If you were around last fall semester, you might remember the little clock on Blackboard counting down the days until Iowa State would be making the switch to Canvas. That transition was supposed to occur during the spring 2018 semester.

And while every student made the switch, the same cannot be said about professors, some of whom continue to use their own website, or some other class management system.

Change can be hard. There was definitely student push back against switching to Canvas, but we didn’t have a choice. Some professors, on the other hand, have been incredibly stubborn, and while their decision is understandable, it also inconveniences students.

Canvas is a great class management system for students. It neatly organizes all of the classes a student is taking into one spot. It allows for homework submission. Professors can administer quizzes or tests. It includes integrated discussion and announcement boards. And all of these features are intuitively used.

Best of all, Canvas forces professors to enter assignments and grades in such a way that students can easily assess how they are performing in a class. If they aren’t meeting expectations, they can easily calculate the grade they need to get on an upcoming assignment or quiz to ensure a certain letter grade through grade prediction.

Canvas will also email students reminders about upcoming assignments and provide a recap of the previous week.

It’s not without its faults, however. Professors can opt out of using certain features or make use of features in ways different from other professors. This is a far cry from using two or even three entirely different systems though.

Professors who do not currently use Canvas for all of their class management needs should acquiesce. Doing such will be of great benefit to students, allowing them to keep all of their classes in one spot.

Canvas is a great tool. It’s easy to learn and its widespread use across campus will benefit everyone.