Although Longwood’s new system switched from Blackboard to Canvas at the start of this school year back in August 2013, it was a big adjustment for students to get used to the whole new system.
The set-up of Canvas is quite different than what most of the student population had experienced with Blackboard. I can’t even remember what the old blackboard looked like!
Canvas was designed to be a new program for Longwood students to make technology more readily accessible and adapted to be part of the course curriculum. Blackboard was mostly used for grade postings, locating your class syllabus and finding general classroom information and homework assignments.
Once students take a course through Canvas, they do not need to learn a new system for the other classes in which they are taking, unlike Blackboard. Students and professors operate Canvas with a little more classroom involvement.; Canvas can be used for online quizzes, quicker communication with professors through message chat board, discussion boards and round-the-clock access to course materials and other resources.
“I love Canvas! It’s so much easier to navigate and way more organized. It is easy to find what you need and professors seem to be more involved with Canvas then they ever were with Blackboard,” said Alina Sherman. “The app is also a bonus because it’s free and just as easy to use as the actual site!”
Longwood’s adaptation has changed, introducing minor changes as technology in courses becomes more and more integrated into our system. Some students may have felt that the new use of Canvas was too much technology-based work in the curriculum.
As students, we have entered into another semester with a better network understanding of how Canvas operates; however, not all professors take advantage of the “new Blackboard.” Some professors (hopefully most) take full advantage of the course grades, assignments, daily calendars and message chats available, whereas others barely post grades until midterms and finals.
“Canvas is wonderful! I love how it gives you updates on your upcoming assignments and kind of acts as a calendar. It's really user friendly,” Jennifer Louden said. Although things like student/professor participation may fluctuate, overall students seem to have a pretty positive reaction to Canvas. Reminders and one-on-one, quick communication with your professors definitely add more than Blackboard ever did. It’s up to the individual to keep up with Canvas.
