College is a time of transition. Whether it’s a high school senior being demoted back to the bottom of the food chain, or a senior struggling to come to terms with their impending graduation, college students face all sorts of changes to their everyday lives. And while many changes can be scary or, at times, downright confusing, some unexpected changes may simply require minute adjustments.
In such fashion, Elizabethtown College’s transition from the familiar Blackboard online learning software to Canvas is one which students will need to adjust to—quickly. Professors have already begun utilizing Canvas to record assignments and post readings for their courses. Professors and students are jumping head-first into this new program; there is no time to take a break and learn the differences between the two.
One of the most helpful features found exclusively on Canvas is the calendar. This will put together a detailed chart of when assignments are due for all of an individual’s courses. For visual learners or people who struggle to remember when to turn in work, this can be a major help. Students and professors can also contact one another through Canvas’ email app, a helpful tool regardless of the Etown emails students already possess. In addition, there are many more features available for students to view and understand grades received on specific assignments.
With so many new features, Canvas can seem a bit daunting. Lauren Poland, a sophomore, was familiar with Blackboard, and had to adjust to Canvas’ structure.
“[Blackboard] was really easy to navigate and simple to use. Everything was in a place where I could easily find it. I didn’t have any problems with it,” Poland said.
Perhaps what made Blackboard so easy to use in the past was the familiarity students had with it—using it for classes forced students to understand how the software worked.
While Poland had no strong preference between Blackboard and Canvas, senior Marissa Peduto found that in her four years of college, she was able to recognize what made for easy-to-use and invaluable software. Last year, Peduto was part of a class used as “guinea pigs” to try out Canvas. While her other classes were posting assignments on Blackboard, this one specific class was using what Peduto described as a “trial phase” version of Canvas. She said she was “lucky” to have the opportunity, since it made Etown’s complete transition much easier to deal with.
Peduto also discussed how Canvas already has a stronger presence than Blackboard had. “The biggest difference is that not a lot of professors used Blackboard,” Peduto said. “I feel like there is a strong push for everyone to be using Canvas.”
Technology plays a dominant role in studies of students of all ages. It allows for speedy communication, and heavy access to invaluable information. By implementing Canvas and giving it a central position in the culture of Etown’s education, the school is also placing emphasis on the connectivity between students and professors.
This does not mean, however, that learning software comes without problems. Peduto admits that both Blackboard and Canvas have their share of issues. When asked if the transition was harder for students or professors, Peduto almost immediately answered, “I believe it’s harder for professors,” citing the push for campus-wide use of Canvas as the major struggle. She went on to explain that some professors were not fond of excessive use of technology in the classroom.
Peduto also described how, despite the more “user-friendly” design of Canvas, it was not much of an improvement over Blackboard.
“I believe it still needs to be cleaned up,” Peduto said. She did not agree with the website design. Other students shared Peduto’s sentiment, adding that with so many tabs and drop-down menus, even veteran users of Canvas could get lost searching for a document.
In the end, Peduto and Poland both agreed that Canvas was a worthwhile transition. The main reason they appreciated the change from Blackboard was because Canvas offered so many more features, such as the calendar and email.
Though it has its faults, it looks like Canvas will work out for Etown’s students and professors alike. It definitely has more features than Blackboard did, and while this could lead to confusion and disorientation, it also opens doors for assignments to be even more accessible to students. What we really have here is a blank canvas, full of possibilities.