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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Canvas

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/AInstructure 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

    Small Improvements

    Score7.2 out of 10
    N/APerformance Reviews & 360s Provide employees with structured opportunities for reflection and assessment through performance reviews and peer feedback. Customize the questions, define who participates, establish a cadence that suits an organization’s schedule, and run reviews for different departments at the same time. Ongoing Feedback Praise coworkers for a job well done and request feedback at any time from anyone. Prepare for…

    $2

    per user, per month

    Pricing
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Engagement and Retention Add-on
    $2
    per user, per month
    Performance Starter Pack
    $5
    per user, per month
    Feedback and Performance Suite
    $7
    per user, per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.We also offer volume discounts if you have over 200 employees! Please see the calculator on our pricing page to calculate your exact price.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Considered Both Products
    Instructure
    No answer on this topic
    Small Improvements
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    21 Answers
    75%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    18 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    88%
    Happy with the feature set
    21 Answers
    75%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of Canvas and Small Improvements
    Feature
    Canvas
    9.0
    42 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Small Improvements
    -
    Ratings
    Course authoring8.142 Ratings00 Ratings
    Course catalog or library9.838 Ratings00 Ratings
    Player/Portal9.932 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning content9.035 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile friendly9.041 Ratings00 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications8.138 Ratings00 Ratings
    Assignments8.142 Ratings00 Ratings
    Compliance management9.033 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning administration9.037 Ratings00 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics9.039 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social learning9.034 Ratings00 Ratings
    Gamification9.62 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Canvas and Small Improvements
    Feature
    Canvas
    -
    Ratings
    Small Improvements
    8.3
    9 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
    Subordinate goal setting00 Ratings7.53 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings7.83 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings9.08 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Canvas and Small Improvements
    Feature
    Canvas
    -
    Ratings
    Small Improvements
    9.3
    9 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Plan weighting00 Ratings8.03 Ratings
    Manager note taking00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings8.33 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings9.09 Ratings
    Rater nomination workflow00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Workflow restrictions00 Ratings9.04 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Reporting00 Ratings9.05 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Small Businesses
    Google Classroom
    Score8 out of 10
    15Five
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Schoology Learning
    Score8 out of 10
    Reflektive
    Score9.5 out of 10
    Enterprises
    D2L Brightspace
    Score7.8 out of 10
    Reflektive
    Score9.5 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (84 ratings)
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.3
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    9.4
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    7.1
    (4 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    CanvasSmall Improvements
    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[.]
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    I'm honestly not sure why my company chose to use Small Improvements. We used Lattice before for the all the same use cases I mentioned here. The employee performance review feature might be a bit better in Small Improvements, but the goal-setting tool and the 1:1 tool are very weak. I may not have benefitted yet from all the features that Small Improvements have to offer, but so far it looks like a pretty basic HR tool with much better alternatives out there. If it's cheaper than the competition, that might be the only argument to go with it.
    Incentivized
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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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    • Goal Tracking: Enables users to chart goals, track progress, and provide details about what they want/expect to achieve.
    • Praise Wall: A public place to post positive and encouraging comments about other employees.
    • 360 Reviews: Users can request and gain 1:1 feedback; this can be anonymous if desired.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    • Being able to edit projects more easily (and have a documented edit history) would be beneficial.
    • Possibly integrations with popular platforms (such as JIRA) to give expanded detail of project tracking.
    • Gantt charts would be a nice to have for a top level management view.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Small Improvements
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    The customer support is quick and thorough, they have access to our account to answers are tailored to our needs. They also have a good knowledge base and self-help site with some video tutorials and FAQs which saved us time as opposed to just calling or emailing support. For the times that we did reach out, it only took one response to get our issue resolved.
    Incentivized
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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
    Incentivized
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    Small Improvements
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    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
    Incentivized
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    Small Improvements
    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.
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    Lattice was able to link in with core OKRs whereas from my memory, Small Improvements didn't support this goal setting and tracking framework. While it was good for sentiment and management frameworks, it was unable to connect with the greater company vision as well as Lattice - that was the reason that we moved.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Small Improvements
    • Before we had Small Improvements, personal goal setting was completely disorganized. Some managers made sure it was done, likewise many did not.
    • Having past goals collected in one repository has been a blessing. I couldn't imagine not having Small Improvements or something comparable.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Small Improvements Screenshots

    Screenshot of Provide employees with structured opportunities for reflection and assessment through Performance ReviewsScreenshot of Decide whether or not you want manager to approve nominations for 360 FeedbackScreenshot of Share agenda items, meeting notes, and follow-up discussions with 1:1 MeetingsScreenshot of Create templated 1:1 meeting agendas for your managersScreenshot of Identify goals, set success measures, and track the results with ObjectivesScreenshot of Give public kudos to your colleagues with Praise