to migrate quizzes from Blackboard or to use Classic Quizzes in the course.

Exporting quizzes from Blackboard

1. Log in at blackboard.ohio.edu
2. In the Global Navigation menu at left, select Courses 
3. Select the course that contains the content you want to import to Canvas 
   • Blackboard Original courses include “Original Course View” in the second line of the title 
4. On the left course navigation menu, under Course Management, expand the Control Panel
5. Select Packages and Utilities
6. Select Export/Archive Course 
7. On the Export/Archive Course page, select Export Package 
8. Under File Attachments, determine how you would like to copy links for both Course Files Default Directory and Files Outside of the Course Default Directory 
   • We recommend selecting Copy links and include copies of the files in the course default directory
9. Under Package Size, select Calculate Size to determine the resulting file size to be imported into Canvas
   • NOTE: There is a maximum course size limit of 2GB (2000MB) in Canvas
10. Under Select Course Materials, select Rubrics and Tests, Surveys, and Pools 
11. Select Submit at the bottom of the page
12. You will receive a confirmation message on the next screen indicating “Success: This action has been queued. An email will be sent when the process is completed.”
    • You will also receive an email from "bbsupport@ohio.edu" when the file is ready
13. Select Refresh to view the newly created export package
14. Select the file link to download a copy of the course export file to your computer
15. See Importing quizzes to Canvas below to complete the procedure to move assessments to Canvas

NOTE: If your Blackboard tests use more involved question types and/or multiple series of pools in combination with question sets and random blocks, you may require more assistance. We suggest that if your test imports with directions but no questions, please submit a help ticket. 

Importing quizzes to Canvas

1. Log in at canvas.ohio.edu 
2. In the green Global Navigation Menu, select Courses
3. Select the course where you would like to add the Blackboard assessments
4. On the right side of the course home page, under Course Status, select Import Existing Content
5. Next to Content Type, select Blackboard 6,7,8,9, or Ultra export .zip file
6. Next to Source, select Choose File to browse your computer and locate your saved Blackboard export file
7. Next to Content, select All content
8. Select Import
   • NOTE: There is a maximum course size limit of 2GB (2000MB) in Canvas. If your import fails due to this size limit, you will need to re-export content from your Blackboard course in smaller pieces and then import each of those separately into your Canvas course.
9. Under Current Job, the progress bar will indicate the status of your import
   • Canvas will notify you of any issues or errors with the import process
   • Click on the provided link to view the issues in greater detail

Your imported quizzes can be found on the Quizzes page, which is accessed from the course menu, and can be added where you need them to appear in your course.

Migrating Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes in Canvas

Classic Quizzes can be migrated to New Quizzes to take advantage of the engine's more robust features. You can migrate quizzes either individually or in bulk by copying/importing them as New Quizzes within the same course or from another Canvas course. 

NOTE: The "Text No Question" warning banner seems to be displayed any time you migrate a quiz or import several quizzes as New Quizzes, regardless of whether it is applicable to your particular situation.

Migrating Classic Quizzes individually

1. Log in at canvas.ohio.edu
2. In the green Global Navigation Menu, select Courses
3. Select the course where you would like to migrate your Classic Quizzes
4. In the course menu select Quizzes
5. Scroll to the quiz you want to migrate and select the three-dot options menu to the right of the quiz name
6. Select Migrate
7. Canvas will inform you that it is migrating the quiz and will place the new version below the original Classic Quiz

Migrating Classic Quizzes in bulk

1. Log in at canvas.ohio.edu
2. In the green Global Navigation Menu, select Courses
3. Select the course where you would like to bulk migrate your Classic Quizzes
4. Select Settings in the course menu
5. On the right side menu, select Import Course Content
6. In the Content Type drop-down menu, select the Copy a Canvas Course option
7. Search for the course from which you would like to bulk migrate the quizzes
8. For the Content section, enable the Select specific content radio button
   • NOTE: Choosing the specific content option requires you to pick the content you want to import after you review the remaining page options. Once the import begins, the import selection cannot be canceled.
9. Select the Import existing quizzes as New Quizzes check box
10. Select the Import button
11. Under Current Jobs, to the right of the course copy job name, choose the Select Content button
12. Select the specific quizzes you would like to import and migrate to New Quizzes
    • NOTE: If your quizzes draw from question banks, you must ensure that you choose both the quizzes and the question banks that supply the questions. 
13. Choose the Select Content button to begin the migration process
14. Canvas will inform you that the job is queued, running, and completed
15. Once the job is complete, go to the Quizzes page and view the newly migrated quizzes to confirm the content is as expected
    • NOTE: The New Quizzes will appear below the original ones on the Quizzes page and will have the same names. We recommend that you either rename the Classic Quiz or delete it (once you've confirmed the New Quiz is accurate and complete) to avoid confusion. 

Outcome: Your course tests and pools have now been uploaded to Canvas and/or Classic Quizzes have been migrated to New Quizzes. You can arrange, create, modify, or delete content as needed.

Get Help From Canvas

• Live chat with Canvas support (Faculty)

• Get 24-hours/7-days a week Canvas support

  • Dial the Canvas Support Hotline number located under "Get Help" in the Canvas Global Navigation Menu

  • Contact OIT at 740-593-1222 for questions related to logging in, test courses/manually created courses, or third-party tools (Panopto, VoiceThread, Inclusive Access, etc.)

Get Help From OIT

• Use the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) ticket form to submit a help ticket

• Visit the Technology Resources and Training page for available training

Additional Resources

• Canvas Basics Guide

• Canvas Instructor Guide

• Canvas Video Guide

• Mobile Guides

• Canvas Course Accessibility Checklist

• Canvas LMS Implementation updates

• Canvas Experts Corner Blog