When Grand Rapids Community College announced the shift to Canvas, many students had no idea what to expect. About a month into the semester, most people seem to have used Canvas enough to have something to say about it.
Most students agree that Canvas is more user-friendly compared to Blackboard, GRCC’s previous learning management system.
Jazmin Simmons, 20, of Caledonia, explained that using Canvas is more efficient than Blackboard.
“It’s easier to navigate than Blackboard is, I use my iPad for school, and I attach a keyboard to it,” Simmons said. “With BlackBoard, it was a little bit slower— the app itself wasn’t super up to date,” Simmons said.
Simmons also enjoys the design of Canvas, specifically the confetti that dances on her screen when she turns in an assignment. “It makes me feel so complete,” she said. “I don’t know. It’s nice.”
While some students find Canvas user-friendly, others reported challenges learning the system.
“I like it and I don’t,” Cami Nassis, 27, of Greenville. “I’m more learning to use it at this point, just finding everything. It is fairly straightforward, and I like it so far. The only weird thing that’s changed is the fact that you can put in a different grade to see how it changes. That’s been throwing me off when I go to look at my grades, but that’s about it.”
Other students are having trouble turning in assignments on Canvas, but say they’re starting to get the hang of it. Students like Anaya Berghoef, 27, of Grand Rapids, advise students who haven’t used Canvas to “give yourself time” and to “be patient.”
There is no doubt that everyone is getting used to this new learning management system, and the professors at GRCC are no exception.
Hillery Haney has been teaching at GRCC for 24 years as a professor in the Language and Thought Department. Haney remembers setting up her classes on Blackboard during the pandemic only five years ago. When asked how she has been adjusting, Haney candidly shared that she is struggling with the switch.
“It was just a lot of work,” Haney said. “I know that every transition there’s going to be some pain, but I think it’s because of all the work we did during COVID, which was not that long ago. To do copious amounts of work again was a bit frustrating.”
Haney says the support for professors during the switch has been amazing, and most of her questions were easily answered by people trained on the Canvas system.
The Technology Learning Center, Room 215 of the Wisner-Bottrall Applied Technology Learning Center, is a one-stop support resource for students using GRCC website technologies, including Canvas. Their hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
Collegiate reporters Noah Bierma, Kole Meschke, and Avery Lash contributed to this report.
