Canvas platform

 

My thoughts on Canvas

 

I have been working at MA TESOL programme at Webster University in Tashkent since 2023. This is how I started using Canvas online platform as a teacher. Canvas offers a lot of advantages to a teacher to stay organized, prepare for the lessons productively and deal with the cognitive and emotional load effectively.  

Here is how Canvas looks. It is well organized with Dashboard for the courses in the middle, teacher's account, Inbox for communicating with students via email, Help centre for emergencies on the left and teacher's To Do list for checking formative and summative assessments on the right. 

I find Canvas easy to navigate and comfortable to use. As most educational institutions in Uzbekistan still do not have an online platform to operate systematically, I would recommend them to implement Canvas to create  better and easier working environment for teachers and accessible sources for students to help them thrive in learning. Mpungose and Khoza (2022) investigated strengths and limitations of Canvas and found out that this platform can provide students with several useful options.

Each course has the following elements as given in the photo. The syllabus is outlined in the Home section that makes it easily available for the teacher and to students to address throughout the course. Also, grading policies, library guide, instructions for using APA citations and other important guidelines are placed along with syllabus. I find this layout very well-structured. 

A limitation I noticed while using Canvas is it requires passcode confirmed by Microsoft Authenticator app every 14 days. It does not require passcode in each access. If the device is lost or stolen within 14 days time, third parties can have access to sensitive information such as students' personal information and grades which is dangerous. Other drawbacks of Canvas mentioned by Oudat and Othman  (2024) are navigational difficulties, issues with integrating some third-party tools and difficulties with mastering the platform’s full capabilities.

Formative and summative assessments are submitted with a due date and there is an automatic subtraction for the scores for late submissions. Standard rubrics are provided for assignments so that the teacher will have a credible assessment while marking the students. Another useful feature I like about Canvas is there is a section for the teacher to provide feedback with several useful functions such as voice recording, video recording, writing text and emojis. I use all of these functions while I am providing feedback that help me to be more flexible.

Announcements section is an important element on Canvas. Teachers use it to send welcome messages in the beginning of the course that are motivating for students. Moreover, it is useful in emergencies to announce lesson time change or to inform about Office hours when needed. 

Organizations may facilitate both face to face and online learning through Canvas. Zoom is used for online sessions. I schedule 8 recurring Zoom sessions in the beginning of the term and announce it to students. Another useful function is the lesson can be automatically recorded in the cloud to make it accessible for the students who are unable to participate in the lesson to watch and learn later. 

 

In conclusion, Canvas can be a very helpful platform to create better teaching and learning environments. 

Here is the link if you want to try Canvas!

https://www.instructure.com/en-gb/canvas utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=canvas-redirect

References

Oudat, Q., & Othman, M. (2024). Embracing digital learning: Benefits and challenges of using Canvas in education. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 14(10), 39.

Mpungose, C. B., & Khoza, S. B. (2022) Postgraduate students’ experiences on the use of Moodle and Canvas learning management system. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 27(1), 1-16.