Learning Management Systems & Services

Introduction

This document is a brief guide to the variety of online education platforms and services currently available to the Rutgers community.

Rutgers has officially selected Canvas as its sole online learning management platform. All other learning management systems are phasing out and efforts are underway to migrate the academic community to Canvas. The Teaching and Learning with Technology group at Rutgers is working with schools and departments to schedule migrations of all courses to Canvas. Appointments for individual or group migrations can be made at https://oid.rutgers.edu/request-meeting.

Until the migration to Canvas is complete, however, there remain one learning management system, Sakai, currently in use across Rutgers University (more information is available on the Rutgers online learning website: https://tlt.rutgers.edu):

  • Canvas: Canvas is an online learning management system that acts as an extension to the classroom. This system is very easy to use and provides features such as: access to Rutgers e-mail, mobile device apps, threaded discussions, and messaging. Canvas is the official learning management system at Rutgers.
  • Sakai (Legacy: New Brunswick & Camden): Sakai is a learning management system designed for helping professors supplement their courses with online resources, exams, assignments, and more. Sakai is used extensively by instructors in Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers-Camden.

Curriculum Committees

The SAS Curriculum Committee oversees the approval of new and/or existing online or hybrid courses while the Rutgers Newark and Camden campuses have curriculum committees that oversee approval of online courses for their respective schools.

The Office of New Program Initiatives & Digital Learning works with SAS faculty, departments, and degree-granting programs, as well as partners within the University and in industry, to develop new programs in five areas:

  • Online Courses and Programs

Master's Degree Programs

  • Summer/Winter Session Courses
  • Off-Campus Courses and Programs
  • Educational and Research-Based Product

Online Proctoring

The 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires institutions with distance education programs to have security mechanisms in place that ensure enrollment in a particular course is in fact the individual who also participates in course activities graded for the course and receives the academic credit. Rutgers makes available a sophisticated exam proctoring service titled Verificient Proctortrack that integrates with learning management systems such as Canvas, eCollege, Sakai and Moodle. Proctortrack is remote proctoring software that uses webcams to track student activity

For more information on Proctortrack at Rutgers, contact proctoring@docs.rutgers.edu or visit https://it.rutgers.edu/remote-instruction/knowledgebase/guide-to-remote-exams-and-assessments/

Online Learning Management Support

The following five departments offer online teaching certification programs, video caption, and text transcription services and tools to assist faculty in online pedagogy and course development.

School of Arts and Sciences (New Brunswick Campus)

The School of Arts and Sciences Office of New Program Initiatives & Digital Learning works with SAS faculty, departments, and degree-granting programs, as well as partners within the University and in industry. It provides guidance and assistance for online course development, Entrepreneurial and Marketing Award Programs, net revenue sharing procedures, and the selection of memorandum of understanding contracts. They also help departments find instructional design assistance and technical disability resources.

Contact: 

Website

Rutgers Chemistry department

The Chemistry department uses eGyan, a web based platform that offers online recitations, lectures, and active learning sessions for use by chemistry students. This platform is currently only available to Chemistry department faculty and students with planned availability for other departments

eGyan provides features such as a chat box, the ability to import PowerPoint & database files, virtual whiteboards, real time polls and quizzes, online recitations, virtual labs, social media, and webcam broadcasts. What makes eGyan different from other online learning systems is that it’s not asynchronous and allows students to interact with instructors in real time. Students post questions while viewing and listening to an instructor on a webcam using a virtual whiteboard to teach. The web browser platform does not require software installation and all content that is uploaded and recorded, such as virtual whiteboards, is archived for students and instructors to access at any time throughout the semester.

The department’s staff will provide individual and group training sessions for faculty and instructors to learn the platform.

Contact for info or account access:

Website

Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT, New Brunswick Campus)

Teaching and Learning with Technology, a business unit of the Division of Continuing Studies (DOCS), provides online learning management training on the learning management systems at Rutgers that they administer and support: Canvas, Sakai and Coursera. The online learning management services that TLT provides are:

Academic Technology Services (Newark)

Canvas is the official learning management system of Rutgers Newark. Administration and support is provided by the Office of Technology and Learning Spaces, Network Computing Services provides support, training, and guidance in the use of Information Technology to the Rutgers Newark community, and the Office of Academic Technology manages the course scheduling process and general purpose classrooms in support of teaching and learning. The online learning management services provided by Academic Technology Services (ATS) are:

Support and Training: ATS provides faculty support and training for Canvas. Access to Canvas, documentation, and workshop training sessions are at: https://tls.newark.rutgers.edu/academic-technology-services/support-and-training.

Website

Instructional Design & Technology (Camden)

Online courses offered through Rutgers Camden are offered in Canvas, eCollege and Sakai. Instructional Design & Technology (IDT) provides online learning management system training and video services for Rutgers Camden faculty. The online learning management services provided by IDT are:

    • Online Training/Workshops: Documentation and workshop training sessions for Sakai, Canvas and eCollege are available through the department of Instructional Design & Technology.
      https://idt.camden.rutgers.edu/support
    • Instructional Design: Instructional Designers are available to assist in selecting the appropriate tools, technology, and media to build specific course activities and learning objects that achieve the various course objectives and program competencies. Instructional Design services for members of the Rutgers community are free of charge.
    • Multimedia: Multimedia resources such as Kaltura video services and VoiceThread offer instructors the opportunity to add unique and engaging interactions to support their content. These applications are used within Canvas and Sakai.
      https://idt.camden.rutgers.edu/support/multimedia-support

Contact:

    • Emily Corse, Director of Instructional Design & Technology: 856-225-6474, corse@rutgers.edu
    • Christie DeCarolis, Instructional Designer: 856-225-2859
    • Cary Finkel, Instructional Designer: (856) 668-4956

Website

Questions?

If you have questions about an individual service, please use the contact information provided in the relevant section. If you have additional information that should be added or changes to report, please send an e-mail to webmaster@sas-it.rutgers.edu.