Ulwazi Update
WITS
WITS ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING NEWS BITES
03 FEBRUARY 2021
Our new LMS is known as ‘Ulwazi’ which means ‘knowledge’ in isiZulu.
Our Journey from Sakai to Canvas
Canvas, known as Ulwazi at Wits, is the University’s Learning Management System (LMS) to support online teaching and learning. It is a powerful cloud-based platform that is easy to use.
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WITS
Road to Ulwazi Stage 1: Setting up Ulwazi Ulwazi is the Wits Learning Management System (LMS). It is run on the Canvas platform. https://www.instructure.com/canvas/ higher-education
You can log in via https://ulwazi.wits.ac.za/ using the format staff number and normal Wits password.
If your course content did not migrate as expected, please email ulwazihelp@wits.ac.za with the Ulwazi course URL, Sakai course ID, your email, a description of the issue and any relevant screenshots.
Having problems with logging in to Ulwazi? Email ulwazihelp@wits.ac.za
Stage 2: Migrating from Sakai to Ulwazi Active Sakai course sites from 2020 have been migrated from Sakai to Ulwazi.
You should see your 2020 course sites when you log into Ulwazi. We are curently creating 2021 course sites.
Stage 3: Learning to use Ulwazi Center for Learning,Teaching and Development (CLTD) has started providing training on designing and building your course sites. Use the training schedule to find a slot when you would like to attend. See training schedule
When you log into Ulwazi, you will see a self-directed course, "Discovering Canvas - 2021 - Lecturer Orientation". This is a great resource to learn how to use Ulwazi.
Self help resources: Discovering Canvas
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Stage 4: Preparing your course
An extensive support system has been put in place. Both CLTD and Faculty Online Learning Designers are offering learning design support.
Big Blue Button (known as Conferences in Ulwazi) has been activated. Recordings from BBB are only available for 14 days in Ulwazi. For longer access to recordings, MS Teams will be integrated into Ulwazi. Instructor guide
The following external tools have been integrated into Ulwazi: Turnitin Gradescope McGraw-Hill Connect Pearson - Mastering Lab Connector additional tools will be integrated in the future.
Using external tools resource How to add an external app in a course Using external tools in your course How to add an external tool as a modular item
As an academic, if you use an application managed by a vendor with whom Wits does not have a contract, and it collects protected student data, you may be subject to sanctions, according to university policy. Do not use it before working through appropriate institutional offices to get a contract with the service. For guidance, contact ulwazihelp@wits.ac.za.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Access
Migration
Integration and Data
Sakai-Related
Mobile App
Canvas
Access Do I (as a lecturer) have access to Ulwazi yet? Yes, Ulwazi went live on 27 January 2021! You can log on at https://ulwazi.wits.ac.za/. Your user-name is [your staff number]@wits.ac.za, and your password is the same password you use for your Wits email.
Migration from Sakai to Ulwazi My course has already started in January so I will remain on Sakai for Block 1. Do I need to alert anyone? Yes, you need to let ICT know so that they can make sure that your course (and student access) remains active in Sakai for Block 1. Please email ulwazihelp@wits.ac.za.
What will be transferred in the migration from Sakai to Ulwazi? All the course content is transferred, e.g. files, media, readings, lessons, announcements, quiz questions, assignment instructions, and discussion topics (only the topics - no discussion posts). Student interactions (such as chats, forum posts, assignment uploads, and grades) will not be migrated.
What about all the time and effort we put in last year, and in the preceding years in creating good course sites? Your course content from Sakai will be transferred "as-is" to Ulwazi so all your hard work will be copied across. You will need to do some formatting and updating because Sakai “Lessons” do not work exactly the same as Canvas “Pages”.
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Will we be using Ulwazi in block 1 or only from block 2? With the exception of courses that started in January 2021 or before 15 February 2021, all courses need to be on Ulwazi for Block 1.
Most Faculty of Health Sciences Undergraduate courses and CLM Postgraduate School courses have already started. Does this mean that we will only migrate those courses to Canvas, when the second teaching block starts? Yes, those courses will be migrated separately and the process for that migration will be communicated.
Can you opt to not migrate the old Sakai course and develop a new course in Ulwazi? Yes, lecturers have the choice. You can choose to develop your course from scratch in Ulwazi.
Does Canvas have Gradebook, even if the existing content will not be migrated? Yes, the Gradebook in Ulwazi is very similar to Sakai (it is actually a little better).
What if my Sakai site is not automatically migrated? Sakai sites can be manually migrated. To request this: Log a ticket via https://witshelp-ism.saasiteu.com/ or Contact your faculty online learning designer.
I have a course that was run as one course in 2020, but in 2021, it is now split into two courses. Is there a way to request a new course site, in addition to the one that is being migrated? Contact your faculty online learning designer who will assist you.
I will be teaching a course in 2021 that a different lecturer taught in 2020. How do I ensure that I have access to the course site? ICT will do their best to link the courses to the lecturers. If a lecturer is not able to view their course, a form will be provided for a lecturer to be linked to a course.
Will all lecturers in the course have access to the Ulwazi course site? Yes. The automatic migration will include all lecturers for a course from Sakai to Canvas. On Canvas, a lecturer can grant access to other lecturers
Integration and Data Will Gradescope, Turnitin and BigBlueButton be integrated into Ulwazi? Yes,this has already been done.
If students use Teams or BigBlueButton within Ulwazi, will this be zero-rated? We still need confirmation about which programmes will be zero-rated.
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Sakai-Related Will students still have access to Sakai sites? Students will still have access to Sakai if your course starts before 15 February 2021. But it is vitally important that you let ICT know that this course is still on Sakai so that they don't remove access in Block 1.
Will we continue to have access to Sakai for the purpose of referencing our old courses if required? Lecturers will still have access to everything in Sakai for 2021. Thereafter the courses will be archived and Sakai will be "switched off".
In Sakai lessons, there is an option to export content via the IMS Common Cartridge (CC) format. If I export content from a lesson in Sakai using this CC format, can I then import that content into my course in Ulwazi? Yes.
Mobile App How do I download the mobile app? Canvas has a mobile app for android and apple devices. You can download them from the respective app stores. Once installed, use University of the Witwatersrand when you are asked “What is your school’s name?” Use the same login details as on the site by using [staffNo]@wits.ac.za and normal Wits password
Which mobile app should I download? Canvas has three mobile apps. There is one for the teacher, one for a student and one for a parent. Please download the teacher app as the lecturer. (There are different features in each app with the appropriate focus.)
Canvas Support FAQs https://www.instructure.com/canvas/support-faq https://community.canvaslms.com/ https://elmira.instructure.com/courses/49/pages/frequently-asked-questions
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Support Centre for Learning, Teaching and Development (CLTD) Instructional Designers ID support: IDSupport.cltd@wits.ac.za
Faculty Online Learning Designers Humanities Renee Koch: renee.koch@wits.ac.za
CLM Greig Krull: greig.krull@wits.ac.za Fiona Macalister: fiona.macalister@wits.ac.za Myrtle Adams-Gardner: myrtle.adams-gardner@wits.ac.za
Health Sciences Paula Barnard-Ashton: paula.barnard-ashton@wits.ac.za Mark Allen: mark.allen@wits.ac.za
Science Phiwe Dlamini: phiwokuhle.dlamini@wits.ac.za
Engineering Nozuko Makhuvha: nozuko.makhuvha@wits.ac.za
Ulwazi Help Desk ulwazihelp@wits.ac.za