Canvas vs. Classroom Manager

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

As we use Classroom Manager exclusively for internal purposes, I can only say something about this area. I would definitely recommend it, it's a great tool. Whenever we use it, we feel that people really thought about the way they have designed the software and the functions they have added. The main reason why we decided on this tool was because of its extensive functions. We currently only use like 10% of what it could do (subjective estimation), but we love that whatever learning challenge arises, the Classroom Manager can handle it.

• 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

• The automatic generation of certificates after an employee has successfully completed their mandatory training.
• The software supports a variety of learning media (we work a lot with PDF and video).
• A great analytic & insight tool that helps us to understand more about the learning behavior of our employees

• 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

• The tool has a ton of functions, which makes the navigation in the backend sometimes a [little] tricky.
• Nothing to add :-)

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

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

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

The training sessions were broken down into several days as well as different levels depending upon the knowledge of the user

Incentivized

The online tutorials and videos are very clear and addressed the issues/questions that I had about using the system.

Incentivized

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

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.

The process of choosing an LMS took several months and involved many different people and wide rating criteria. What convinced us and made us choose Classroom Manager was the feeling we got every time we used the software or interacted with the company. They know exactly what they are doing, they were always there to support us and as already mentioned: when using the software and browsing through the functions, you just feel that this was created by experts that know their stuff.

• 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

• It saves a significant amount of time and money to have everything in one central place.
• In our industry having skilled people with the right knowledge is a MUST to stay ahead of the competition. With the analytic & insight tool, we can track the learning process of our employees at a glance.
• One of the, if not THE most important point: Employee satisfaction. We have a dedicated area where we provide a wide range of free courses, covering a variety of topics. It started as a test to see if anyone is even interested but quickly became a fundamental part of our company branding strategy.