Vicky Lu ‘22: How has using Canvas been like for you?
Margaux Deverin (English Teacher and Theatre Leader): Canvas has a steep learning curve. The only reason I feel moderately comfortable using it now is because I attended many training sessions, watched many tutorials, and have conducted trial and error experiments for the past month or so. I’m still exhausted. I like the level of customization I get to do on the home page and the built in discussion tool. That’s very useful for English class in a virtual setting.
Elise Park ‘22: I think Canvas will be a great tool for students once everyone gets more used to it! I like how Canvas includes your classroom information, assignments, important dates in terms of academics, grades, etc. It is convenient to just have your school-related things in one place. Also, Canvas does a nice job of organizing what you need to get done and upcoming events like tests. However, the many aspects of Canvas have made it confusing to maneuver.
Claire Jeon ‘23: Learning through canvas was really hard because it was so new to me and the meetings were hard to find.
VL: How would you compare it to Google Classroom?
MD: I definitely miss the simplicity of Google Classroom. Everything works the first time and it’s very user friendly. I also got my Google Certified Educator certificates this summer and can REALLY use Google Tools finally, but that all gets thrown out the window with Canvas. Grrr. Argh.
EP: For Canvas vs. Classroom, I would prefer Canvas even though Google Classroom would be more comfortable to use, since I have just become so accustomed in using it.
CJ: Google Classroom was just easier for me because I could see the homeworks or assignments right on the home screen.
VL: Which would you rather use when school returns to normalcy?
MD: I think it would be WAY too chaotic to turn back now. Teachers have been doing backflips trying to learn Canvas quickly and that would be a ton of wasted time if we were to revert back. Canvas is a better (albeit more complex) engine — we just have to be patient with ourselves and learn to use it together.
EP: I would prefer Canvas because of how convenient it is. You don’t have to have two tabs open, one for like SchoolTool and one for Google Classroom. You just have to open Canvas and voila you have access to everything without opening another tab! Also, you can just click around and find what you need pretty quickly!
CJ: I would prefer to use Google Classroom.
VL: How would you rate Canvas out of ten?
MD: Haha, um…. that’s on a sliding scale. It’s a one when I’m screaming at it because the functionality it promises doesn’t work. It’s a solid six when it works? I feel like I’m actually grading my patience.
EP: Seven or eight!
CJ: Seven!