Starting with a blank canvas?

Sarah Balough

Reporter

Beginning in the fall, a new learning platform will replace the college’s current service for online and web-enhanced classes.

Although Canvas will permanently take over for Angel in September, a few of classes already are using Canvas this quarter. This switch may be less than welcomed by students though.

It’s the intent of the Canvas platform to provide instructors with a maneuverable location for the conveying of information. While spurred on as more simplistic and maneuverable than Angel, the shift from one platform to the other may prove to be a flaw.

Upon the alteration from student online services to MyPierce earlier this year, web coordinator Andrew Glass spoke of how difficult any change is, no matter when it happens. While the shift to the MyPierce location has been viewed as a success by administrators, the same shift can be viewed as unnecessary and tedious to students.

With significant shifts in any system, there will be a time for acclamation, which may not be wildly favorable during the limited time provided by the quarter system.

As advertised, the Canvas platform is intuitive and provides an easy-to-use format. This is a format that provides no direction of manipulation or operation.

An issue similar to this accompanied the Angel platform. After multiple quarters of dependence, students find the Angel website familiar and easily operable.

Easily said. Neither platform provides a clean and simple design, as Canvas is advertised as. However, despite the placement of all class material located on one page, Canvas provides a supposedly easier grade recording system.

The platform allows students to integrate their accounts with social media sites like those of Facebook and Twitter Unfortunately, the privacy is limited, being that all students can easily track fellow classmates discussion posts and activity on such social media sites.

Like Angel, Canvas provides students the ability to keep track of class progress, ensure assignment completion and participate in discussions.

The grade book, like Angel, provides a simple location for the viewing of singular and overall grades.

However, practically all of these features are expressed in the Angel platform and no learning acclamation would be necessary for a program that has been stabilized at the college.

There are multiple issues with the program, including a laxity in loading and there is a lack of information on how to utilize the platform.

However, with the coming school year there will be a shift to the Canvas platform with or without student concent providing no abrupt reversals of decision but only total dependence on the platform.

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