Canvas Organization Sites
Canvas organization sites are Canvas course sites used by non-credit courses, training courses, and other organizations. Organization leaders should use Canvas if they need functionality typically associated with academic courses, such as online quizzes and discussion boards. Those who only need to share documents should explore other options, such as a departmental UChicago Box account.
If you need to migrate your Chalk organization site, please follow the instructions on our Organization Site Migration Overview (PDF) documentation.
Who can create Canvas Organization Sites?
Faculty and staff can use the Organization Site Request Form (link below) to create a Canvas Organization Site. Students who need a website for their student organizations should use Blueprint (see the Center for Leadership and Involvement website for details); Council on Advanced Studies (CAS) workshop leaders should contact UChicagoGrad for information. Questions about Canvas organization sites should be directed to canvas@uchicago.edu.
Overview
- Canvas is a learning management system. This option is most suitable for non-credit and training courses, or organizations that use features typically associated with academic courses, such as online quizzes and discussion boards.
- UChicago Box is a cloud storage and file-sharing service. Files stored on Box can be synced and accessed from several locations, including desktops, mobile devices, and laptops. A departmental UChicago Box account is recommended for those who only need to share files with a group of individuals.
Features Comparison Chart
To help you decide which tool is most suitable for your organization, the table below compares the features offered by Canvas, and UChicago Box.
| Features | Canvas | UChicago Box |
| File repository capability | Yes | Yes, with versioning, and optional automatic notification of new, changed, and deleted files |
|
Sync to desktop |
No | Yes, via Box Sync App |
|
Storage capacity |
2GB total file size (default) *Can be increased upon request | Unlimited storage |
| Other functions | ||
|
Discussion board |
Yes, native discussion board that supports rich text and multimedia | None, but supports text comment per file and Box Note |
|
Automatically graded online quizzes |
Yes | No |
|
Content Page |
Yes | Box Note or Google Doc |
|
Multimedia embed |
Yes, on any content area | No |
|
Panopto (video mgmt tool) Integration |
Yes | No |
|
Image Gallery |
Not supported | Automatic gallery display of images (jpg, png) |
|
Native email |
Yes | No |
|
Customizable navigation/content hierarchy |
No | Automatic indexing of content by name and date when last updated; organized by folders |
|
Web Conferencing |
Yes (up to 50 participants) | No |
| Permission | Same roles as courses: see the Canvas Roles page. | Granular control per individual: combinations of upload, download, preview, view, get link, edit, and delete. |
| Access | Single sign-on for UChicago users. Non-UChicago users can be invited. | Single sign-on for UChicago users. Files can be shared with individuals outside of UChicago via email. |
| Mobile App | Yes | Yes |
Create Your Canvas Organization Site
Faculty and Staff, if Canvas is the right tool for your organization, use the button below to create your Canvas organization site. Step-by-step instruction is available. If you have other questions, please email canvas@uchicago.edu.
Resources
If you will be using Canvas for your organization site, a number of resources are available to you:
- To learn how to use Canvas, attend our Introduction to Canvas workshop or open walk-in hours at the TechBar in Regenstein Library, Rm 160 (see schedule).
- For how to migrate your organization site, refer to our Migrating Your Chalk Organization Site Overview (PDF) and Chalk-to-Canvas Migration (PDF); or attend our Chalk-to-Canvas Migration workshop (see schedule).