Canvas: An Easy-to-Use, Online, Learning Technology

By Sean Scarpiello

All education professionals will agree that communication is the key to success in school. This not only means the communication between the teachers and students must be strong, but for younger students, the parent to teacher communication should be strong too. Canvas, a new online learning tool, aims at making strong connections between everyone in the educational process easy. This online program allows teachers to post assignments, tests, and updates for class. Also, it allows for easy and simple communication between teachers, students, and parents. While there are a handful of other programs similar to Canvas, you may ask what makes Canvas so special?

First, one of the largest benefits Canvas has is its design. Canvas has been specially designed to be used on devices other than laptops or computers. Its online layout makes the programs extremely easy to use on a tablet or smart phone. This design allows teachers and students to easily interact wherever or wherever needed. Many websites and educational tools have not yet been designed with tablet and smart phone users in mind. Therefore, sending emails, writing in textboxes, and checking updates can be extremely confusing, difficult, and time consuming due to a typical website’s layout. Canvas also allows students and teachers to access and add text, video, audio, and other types of media to the site easily. This data can easily be shared with other students as well as the teacher. With this strengthened communication, the teacher can address any individual problems students may have personally, plus students can privately and effectively ask the teacher questions whenever they arise.

One of the next benefits of Canvas is it parental co-enrollment capabilities. While education professionals throw a lot of money into expensive technologies each year, a child’s education is can considerably improve if parents are included in the educational process. With Canvas, the link connecting teachers and parents is easily and effectively made. This allows teachers to give daily updates to parents, notify parents of any problems, and give information to parents about future assignments. This makes it effortless for parents to understand what is going on in school and ask about homework and tests that need to be completed.

Some of the last huge benefits of Canvas are all of its applications aimed at making the teacher’s job easier. Canvas has a large program on it where teachers can track grades and class progress. Teachers can review how individual students are doing, as well as the class as a whole. Also, the SpeedGrader function allows teachers to easily grade assignments from tablets and other devices. There is also a calendar function where teachers can organize their lesson plan. Additionally, Canvas helps teachers with state regulated guidelines for education. Here, teachers can easily checkup, report, and understand each state’s required curriculum for each course and grade level.

Overall, Canvas excels as a technology for both K-12 and higher education because of its ease of use on all devices, integration of parents, and many benefits to the class instructor. With all of these benefits, teachers students, and parents can all communicate easily and effectively. By strengthening the communication amongst everyone in the learning process, we can guarantee that students receive a better and well-balanced education.

Source: http://www.instructure.com/