Luke,
We have several reasons for using this method:
1. CSS used in Moodle is different than the CSS in Canvas is different. Thus, each page, discussion and assignment with CSS formatting will need manual editing if we used the import method into Canvas. Moodle SQL -> transform data with php --> use Canvas API calls to build course
2. The LTI items in Moodle do not build LTI connections in Canvas. Each Canvas shell would need to be touch to create the LTI connections and to add the external tool to the course.
3. We currently use Alfresco as a repository for files. We have decided to use the Files section of Canvas to store the course level files. Again, after a course inport, someone would need to touch each shell to add the file and recreate the links to the files. With the Canvas API, I can upload files from an external URLnd link them to the appropriate section of the Canvas shell
4. Question import. It seems that the answers of some of the questions do not match to the correct answer after the import. Canvas recommended that we not import the question banks, but go back the the publisher and load the question banks from the publisher instead of from Moodle. The issue is that many of the questions that we have in Moodle were generated by faculty, not by publishers. Thus, we need a sound method to move the question banks form Moodle to Canvas.
5. Adding Course and Unit home pages to each Canvas shells that do not exist in Moodle.
Automated processes are much better than manual
