Blackboard was officially replaced by Canvas, Ohio University’s new online learning management system. Starting this fall, the majority of OU’s colleges are making their courses only available via Canvas.
According to OU’s website, the decision to transfer to Canvas is the result of “an exhaustive evaluation process that incorporated feedback from students, faculty and staff across all Ohio's campuses.”
Students' opinions of the transition are mixed. Although many students have found the new academic platform to be very helpful, including Lauren Beaumont, a senior studying communications.
“I think Blackboard was just too complicated and Canvas is easy,” Beaumont said. “There's assignments on the side that'll tell you when they're due. And so I think that's convenient, and you can just click on it and it'll take you to the assignment.”
Browser extensions such as Better Canvas and Tasks for Canvas are helping students maximize the abilities of the Canvas learning system. These extensions allow students to customize their dashboard and create the best learning experience personalized to their own academic needs.
Though some students may find the transition beneficial, others have discovered it causes added stress to their usual college routine. Being uprooted from knowing how to use Blackboard has caused many students confusion about their class location and assignment due dates.
For Ellie Oliver, a sophomore studying aviation flight, that sentiment accurately depicts how she feels, believing Blackboard was more of an accessible platform for her.
“My professors don’t know how to use it,” Oliver said. “ ... I was very confused and couldn’t find a lot of my classes for a while because some of them are on Blackboard and then I had one on Canvas.”
Most departments at OU have decided to fully integrate their classes into Canvas. For students in colleges that have not yet integrated, it was up to them to search and discover where exactly their class information would be held for this academic semester.
Raegan Carroll, a senior studying communication, has previously experienced academic transitions and grown used to the nature of adapting. After transferring schools and having to switch platforms then, she said it can be disruptive.
“This is my third time changing platforms,” Carroll said. “I don’t mind Canvas. I think it's nicer than Blackboard but it’s still kind of annoying to relearn a new system.”
In Carroll’s experience, her professors are using Canvas, but not all of them have learned exactly how to operate the new learning system.
While some students are struggling to welcome the new change due to the familiarity of Blackboard, the majority of issues lie in the concern that professors are just as uninformed as students are when it comes to navigating the new system.
“I think it’s been pretty easy to adjust to it,” Carroll said. “But I have had teachers that do not know how to use it yet … I wish they would have started with it, when we all started so we wouldn’t have to relearn this, but in the long run I think it’s good.”
