1. Home
  2. Learning Management Systems (LMS)
  3. Canvas Reviews
  4. User Review of Canvas
Canvas is the best LMS on the market, but it still has some significant drawbacks.
October 01, 2015

Canvas is the best LMS on the market, but it still has some significant drawbacks.

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Canvas

We use Canvas as a LMS for several online programs and it is additionally being used as an internal training platform. The solution offers an engaging online environment and meets the intuitive design, navigation, and interaction expectations of our users.
  • Intuitive Design
  • Modern in-line engagement functionality, 3 click video recording
  • Tier 1 Support is phenomenal
  • Cloud based, enabling frequent and continuous updates for product evolution
  • High performance (no system slowdown) and solid uptime
  • Undelete functionality, (if instructors delete content it can be undone)
  • Strong course calendar system
  • Canvas support guides and documentation are extremely helpful
  • Mobile apps perform well, Speed Grader is a faculty favorite
  • Linking to content is easy within courses
  • The Quiz/Assessment options are terrible and have forced us to bring in third party vendors to mitigate testing shortcomings on the native platform. (1 - Mandated partial credit on multiple select and matching quiz question types (no all-or-nothing) , 2 - cannot preview a quiz, 3 - cannot view all questions in construction if total exceeds 25, no question headers for question groups, no easy way to randomize questions, 4 - no ordering question type, 5 - no delayed quiz reviews without unmuting assignments)
  • Frequent updates make us reliant on referencing Canvas documentation, we cannot create branded support materials due to the volume and frequency of changes.
  • E-Portfolio's are very poorly designed and have caused extreme implementation challenges.
  • The online collaborative environment Big Blue Button currently has some browser compatibility issues with Firefox, and desktop sharing does not work on Chrome.
  • There is no method to have students peer review large files, (like uploaded presentations/videos). Instead, students have to upload to another system like Dropbox or Google and link their content.
  • Canvas has a very weak mail platform, there is no rich text editor or signature options.
  • The data is not very accessible despite API availability. The company created an additional product called Canvas Data to charge users to access their own data.
  • The outsourced Tier 1 support that Canvas provides is phenomenal and has drastically reduced help desk inquiries.
  • Intuitive design has significantly reduced the learning and training curve on the platform and dramatically reduced help desk inquiries.
  • The inability to access your own data has introduced another layer of cost for those wishing for key analytics, with the Canvas Data package.
  • The poor design of the Quiz tool for assessments has forced us to layer an additional third party to provide that functionality.
Canvas might not have every tool of functionality built out, however it has remained agile and continued to grow and increase product functionality. The design is intuitive, the end-user technical support is phenomenal, and it has largely simplified our lives delivering on this platform. However, if online assessments are a requirement of your program or institution, be prepared to start integrating third party products.

Other LMS's have antiquated designs and have not changed course to a cloud delivery model. Such systems have so many legacy features built on outdated code and integration, that they fail to provide an intuitive experience for users.
Canvas is a wonderfully intuitive product with fantastic end user support. However it has an appalling assessment system in quizzes that desperately needs to be upgraded. Likewise, key desirable learning analytics data is not accessible and requires access to an additional product. Canvas is a great product, but still needs to find it's balance to be a full LMS solution. That being said, we prefer Canvas due to the enhanced end user experience.

Using Canvas

The intuitive design has significantly reduced help desk inquired from both students and faculty.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Overall navigation is very intuitive.
  • What-if grade calculator for students is elegant
  • The aesthetic design is very well done.
  • Quiz/assessment functionality is horrible.
  • E-portfolio is nearly unusable for our use-cases.
  • There is no ability to duplicate content.
Yes - The speed grader app for faculty is fantastic.