Canvas vs. PowerSchool Student Information System

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Canvas
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Instructure is an educational software company based in Sandy, Utah. It is the developer of the Canvas learning management system, which is a comprehensive software package that competes with such systems as Blackboard Learning System, SumTotal and Saba.N/A
PowerSchool SIS
Score 7.8 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
The PowerSchool Student Information System covers administrative needs, such as scheduling, attendance, reporting, data management, faculty management, emergency/medical and health management, registration, and more for K-12 schools and districts. It is easy to use and boasts an industry-leading gradebook, PowerTeacher Pro. Users enjoy a fully web-based SIS that is flexible, configurable, and scalable with real-time updates on any operating system, browser or device.N/A
Pricing
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CanvasPowerSchool SIS
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Considered Both Products
Canvas
Chose Canvas
As an online college student, I worked with Blackboard and Canvas. If given a choice, I would choose Canvas. It is easier to navigate through courses, provides various ways for professors to distribute mediums and set up the course, and it allows many ways to connect with the …
PowerSchool SIS
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
PowerSchool was the learning management system that was in place when I started at this institution but I approve of it. It definitely does help simplify the amount of work that goes into the grading process. Grades can easily be calculated as long as a proper setup has been …
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
I have been a PowerSchool Student Information System user since 2003 and we were one of the very first districts to adopt it. Since I have used it for so long, entertaining the idea of moving to another platform is not on the table.
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
I used Blackbaud at a different school system so there was not a choice or selection. I feel that it was pretty similar to PowerSchool so I had a very smooth transition from one platform to the other. The gradebooks felt very similar, along with the recording and reports …
Chose PowerSchool Student Information System
We found that PowerSchool Student Information System provided the platform we needed to manage student information, assignments and grades, school schedules, etc. Although Schoolnet provided assessment and instructional management tools, it did not allow us to keep track of the …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Canvas
9.0
42 Ratings
9% above category average
PowerSchool Student Information System
-
Ratings
Course authoring9.642 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library8.739 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal9.233 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content9.235 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly9.641 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.238 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments9.642 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management8.733 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration9.237 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics9.239 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning9.234 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification7.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning8.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Student and Faculty Administration
Comparison of Student and Faculty Administration features of Product A and Product B
Canvas
-
Ratings
PowerSchool Student Information System
8.5
3 Ratings
3% above category average
Integrations with 3rd-Party Education Technology00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Online Registration Management00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
District Communications, such as messaging and alerting00 Ratings8.12 Ratings
Roster Management00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Platform Customization00 Ratings7.73 Ratings
Teacher Self-Service00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
Student Data Security00 Ratings9.43 Ratings
Community Support00 Ratings7.43 Ratings
Class Scheduling00 Ratings9.43 Ratings
State and National-level Reporting00 Ratings7.12 Ratings
Compliance Support00 Ratings7.62 Ratings
Teacher and Parent Mobile Application00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
Best Alternatives
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Small Businesses
iSpring Learn
iSpring Learn
Score 9.3 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(84 ratings)
9.0
(32 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.3
(5 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(8 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(11 ratings)
8.5
(12 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(2 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
CanvasPowerSchool Student Information System
Likelihood to Recommend
Instructure
It is really well suited for school situations like knowing what [assignments] need to be done when, getting feedback, getting points, finding the slides that the teacher used for explaining an [assignment] or theory. I think It would be less suited in business situations because it's [primarily] made to be a [one-way] communication tool for schools. Businesses need more control on individual levels I think[.]
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PowerSchool Group LLC
PowerSchool Student Information System is a cool software that can be highly recommended to anyone who is living in the educational management space. It is proven that this software can reduce your manual workload massively if you use it right. Plus it is really worth the price you pay. Especially if you are in the administrative field, this software will help you to minimize manual efforts put into student registrations, staffing recruitment, and main resource management processes.
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Pros
Instructure
  • Creativity options for teachers to create a virtual space that still has fun graphics and accessibility options.
  • Canvas has versatility in viewing options for assignment due dates such as the calendar built in feature as well as the dashboard options to display upcoming and due assignments.
  • Allowing teachers to create community with each other and collaborate in each-other's space.
  • Discussion platforms within classrooms for students to communicate with each-other and with their teachers.
