Canvas LMS

Vorteile

I have used canvas at both my previous college and my current one which I transferred to, for both classes which were taken entirely on the platform (online classes) and classes where it was used as an aid. The ability to see an up to date schedule for your classes, contact instructors, revisit old modules, submit assignments online, view and respond to instructor feedback... It's completely changed the game. It's become an intrinsic part of my routine to check canvas everyday. You can also customize what alerts you want to see, so if your instructor gives you feedback or sends an alert out you can get an email straight away.

The app is also fantastic and very convenient!

If you're an instructor and you don't use canvas, I worry that I won't be able to see important changes in time. Plus, feedback is relegated to the old fashioned, penciled in way of the early 2000s. We're better than that now, in no small part due to Canvas, which has genuinely revolutionized the medium learning takes.

Nachteile

There was one brief time this year where they pushed an update that made it so one of my instructors would see some error message when they clicked on my file submission, even though they were able to successfully download the file. They patched that quickly!

Overall, it turns of lasting cons, canvas has tried very hard to become irreplaceable, and they've succeeded. My only problem is when instructors aren't tech oriented, and so don't understand how to set up a course shell, but that's not canvas' fault.

Vorteile

My institution uses Moodle, which I have found to be extremely cumbersome. So a few years ago, I switched to the free-for-teachers version of Canvas, and have never looked back. My favorite specific feature of Canvas is the Speed-grader, which changed my life when I switched from Moodle. I also like the way the online quizzes work. More generally what I like about Canvas is the unified design. Where as open-source course management software feels like a hodgepodge of different options and designs Frankensteined together, Canvas feels like there is a design team actually thinking through the way it should look and operate. I appreciate the flexibility it gives me with regard to the layout of the home page, how I can control what the students see, etc. Also, over the six years that I have used Canvas, I've seen features get improved in response to user suggestions. Always a good thing.

Nachteile

Like all course management software, there are times when I feel that too much clicking is involved to accomplish basic tasks, or little things that should be possible are not. For example, when making rubrics for assignments, there is no way to shuffle the order of the categories. If you want to add a new line in the rubric between lines 2 and 3, you'd have to delete all the lines after 2 and start over from there. Little things like that, which aren't a huge deal, but sometimes do leave me scratching my head. Also I wish the question banks for quizzes were a little easier to manage.

Vorteile

Canvas by Instructure has only improved as it has grown. For an LMS, it is easy to learn and use. It has integrations with various other useful software, but I often encourage faculty who have trouble learning software to just use the tools in Canvas. It's easier to navigate and function. The new gradebook promises to make the whole experience even better.

Nachteile

This is petty, but the thing I like least about Canvas is the rich text editor on content pages. I wish it could handle more drag and drop features, like Squarespace or Wix. That said, it is perfectly fine. It's not that I don't like it, but I like it least.

Vorteile

I have been using canvas regularly for all my graduate classes. It has been the epicenter/hub for the instructor and all other students to come together and create a intuitive learning environment. Things I really like with canvas:
- Discussions and Help Forums
It's so easy to post questions in canvas and ask the professor and other students for help or clarifications. my graduate classes are pretty demanding and requires lot of back and forth with the instructor. But imagine if every student asked the instructor the same questions over and over again. On canvas I can see other student's questions and responses so it's like big FAQ hub.
- Easy to navigate Contents
All of the contents such as lecture slides, videos, homeworks, grades etc are in one location under different tabs. It has been organized properly and I don't have to click 100 times to get tot the page I want.
- Interaction with other students
I think this is what differentiates Canvas from moodle and what I have used in the past. This platform is very much student geared and student centered. It is there to help students interact with each other and learn from each other.

Nachteile

Canvas is not perfect though if you are not an expert user or instructor.
- Many times instructors said the contents are released but it wasn't
- The grades accumulation does not always makes sense
- Very much dependent on how the instructor has laid out contents.
- Redundant information
- Not always user friendly. Does take a while to get adjusted to it

Vorteile

Canvas allows for educators to stay in touch with their students. Assignments can be posted to Canvas and full classes can be held online. I go to a commuter campus and I have a mix of both online and in-person classes. Canvas is a platform where educators can post discussions, assignments, lessons. Through Canvas a student can track their performance. Canvas also functions as a communication platform between students, educators, and peers. This software not only functions online but it is also available in apps and can be connected to email so the user never misses information.

Nachteile

Older professors tend to not utilize the software and when they do it isn't quite as user-friendly regarding everyone using it. People that have difficulty utilizing technology have trouble utilizing this software. More Universities are requiring that professors are familiar with this or similar software. Another Con would be that if the server is down it prevents students from fulfilling required tasks.