A Student Perspective on Valpo’s Transition to Canvas

By Soniya Ottayil, Junior Nursing Major & CITAL student aide

 Last semester, all of my courses were still on Blackboard; this semester, every one of my classes are in Canvas. This transition was pretty extreme for me; I didn’t know what to expect from Canvas, but I was excited to explore the platform. One of my first impressions was that Canvas looks more inviting than Blackboard, with bright color patterns and a clean look on the Canvas homepage. I also noticed that Canvas provides a preview of an attachment before I actually download it, which helps save storage on my devices. Additionally, if I click on one of the modules in a course, on the bottom of the page there is a “Previous” and a “Next” button, which helps me move smoothly on to the next module, helping me to save time and be efficient. 

I recently found out that I can see details about assignments, tests, and quiz scores once they have been graded. The score details consist of mean, median, high, upper quartile, low, and lower quartile. As a student, I always want to compare my score to the average score of the class to see where I stand in relation to the rest of the class. Blackboard did not have this feature and many teachers would not post these score details. I found that frustrating, because it is very convenient for students. Lastly, one of the few aspects of Canvas that I am not so happy about is the multi-step login. Now I have to go through the Valpo website to login, which is more steps than Blackboard had. 

I interviewed a couple of my friends about their transition to Canvas. My first friend, a senior health science major, mentioned that she used Canvas last semester and commented how easy it was to transition, since Canvas is so similar to Blackboard. She additionally mentioned the Canvas feature called “What-If Grades” as a helpful tool to navigate her grade potential.  A student can access this by going to their “Current Grade” list and clicking on an assignment, quiz, or test that has been graded or ungraded. Then, you are given the option to change the grade to see what grade you would need to have on that assignment to get your desired grade in the class. This tool can be very useful during finals season. 

My second friend, a junior criminology major, said that “Canvas is decently set up and pretty organized.” When I asked her whether she prefers Canvas or BB, she said that she feels neutral and she doesn’t like one over the other. My third friend, a senior psychology major, voiced how difficult the transition had been for her because it was hard to remember which classes were in BB and which were in Canvas. She prefers Canvas over BB because of the calendar feature, in which assignments are automatically posted.  In BB, professors had to add assignments to the calendar manually, and most did not bother to do it. This calendar feature keeps this student organized and on top of her assignments no matter how small they are.

CITAL also asked me to look into what college students were saying online about Canvas. On Reddit I found several anonymous users having differences of opinion about Canvas. One said, “I like it, I just wish it were more standardized. If I have to go look for something, it can be in files, in modules, in assignments, in pages, or it can be in an announcement. That’s a frustrating thing when you just need to find a specific piece of information and it’s 15 clicks away.”  [Editor’s Note: The new feature “Smart Search” helps facilitate finding information more quickly.] Another user said, “Canvas is good for assignments but it’s 0% accurate at showing me my actual grade.” However, many agreed with one user’s comment that “Canvas is so much better than any of the other platforms I’ve used. Especially Blackboard.” 

I also found an article called Top 10 Pros and Cons of Canvas from Instructure by Daniel Raymond who writes about web-based collaboration tools. He praises Canvas for offering “ a suite of advanced assessment features that are integral to tracking and evaluating student performance.” Raymond also says that Canvas “facilitates timely updates and reminders, keeping everyone in the loop.” However, he criticizes Canvas for not having much room for creative design: “the free or basic versions offer limited customization.” 

Overall, I have found that Canvas is a great platform and very innovative for its time. As we all know, there are a few downsides to any online platform, but in Canvas these are very minor and nothing compared to the flaws of BB. As this semester continues, I hope to learn more about Canvas and the new features they come out with next.