For the next few months, Canvas training will be offered to Longwood students in order to familiarize them with the new Learning Management System (LMS) that will replace Blackboard. Canvas was chosen because it is a more advanced site that gives students more options while studying at Longwood.
During Canvas training, Jenny Quarles director of Instructional Design and Training for the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, conducts the training and takes students through all aspects of what a student needs to use Canvas efficiently.
Quarles teaches students mainly about navigation, but also she incorporates features such as how to turn in an assignment and how to use groups, discussions and quizzes in her training.
This training is important for students because it helps them work through their courses online.
During the training, Quarles also talks to students about the new features Canvas offers students that Blackboard did not. These features include notifications that can be checked on Facebook, through emails, Twitter and text messages. Canvas can also be used as a cloud space to store documents for different classes online instead of on a thumb drive.
Canvas is meant to be more dynamic than Blackboard and more customizable for both faculty and students. It is also faster and is built and connected to social media sites.
“Canvas is just a more excitingplatformforstudents to use,” Quarles said.
Canvas also makes it easier for students to navigate their different courses pages because each professor can customize their courses page with pictures, which are used as modules, and students can link to different assignments on Canvas through these unique ways of customizing Canvas.
Since increasingly more students are using smart phones, Canvas offers a free mobile application for students. This feature can be used on iPads, IS phones, iPhones and Droids. Students can access their classes and information directly from their mobile devices through this application.
According to Quarles, the best feature that Canvas offers students is the mobile application with the calendar feature. This feature syncs all class assignments and their due dates onto a student’s mobile devices calendar so they can be linked to a student’s phone or tablet and also has the ability to be updated automatically if any changes are made. When asked if there were any disadvantages of Canvas, Quarles replied, “It is different than Blackboard. If you are experienced with Blackboard you must start from scratch. But I think the biggest disadvantage is choice because there are so many options.”
With so many features, Canvas can be overwhelming for students to use, and that is why Canvas training is being offered and highly recommended to students.
During training, students will start getting familiar with the basic features, and then when it is fully implemented on May 18, the plan is for these students to already be adjusted and ready to use the new learning site.
Quarles and the Canvas training team are going to continue to offer face-to-face and online training to current students multiple times per month in order to get students used to the Canvas system. By offering online training, it is more convenient for busy students and allows them to work at their own pace throughout the training process. The online training consists of a brief tutorial video and practice, also giving students online feedback. The face-to-face training, which is located in the Ruffner Leather Lounge, takes about an hour, but Quarles allows students to work at their own pace to insure that they leave training with the most information possible about
Canvas and its features. Training is not required by the university but will be offered to students for the rest of the semester and throughout the summer. Students can find more information and updates about Canvas at blogs.longwood.edu/canvas.
