When the LMS Goes Dark: Rethinking Course Backups and Student Access

jfountain

In the wake of the recent Canvas security incident, many instructors are rethinking how they protect their course materials and ensure continuity for students if the LMS becomes unavailable. A common question we’re hearing is how to effectively back up courses “just in case,” especially with an eye toward re‑distributing instructional content to students if needed.

A recent community post on mitigating LMS risk highlights course exports as one option, but exports alone don’t always address the challenge of continued secure access for learners (see https://community.instructure.com/en/discussion/666068/mitigating-against-risks-to-the-lms#latest).

1. How is your institution approaching LMS contingency planning?
2. What strategies, policies, or tools have you already put in place to support teaching and learning if Canvas is temporarily unavailable?

paul_fynn

I see no-one is leaping up with an answer. My only thoughts are to keep an export copy of each course off Canvas routinely (we copy over from year to year and could probably get enough materials that are current to keep the unit going.

How to access - You'd need to be able to load the materials up somewhere else, and in extremis I'd use a free for demo account with another provider and give the students read access.

Seems like there's a big hole in the market for a service here - and my sympathies to those running serious courses on Canvas Free For Teachers ….