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Canvas

Canvas

Overview

What is Canvas?

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.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Canvas has proven to be an invaluable tool for various educational institutions and organizations. Users have praised Canvas for its …
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Helpful Platform for Students

9 out of 10
January 07, 2022
Canvas has been integrated into one of my businesses as a virtual and in-person learning tool to help students (and professors!) study …
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Great LMS

10 out of 10
November 05, 2021
Incentivized
We used it as a Learning Management System--I posted assignments and grades on Canvas, and students could use it to check their daily …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 13 features
  • Assignments (41)
    9.0
    90%
  • Course authoring (41)
    8.9
    89%
  • Mobile friendly (40)
    8.4
    84%
  • Course catalog or library (38)
    7.1
    71%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Unavailable

What is Canvas?

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.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.instructure.com/contact-us

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Alternatives Pricing

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What is ProProfs LMS Software?

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,…

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Product Demos

Atomic Apps for Canvas LMS, Webinar recording from #CanvasLive August 2017

YouTube

Starting with BookWidgets in Canvas LMS - Demo for beginners

YouTube

DEMO: Tentacle Insights for Canvas LMS

YouTube

How to Use Video with Your LMS | Powtoon's Canvas LMS Integration

YouTube

Creating demo users in bulk for Canvas LMS

YouTube

Canvas Demo Slam

YouTube
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Features

Learning Management

Features of LMS and LCMS systems, related to designing, administering, and consuming learning content in an educational, corporate, or on-the-job context.

7.6
Avg 8.2
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Product Details

What is Canvas?

Canvas by Instructure is a cloud-based learning management system for every stage and style of education. Available to institutions of all sizes and types, from individual K-12 classrooms to universities to companies with a blended or fully virtual environment.

As the hub of the digital learning environment, Canvas offers complete LMS functionality, including standards-based grade books, course content authoring, customizable student assessments, mobile communication, video learning, and digital badging.

Canvas LMS integrates with an institution's existing SIS and other teaching tools. With over two hundred different LTI tools educators can customize courses and monitor engagement with classes or individual students. Canvas also has mobile apps to keep everyone informed and connected, on the go, on any device.



Canvas Features

Learning Management Features

  • Supported: Course authoring
  • Supported: Course catalog or library
  • Supported: Player/Portal
  • Supported: Learning content
  • Supported: Mobile friendly
  • Supported: Progress tracking & certifications
  • Supported: Assignments
  • Supported: Compliance management
  • Supported: Learning administration
  • Supported: Learning reporting & analytics
  • Supported: eLearning
  • Supported: Assessments
  • Supported: Live online learning
  • Supported: In-person learning
  • Supported: Micro-learning
  • Supported: Video learning
  • Supported: eCommerce
  • Supported: SCORM-compliant
  • Supported: Social learning
  • Supported: Gamification
  • Supported: GDPR Compliant Learning
  • Supported: Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning

Canvas Video

Canvas 101

Canvas Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Mobile Web
Supported CountriesGlobal

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Blackboard Learn by Anthology, Edmodo, and D2L Brightspace are common alternatives for Canvas.

Reviewers rate Assignments highest, with a score of 9.

The most common users of Canvas are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(275)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Canvas has proven to be an invaluable tool for various educational institutions and organizations. Users have praised Canvas for its user-friendly platform, effectiveness in managing distance courses, and seamless integration with other vendors. It has been widely adopted by universities, community colleges, and high schools as the primary learning management system due to its intuitive interface and ability to bridge the communication gap between instructors and students.

Canvas has been used for a multitude of purposes, including online degree programs, blended courses, and supplementing face-to-face classes in educational institutions. Human Resource services have utilized Canvas for assessing new employee skills and providing information to employees. Student Services have used it to promote clubs and other services, while the library has used Canvas as a platform to provide information about their services and obtain feedback.

Canvas has also been used by administration committees and faculty committees for discussions, dissemination, and data maintenance. It has served as the central hub for organizing assignments, sharing content, managing grades, and supporting hybrid distance learning models. Instructors have utilized Canvas to post announcements, assignments, theory slides, Zoom Meetings, as well as give points and feedback. Canvas has provided a dynamic and student-friendly interface that encourages interaction and engagement among students.

