Full Canvas implementation provides easier accessibility for students

It was a Sunday night in my freshman year. I was immersed in my video game and had completely forgotten about the homework due on Monday. I tried to print out homework from my teachers’ websites, which I had to painstakingly find through the school’s. If one of my teacher’s websites was not there, I had to use my precious time asking my friends for help.

This struggle lasted my whole freshman year and it was something that I couldn’t stand. If only there was a way where all my teachers’ materials and information were in one place.

This whole ordeal was fixed when the school introduced Canvas, a learning management system, to help teachers organize their classes efficiently and allow students to view information such as grades, homework assignments, upcoming tests and quizzes all on the same platform.

Next year, all teachers will be required to make the switch to Canvas for their grading. Because Canvas organizes individual teacher websites and grading into one multi-purpose platform, this change will help students to organize.

Starting next year,  Aeries will only be the school’s attendance and student record-keeping system. Before Canvas was first offered at SHS, teachers had to create either their own websites or use the SHS website to upload worksheets or study guides for students to use. Students would then have to sift through different websites to find every one of their teacher’s materials.

English teacher Natasha Ritchie prefers Canvas because before, she had to pay for her own website for students to obtain information. But with Canvas, she is able to do all the same functions that she had on her previous website, along with having  additional features such as the calendar system. She thought  about adapting the grading system within Canvas, but “the system was really buggy and it became an extra layer that [she] didn’t want to deal with.”

Teachers can also post messages to students, notifying them of test date changes or homework modifications. Students can change their notification settings to receive these messages through email and even social mediums like Facebook, which enables students to better organize themselves. This can help remind students of any assignments so that they won’t fall behind in their classes.

Aside from posting messages, teachers can utilize the calendar on Canvas to schedule test dates and due dates for students to see. Students can schedule their own plans on the Canvas calendar as well, which can become extremely useful for students who need to improve their time-management.

Some teachers may still be wary about switching to Canvas since they have not yet become acclimated to using the website. However, teachers will be able to learn from other teachers who have started using Canvas full-time this year, and the growing pains will be worth the organizational benefits.

The full implementation of Canvas will increase the ease of organization for teachers to present and post information to their students. Once Canvas was introduced in my sophomore year, I was relieved that I did not have to waste my time looking everywhere for the homework that I so desperately needed to complete.