The switch to Canvas, the university’s new enterprise learning management system (ELMS), has been exciting and smooth for some students, but others are finding it difficult to embrace the transition.
Sophomore journalism and psychology major Casey Leins said the change came on so quickly that she didn’t even know the remodeling was taking place. “I think it’s just too overwhelming and ELMS was a lot simpler and all that we needed, as long as you had your professors’ email addresses,” she said.
However, many faculty members have been excited by the change and have embraced the new ways to structure their classes and interact with students, according to Instructional Technology Specialist in the Office of Information Technology Chris Higgins.
A faculty-led committee started exploring new systems in 2010 and by January 2013 the faculty-led procurement team collaborated with Canvas to launch the new ELMS, Higgins said.
The search for a new system began because the university needed to have a university-wide learning platform that uses modern web technologies, meaning a system that is: “easy to use, intuitive, and accessible; contains features for teaching, learning, collaborating, and evaluating academic performance; and integrates multimedia, e-portfolios, social media tools, and Web conferencing,” Higgins said.
He addressed that change is always challenging, but he believes the Division of Information Technology effectively eased the transition by offering many opportunities to learn more about the next generation of ELMS. “We did anticipate the anxiety felt when making a change like this including the expected multitude of questions and concerns about the change to the new ELMS. We prepared for this by ramping up our support and training offerings including hiring 5 full time staff and nearly 20 graduate and undergraduate students to respond to inquiries, troubleshoot problems, and work directly with faculty to help them in the new environment,” he said.
Sophomore journalism major Nkongho Beteck appreciates the new interactive features but doesn’t think they are all necessary for her success as a student. “I think ELMS did a good job in creating a new system because Blackboard was just sloppy and had numerous problems throughout the year. When I first logged onto Canvas, I thought the page looked slicker and more inviting, but I will say that all the new notifications I’m receiving via messages and assignments is getting kind of annoying,” she said.
Leins also said she finds it frustrating to keep track of all of the discussions and daily notifications. “When I emailed my professor, I couldn’t tell if it went to the whole listserv or if it was sending to him… I guess eventually I’ll get used to it and it’ll all be okay. The one thing I do like about it is you can see how you’re doing in the class compared to other people, so its starting to grow on me a little bit but in the beginning I was very opposed,” she said.
In order to gather feedback more formally, the committee and division of IT is planning on creating a new tool gather feedback now and in each semester. “The goal is to learn about our faculty and student experience with Canvas, highlight best practices and innovations, and hear concerns or enhancements from which we can work in house and with Instructure to make improvements to the system,” he said.
To help ease your transition to Canvas, visit: http://elms.umd.edu/page/stude…
To learn the differences and similarities between Canvas and Blackboard, visit: http://elms.umd.edu/sites/defa…