Whether students and staff like it or not, the new student portal is here. This is the first semester that Canvas has been utilized at Eureka. The announcement of the switch was made last year and was a big topic on campus. From turning in homework to professors posting assignments, Canvas is how it’s done now. The operating system that was used prior was Brightspace, with campus opinions on the swap varying from person to person and student to educator.
Canvas is fully equipped for both students and teachers, from in-person to online. It was released in 2011 and quickly gained popularity in 2020 due to Covid 19 coming to the U.S. During this time, many schools went to online learning. Canvas took this opportunity to overhaul its site for virtual learning.
Teachers have all been adjusting to Canvas in their own ways. Jonathan Cummins, who started at Eureka in 2022, is a newer educator who teaches U.S. and Environmental History.
“When it comes to function, it is similar to Brightspace in the perspective that it is not complicated to use,” said Cummins.
Reactions among professors generally fall into two categories. The first category is that of Professor Cummins, where it has not had a major impact on his daily life. The second category is slightly more enthusiastic, coming from professors who pushed for the switch from day one.
“At this point, I’m still learning about it because of the major move over to its campus-wide, so I am still learning about its benefits. I haven’t seen anything that I hate about Canvas so far.”
Students’ reactions vary as well, like that of student Frank Holcomb, a junior at Eureka majoring in Exercise science with a focus on Kinesiology.
“I preferred Brightspace more than Canvas, but this might be because I got used to using Brightspace,” Holcomb said.
It seems that, for the most part, the juniors and seniors were not excited about learning how to use a new operating system but have come around to the idea. Freshmen and sophomores had less hesitation around the idea of a new operating system, since they did not get a chance to get used to the old one.
“I think Eureka should have offered an informational video on how to navigate Canvas or a training time during orientation to help students with the change,” said Holcomb.
Eureka did offer a day to train students how to use canvas during orientation but it was mostly advertised towards freshman and incoming students.
Abigail Tanksley is a freshman at Eureka and is majoring in political science.
“So far, I really like it. It is very similar to Google Classroom, which is what I used in high school. I think it’s pretty easy to use, swapping from one class to the other,” said Tanksley.
Like with any operating system, Canvas has its pros and cons. A lot of students on campus have been enjoying the customization that it has to offer. Each class can be organized by color and name to fit the ones preferences. Students have also liked how it can be used on mobile devices much more easily than Brightspace.
“I like how I am able to use the app in dark mode and customize what it looks like,” Tanksley said.
Overall, it seems reactions are positive with at the worst people being unphased by the change. It’s hard to say whether or not Eureka will make another change in the distant future, but one thing is sure: for now Canvas is here to stay.
