ARCHIVED: Alternatives to Oncourse project sites

This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.

Important:

Oncourse is retired. For details, see ARCHIVED: About the Oncourse retirement.

If you need an alternative for activities you formerly conducted using Oncourse, consider the following services that offer collaborative tools and workspaces.

Important:

Different platforms and tools are approved for different types of data storage. If you are working with university data classified as Restricted or Critical, be sure to review Options for storing files at IU, and see Classifications of Institutional Data.

Box: The ARCHIVED: IU Box service provides a simple, secure way to share and store files and folders online, and is the preferred solution for Restricted data for non-instructional purposes. Box consolidates your content in a single location, easily accessible from anywhere, on any device. You can create files and folders, share them using a direct link, invite others to collaborate, and continue to revise and review your content. For more, see Using Box as an Alternative to Project Sites.
IU List: IU List is Indiana University's mailing list service. Through IU List, you can manage mailing lists of large numbers of subscribers with customizable settings, create digests of messages, and maintain archives of past communications.
Canvas: If you're assigned the role of "teacher" in an existing Canvas course site, you can create new course sites for activities related to teaching and learning. See Create a new Canvas course site or change the expiration date for a course you created.
Google at IU: Indiana University has signed an agreement with Google that provides IU students, faculty, and staff with access to G Suite for Education (formerly called Google Apps for Education). Google at IU provides multiple integrated communication and productivity tools for project site work. In particular, a Google at IU groupspace can provide a collaborative environment similar to an Oncourse project site.

Important:

While UITS endorses the use of Google apps, they can pose accessibility issues, and can take considerable time for individuals with disabilities to master. Therefore, it is best to offer additional options for completing course requirements.

Selecting Oncourse project site alternatives

You can select project site alternatives based on your retired Oncourse project site's primary activity or primary Oncourse tool.

Primary activities	Suggested tool(s) or platforms
One-way and bi-directional communication with a specific group of users	IU List
Collecting, sharing, and collaborating on the creation of documents and files	ARCHIVED: IU Box service or Google at IU See above regarding allowed data classifications.
A combination of group communication and file sharing/collaboration	IU List + ARCHIVED: IU Box service Google at IU groupspace See above regarding allowed data classifications.
All of the above plus: Group calendaring and scheduling Threaded discussion Task tracking Quizzes or surveys Collaborative document creation	Canvas course site (for teaching and learning-related work) or Google at IU groupspace (only for use with indicated data classifications)

Primary Oncourse tool(s) utilized	Suggested tool(s) or platforms
Resources	ARCHIVED: IU Box service (with appropriate safeguards for sensitive data; see above)
Email Archive, Messages, and/or Announcements	IU List
Resources, Email Archive, Messages, and/or Announcements	ARCHIVED: IU Box service (with appropriate safeguards for sensitive data; see above) + IU List
For collaboration requiring multiple integrated tools: Announcements, Email Archive, Messages, Wiki, Forums, Blogs, Tests & Surveys, etc.	Canvas course site (for teaching and learning-related activities) or Google at IU groupspace (only for use with indicated data classifications; see above)

Note:

Oncourse data is no longer available for migration, but if you exported content out of Oncourse using the Canvas Migration tool before September 1, 2017, you can still finish the process of reviewing and revising your course materials within Canvas. See ARCHIVED: Review and revise migrated courses in Canvas.