Institutions across our final New Quizzes webinar session shared a consistent message: successful adoption depends less on the technical rollout itself and more on how institutions support people through change. Our panelists discussed practical strategies for communication, training, migration planning, and faculty engagement that helped build long-term confidence in New Quizzes.
If you missed the webinar or want a quick recap, here are five of the major themes we heard throughout the conversation. You can also view the recordings for the full New Quizzes webinar series here.
Theme 1: Lead with the “why,” not just the rollout
Our panelists emphasized that adoption efforts were most successful when institutions focused first on helping faculty understand the value of New Quizzes rather than simply announcing a migration timeline.
Institutions saw stronger engagement when communication centered on:
- improved assessment flexibility
- accommodations and accessibility support
- enhanced analytics and reporting
- long-term assessment strategy alignment
- continued platform innovation
Several institutions also noted that executive sponsorship and cross-functional collaboration helped create stronger alignment across support teams, instructional designers, and faculty leaders.
Theme 2: Use phased adoption strategies to reduce feeling overwhelmed
Rather than requiring institution-wide adoption immediately, many panelists recommended phased rollout approaches that allow instructors to build confidence gradually.
Common strategies included:
- pilot groups
- faculty champions
- department-level adoption phases
- “crawl, walk, run” rollout models
- hands-on migration support
Our panelists also shared that training works best when institutions combine technical instruction with instructional practice instead of treating migration as only a technical change.
Several attendees also asked about resources available to support adoption planning and training. Our panelists highlighted the The New Quizzes Adoption Toolkit in the Instructure Community, which includes phased adoption guides, communication templates, training resources, rollout planning guidance, and additional implementation support materials.
Theme 3: Build momentum through faculty champions
One of the clearest recommendations from the session was to identify faculty advocates early.
Institutions reported that peer-to-peer support often drives adoption more effectively than top-down communication alone. Successful programs included:
- peer-led workshops
- faculty showcases
- office hours
- mentoring programs
- pilot faculty sharing real classroom examples
Our panel repeatedly reinforced that instructors are more likely to embrace new workflows when they hear success stories from colleagues they trust.
Theme 4: Ensure instructors feel prepared for new item bank workflows
Questions about item banks and question bank migration remained a major area of interest throughout the discussion.
Panelists encouraged institutions to help instructors understand how item banks can support more flexible assessment workflows, including easier collaboration, question reuse, and long-term organization across courses and teams.
Attendees also appreciated clarification that migrating Classic Quizzes through course copy migrates associated question banks into item banks automatically, helping preserve existing assessment content during transition efforts. You can learn more about this here.
Theme 5: Take advantage of available services
Many attendees asked what additional support options are available beyond implementation itself.
The session highlighted several ways Instructure Professional Services can support institutions throughout the transition process, including:
- Strategic Consulting: Support for change management, adoption planning, assessment strategy conversations, workshops, office hours, and customized guidance, including a dedicated session focused on Assessment Considerations.
- New Quizzes and Item Banks Virtual Training: A 90-minute training focused on quiz creation, item banks, outcomes alignment, settings, and reporting. Learn more here.
- On-Demand Training Portal: Self-paced and live learning opportunities, including courses on New Quizzes Essentials and Assessment Tools for Canvas Admins and premium webinars including Assessment Tools for Admins, Creating Assessments with New Quizzes, and Managing Assessments with New Quizzes.
- Instructional Design Consulting: Support for rebuilding or converting existing assessment content into newer question types and workflows within New Quizzes. Learn more here.
Looking back on the series
Across the webinar series, institutions consistently described New Quizzes adoption as a gradual process centered on confidence-building, flexibility, and long-term assessment improvement rather than a single migration event.
The strongest recommendation from panelists was simple: start early, communicate clearly, and give instructors multiple ways to learn and engage over time.