Furthermore, Canvas offers a mobile app that allows students and instructors to access course content on the go. This feature has greatly enhanced the flexibility and accessibility of online learning. Additionally, Canvas has been used by universities as a replacement for other learning management systems due to its frequent updates and robust features. Its versatility supports a variety of course types including online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses.

Overall, Canvas has been widely adopted across various educational institutions due to its ease of use, versatility, and ability to deliver content effectively. It has become an essential tool in delivering quality education regardless of location and promoting student engagement through its range of features such as discussion forums, assignments, embedding Google docs, sharing files, speed grader for assessments process, integrated rubrics, and more.

Frequent updates and evolution: Users have expressed their appreciation for the frequent updates and evolution of Canvas. Some reviewers have mentioned that these regular updates demonstrate the platform's commitment to continuously improving the user experience over time. The consistent release of new features and bug fixes every three weeks ensures that Canvas stays current and addresses user needs.

Efficient mobile grading with Speed Grader: Many users have praised the mobile app for grading assignments, Speed Grader, for its efficiency in reducing grading time by 30-50%. Reviewers find this feature convenient as it allows instructors to grade assignments on the go, making use of any available time. By providing a way to grade assignments while waiting for meetings or commuting, Speed Grader saves users valuable time.

Intuitive WYSIWYG editor: The WYSIWYG editor in Canvas is highly valued by users as it simplifies the process of creating and editing content. This intuitive editor appears in almost every tool within Canvas, allowing users to easily create engaging and visually appealing course materials. Its presence enhances the overall learning experience for students.

Difficulty in navigation: Several users have expressed frustration with the navigation within Canvas, stating that it can be confusing and not user-friendly. They have mentioned difficulty in finding desired features and having to click through multiple options before reaching the required functionality. Some users also find the linear structure of Canvas makes it difficult for students to differentiate between lessons.

Lack of customization options: Many reviewers have mentioned a lack of customization options in Canvas. Users have stated that there is a limited ability to customize colors, profiles, and class pages, making it difficult to personalize their experience. Some users have suggested including more basic color options for personalization and providing more freedom for designing a visually enhanced environment.

Challenges with customer support: A number of users have experienced challenges with customer support in the past. They have mentioned issues such as unanswered complaints via email or phone calls, delayed response times, and a lack of availability. While some users acknowledge that customer support may have improved over time, others still express dissatisfaction with the level of service provided by Canvas.

Note: These three cons were selected based on their frequency of mention throughout the context provided.

Users of Canvas have provided several recommendations based on their experience with the platform. The most common recommendations include: getting familiar with Canvas before submitting assignments, taking the time to navigate and figure out the features of Canvas before the semester starts, using Canvas for collaborative work, considering Canvas for higher education settings, appreciating its user-friendly interface, and valuing its seamless experience. Overall, users express that Canvas is a simple yet full-featured solution for online learning, which they find more user-friendly than Google Classroom.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 77)
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Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Canvas is much more robust, has more features, and is more accessible. In canvas it can be specified to your specific organization and have its own domain which I do not think that Coursera can do. Coursera is good for sharing a single course or CEU but does not have the same abilities to manage an entire workload of classes and students.
Nicolas Hanhan | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is more cost-effective when compared to Blackboard Learn. Canvas has lately worked on features improvement especially in the grade center, for example, moving columns around like an Excel sheet, a feature not found in Blackboard Learn.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Although I was not on the committee that chose Canvas, I utilized Google Classroom as a student and very sporadically as a staff member. Navigating groups or shared sites with Google Classroom proved especially tough. It was not user-friendly at all when I used it to schedule mandatory training for students at one of my colleges! The organization was inaccessible to half of the pupils, and they couldn't figure out how to "enroll". I only utilized this feature for a year until we switched, and after that, I changed jobs and stopped using any [other] platform. I've been using Canvas since returning to academic work, and it's already proving to be far more effective than [Google] Classroom. It's easy to adjust according to our requirements, so I can shape it to fit. Blackboard was not as simple (as far as I recall).
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is in the experience way better than Google Classroom. Canvas has a more robust agenda system that also allows adding in new personal deadlines. [Assignments] can be submitted past [the] deadline (if allowed), this isn't allowed by Google [Classroom], If you're too late you can't submit anything anymore. In Classroom [assignments], presentations/theory, and [announcements] are all put in 1 feed instead which gets confusing way faster.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
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.
November 05, 2021

