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
ProProfs LMS Software
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
ProProfs LMS is a learning management system software that is designed
to help instructors create and deliver online training courses. The LMS offers
both businesses and educational institutions comprehensive training solutions
by allowing them to create online courses, complemented by tests, surveys,
polls and even a knowledge base.
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[.]
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.
ProProfs is very bland-looking, rather Web 1.0. They have a very limited-number of templates, and they are not customizable. If the company is making any money, I think they should try to make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
ProProfs quizzes are not responsive to devices. A quiz looks exactly the same on an iPhone as it does on a computer screen. Students live in a world where everything they access online is customized to the device they use, but a ProProfs quiz will have small type on an iPhone, and won't allow a zoom by pinching.
Uploading images, audio, and video when making a quiz is a time-consuming task. Takes a lot of clicks. And there's no way to see your own library of uploaded stuff, so when you want to use a previously-uploaded image, you can't just find it in your account and attach it, you have to upload the same image every time. It's tedious.
Other LMSs I've used in the past year, like BookWidgets and iSpring Quiz Maker have a good deal more variety of question types than ProProfs. For example, you can't touch, drag and drop an answer on a blank from a word bank with a ProProfs quiz. Matching-type questions in ProProfs are limited to drop-down menu choices or radio buttons. There's no HTML5 magic at work.
ProProfs support is not bad (response within a day), but they can't explain frequent glitches that occur. Example: Nearly every time a class takes a quiz, there's ONE student who presses "submit" and their answers don't get submitted; instead, the loading circle just keeps rotating and the student panics, and then the student has to press refresh on their web browser, and --sometimes, but not always-- all their responses are erased and they have to take the quiz again. And there's nothing that a teacher can do. It's dreadful. Tell ProProfs about it, and they dodge the bullet because I wasn't able to give them enough info they required (e.g. what kind of phone?, what kind of OS?, what version?, was the device facing North?, etc).
ProProfs UI has not changed significantly in the 4 years I've been using them. I get the feeling that they're not trying hard enough.
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.
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
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
ProProfs deserves the best of the best ratings. It makes learners the prime focus of every step of learning, and that’s the greatest thing about it. Besides, arranging and putting different relevant content together is a walk in the park. Everything is so straightforward. If you look at the customization options, they are equally amazing.
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
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.
