My view on Canvas

3 October 2022

When student Hans Lee Jia Siang was asked to try out the new Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), he wasn’t sure what to expect. In this myView blog he explains how organised your coursework will look in the post-Blackboard era.

*Hans Lee Jia Siang is excited to share his experience using Canvas with fellow students.*

Beginning my study from offshore and the importance of a good LMS

你好! I come from Singapore and have spent most of my life studying and living there, so coming to New Zealand has been a whole new and exciting experience for me. The LMS (Learning management System) has a big impact in today’s modern style of teaching and became more significant when the pandemic hit. Having spent a year of university online as an offshore student, my daily life revolved around Blackboard and online learning, needing to jump between apps and browsers each moment. The first year was tough because I could not physically interact with my classmates and that affected my work on assignments. When I first saw the functionalities and what Canvas was capable of it made me wish we had this programme integrated sooner!

The wonders of Canvas that we can look forward to

Students will be delighted to find that course programmes as well as student and lecturer communications will all be accessible on this new learning resource. A complete upgrade from the Blackboard that we know, Canvas offers convenient and efficient learning for students with integrated organisation and communication functions (similar to Outlook and Microsoft Teams). Its design makes it pleasing to the eyes and allows the user to personalize their page to their liking, making it akin to everyone’s personal desk.

*A look at the Canvas Dashboard, soon to be replacing Blackboard as your LMS*.

At first glance, the dashboard shows your courses in an orderly manner, allowing for flexible customization. What caught my attention was how well organised it was, and how easy it was to find and access the things I wanted. The right-side shows announcements and upcoming assessments, while the left shows what applications Canvas has.

Ease of access and a very handy tool

Canvas allows changing of settings like you can on social media apps. But the biggest surprise was being able to change the language of Canvas, which would benefit many students greatly. The calendar function shows an upgraded form of the one we know on the student portal page, showing more in-depth information on courses and upcoming course tasks.

What makes Canvas even more versatile, is its app on mobile phones for students on the go available on both Google Play and Apple App stores, making it even more convenient for students to connect with their learning tools.

*Watch this video from the Canvas team to get a sneak peek of what it looks like*.

I hope you’re excited for this new era of learning

All in all, Canvas boasts a wide range of tools and applications to help students both onshore and offshore and will be a reliable companion in their learning journey. Though to some, Blackboard has become familiar “friend”, Canvas will open more opportunities and pave the way towards a new age of learning for students.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you’re looking forward to exploring Canvas from Trimester 3

Hans Lee Jia Siang is a second-year student studying for a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting.

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