With the new school year didn’t just come new teachers and new schedules, but also a new learning platform, Canvas. Canvas is a learning management system used by thousands of K-12 and college level institutions including: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Penn State, the University of Michigan, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion University. Their own website touts them as “The World’s #1 Teaching and Learning Software.”

Canvas is very similar to Schoology. They are both what educators call a “learning management system.” Teachers use them for assignments, grading, discussions, and many other learning tasks. 

After experimenting with Canvas, students and teachers have varied opinions on the new platform. The biggest complaints from teachers right now are that it is taking a while to learn how to use and the module style organization, rather than folders in Schoology, is a bit clunky.

“Canvas has a lot of potential,” said English teacher Robin Lusk-Stancil. “It has the potential to do way more than Schoology does. It’s just taking a long time to learn it.”

Math teacher Michael Sibelu misses Schoology.

“I prefer Schoology over Canvas,” said Sibelu. “Mainly because the Schoology folders were more structured and I feel like Schoology was more user friendly.” 

It is also taking students some time to adjust. Senior Rj Mendoza thinks “Canvas is alright, “but it’s missing some key features that made Schoology bearable. I was more accustomed to it.” 

There are still so many things to learn about Canvas. Students and teachers are still learning how to access assignments, view rubrics, and post to discussions.

Canvas does offer some benefits that Schoology did not. For one, it is used by many colleges and universities so students will be familiar with it when they need to use it after graduation.

Sophomore Bella Seminario enjoys using Canvas because “it has so many features.”

“While I am still learning and getting used to it, it is very easy to adapt,” said Seminario.

With this new year and new platform, it will take some time for students and teachers to learn how to use it. If you are having any difficulties navigating canvas, click this link for helpful tips.