Highlights
Blackboard Learn and Canvas are both learning management systems focused on higher education institutions. They are both used across all sizes of colleges and universities, but they serve slightly distinct needs.
Blackboard is the legacy academic LMS for higher education. It has prioritized offering a very wide range of features in order to serve the broader set of needs of higher education institutions. Canvas is a cloud-based LMS that excels at providing the core learning management functions efficiently and effectively. Many reviewers have transitioned from Blackboard over to Canvas.
Features
Blackboard Learn and Canvas have unique approaches to features they offer that differentiate them.
Blackboard Learn has expanded the range of features it offers to meet broader needs. For instance, it offers students and educators multiple methods of communication, from an email portal to in-platform chat and discussion forums. These tools enable more student collaboration in-platform. This collaboration is particularly valuable in an all-online context.
Canvas excels at delivering the fundamentals of a modern learning management system. Its document and assignment management features are very robust. Canvas also offers various content creation tools, including video creation. Reviewers also highlight Canvas’s gradebook capabilities, both in terms of grading in the system and giving students visibility into grades and feedback from educators. The user interface is also relatively easy to use and is more customizable.
Limitations
There are also limitations to Blackboard Learn and Canvas work keeping in mind.
Blackboard has been criticized for its user interface. It is not known for being easy to use, especially for users that aren’t tech savvy. This leads to noticeable learning curves for many users. The interface issues also extend to the mobile application as well. Additionally, online grading is relatively limited and difficult for educators to use. Some reviewers have also claimed that it is not cost-competitive with Canvas, but that information is not publicly available.
On the other hand, Canvas also has a noticeably steep learning curve. It also lacks the depth of collaboration abilities that Blackboard Learn offers. While content creation in general is a strength, assessment creation and administration is more difficult than other document creation and management.
Pricing
Blackboard Learn is priced uniquely for each institution and is available by quote from the vendor.
Canvas is priced by quote from the vendor. There is a one-time implementation fee and then an annual subscription cost.
