Susan Boyer, an instructor from the Isenberg School of Management, shared her experience of using Canvas in her course. As UMass Amherst plans to migrate to a single Learning Management System from Moodle and Blackboard to Canvas, instructors may be concerned about this transition. However, Susan, who has been participating in the Canvas Pilot, has found Canvas more comprehensive than Moodle and Blackboard, offering helpful features and a user-friendly interface. In a candid presentation, Susan highlighted Canvas’s two most helpful features for her teaching and challenges.
Among the most helpful features, Susan found Canvas Calendar to be very useful for noting course dates, such as deadlines and meetings for all courses in one place, which was absent from Moodle and Blackboard. She has also found the Canvas grading system (Gradebook) effective and efficient. For example, she can grade students based on specific assignments or assignment types and create feedback templates that can be used across students.
Meanwhile, Susan shared that the discussion feature is what she has found different and somewhat challenging in Canvas. She shared that the discussion feature can be challenging to navigate in large classes with many contributions, as it can have multiple pages, making it difficult to find specific information in long threads. However, she has implemented a workaround by specifically tagging and explicitly naming discussion topics.
Despite the challenges, Susan emphasized that Canvas offers more customization opportunities for instructors to design their courses. She found Canvas a more comprehensive platform with helpful features and a user-friendly interface.
The IIF meeting was engaging and fruitful, providing valuable insights into innovative tools and strategies for enhancing the learning experience. The upcoming final meeting in May will conclude the first cohort of IIF, and the second cohort is now open for applications.