Great LMS

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is a stronger platform. I used it as a teacher AND as a student in graduate school, and it is just the most put-together, professional version of a learning management system that I've used or seen. I do assume that Canvas is more expensive than its competitors, which would be the main reason that my school does not currently use it.
Chris Wilkey | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have used Blackboard for years and Canvas blows it out of the water. I always felt like Blackboard was outdated and using Canvas has really sped up my teaching and course creation. What used to take me days, now just takes a few hours. There was a slight learning curve, but I am loving Canvas.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Moodle is open source and it is free. So we can implement our own server with Moodle very easily. But it is not very customizable. When we need a new feature, it is very hard to change as we do not have the ability to change. Canvas has been great help in this because we can actually request features and they will help us.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is a powerful learning management tool that combines so many key elements of an actual classroom and allows teachers to mirror their classroom environment into a virtual platform. It is simply amazing what can be done on Canvas. Grading systems/analysis, progress monitoring, collaboration with other teachers/staff and student discussions with peers. Canvas does it all!
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas takes the better parts of both Skyward and Google Classroom and combines them to work pretty seamlessly - grading, assignments, attendance, document/file sharing - all integrated into one platform. In addition, the internal communication feature makes communication between student and instructor easy to track and follow. That is a great addition to the overall package.
Patrick Woessner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas was far easier to use, more feature rich, and much better supported. Teachers and students prefer it to the other solutions we've evaluated or used in the past. Anything that kids can use with minimal instruction is a major win for schools.
Shay Kotian | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
How content is delivered using Moodle is not up to the mark when compared to Canvas. The user interface is clunky when compared to a much simple and easy to understand user interface that of Canvas. Configuring Moodle can be quite tedious if one comes from a non-IT background. Customizing features in Moodle generally requires a Moodle developer.
Ashley Milton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I was not part of the team that selected Canvas, however, I used Blackboard as a student and very little as a staff member. Blackboard was especially difficult in navigating organizations or shared sites. I used it to organize mandatory training for students in one of my colleges, and it was not user-friendly at all! Half of the students couldn't access the organization, or couldn't figure out how to "enroll". I only used this feature for one year before we made the switch, and then I changed positions and didn't use any platform. Upon my return to some academic work, I've been using Canvas and it is already incredibly more useful than Blackboard. It is easier to manipulate based on our needs, so I can mold it to fit. Blackboard (from what I remember) was not as easy.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas has some unique features that are superior to Google Classroom, but I prefer Google Classroom because of its ease of use. It does have some of the same problems as Canvas though in terms of assigning work to particular students.
Victoria L. | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas surpasses Blackboard not only visually, but technically as well. It offers more customization options, as well as more features for students and teachers a like in regard to grading, notifications, and uploading files. It also seems to stream videos more successfully, thus improving the remote learning experience. Finally, it connects with one's email seamlessly
February 18, 2020

Canvas

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is a pricey option, at least when compared to something open source like Moodle. Personally, I don't feel that Canvas has the same ability to customize as Moodle. However, the customer support from Canvas makes it stand out. With an open-source platform, it might be free, but no one is there to help when a problem occurs. Since not all the staff in a school will be super technically able, it is great to have the support that is always there to help them better use this tool.
Joshua Welsh | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Canvas is much more flexible and modern than Moodle or Blackboard where I started with programs like this in 2013. I don't actually make this choice though. In other words, I didn't select Canvas, but I am happy that the administrators here at CWU made that selection. I think it's a better LMS than its competitors from what I've seen.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The Canvas interface is easier for students to use and navigate. It is also cleaner so students enjoy using the tool more than Sakai. Canvas was easier for our IT department to implement. Training faculty on how to use Canvas was easier than Sakai. The analytics in Canvas are more robust than in Sakai.
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