  • Easy messaging portal within each virtual classroom.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • PowerSchool houses student or staff information that can be easily accessed by those teachers and administrators who need the information. This allows everyone to go to one place to access information.
  • Parents can view their child's grades at any time with their protected login on a parent portal. This allows teachers to keep parents informed and involved in their child's progress at school. When everyone works together it increases our students' chance for success.
  • PowerSchool offers videos to train new users. When we have new employees, the videos can be accessed at any time the employee needs as opposed to them waiting for someone to help them.
Read full review
Cons
Instructure
  • Their integration with Big Blue Button was a bust for distance learning. Would be great to see them collaborate with Zoom or Google Meets.
  • Their "feature request" process is slow and cumbersome at times because it relies on user "up votes" to get ideas addressed by the developers.
  • They seem to have a lot of turn-over with their staff. We get a new Customer Success Manager far more frequently than with other vendors.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Does not consistently communicate with related software such as Illuminate for Special Education Students.
  • Drop down menus frequently refresh as data is entered which slows down the user's ability to enter information.
  • Icons are sometimes unclear and not easily understandable. Word labels for some items might be more effective.
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Likelihood to Renew
Instructure
The other LMS tools have fallen behind. One reason is they are not able to update their systems, features, toolsets in a timely manner. While other LMS providers release bug fixes and new features several times a year, schools struggle to install and implement them in a timely manner. It is not uncommon for a school to take 6 months to a year to fully install and implement new releases on other LMS platforms. With Canvas, those features are released every 3 weeks, and there is nothing for a school to do other than choose to turn them on once released. This has allowed Instructure to innovate faster, and get new features and tools to customers quicker. Other factors include great pricing, customer support, and the innovative way in which LTI is implemented in the tool.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
We would be starting over at square one if we did not continue our PowerSchool subscription. We do not have a program in a place that would take its place.
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Usability
Instructure
The functions in Canvas are well integrated and consistent across the application, and mostly intuitive. Overall navigation and setup is streamlined through integrated features and navigation. The feedback we've gotten from our program participants is that it is easy to learn to use. It also integrates well with third party software like Google Docs and Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing software
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PowerSchool Group LLC
Great features, but it can feel very cumbersome at times
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Support Rating
Instructure
I do not personally use Canvas support since we have a central office that helps us. However, our central office always has the answers we need and are always able to solve our issues - so I would assume that get great support from the Canvas team on their end. They also offer great training, which uses materials directly from Canvas
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PowerSchool Group LLC
Overall, I have not had to use support for PowerSchool Student Information System because our school district gives us training in each area in which we will be utilizing PowerSchool Student Information System. In terms of in-user support, I feel that there is mild to moderate user support that is built into PowerSchool SIS.
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In-Person Training
Instructure
The training sessions were broken down into several days as well as different levels depending upon the knowledge of the user
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PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Instructure
The online tutorials and videos are very clear and addressed the issues/questions that I had about using the system.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Instructure
Once you purchase and sign the contract there is nothing to install or hardware to buy. You can almost immediately start using it and have courses up and going within weeks. We signed in December and had pilot courses online ready to go for the start of school in January
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PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Instructure
Canvas is more secure, has a cleaner design, and has more features. For the features, they have in common canvas still stacks up against [Smart school] by going for the extra mile. Besidfor e that, [the] canvas looks a lot more [professional] than [Smart school]. I didn't make the decision myself to get canvas instead of [Smart school] but I'm happy they did.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
I have heard good things for Infinite Campus and Skyward. I would [evaluate] each of them and see what fits your needs. Each has their strengths and weaknesses and so picking the right one for your needs is important. PowerSchool [Student Information System] does have some great features, but lacks some fundamental reports and functions to make it top notch.
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Return on Investment
Instructure
  • Canvas has helped us provide a more robust online component to our courses.
  • Canvas has helped us better adapt to a rapidly changing educational landscape.
  • Canvas has reduced the time that we have to spend training faculty on how to use our learning management system.
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PowerSchool Group LLC
  • It has created shortcuts for all staff members, saving us time.
  • In creating shortcuts and combining many different systems into one, it is saving our school money.
  • It has created a safety net for teachers because grades and student information is stored electronically, which means teachers not having to worry about losing or misplacing their grade books.
Read full review
ScreenShots

PowerSchool SIS Screenshots

Screenshot of Student attendanceScreenshot of Standards-based gradingScreenshot of At-risk dashboardScreenshot of Parent view of student schedule