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You are here: Home / News / Committee selects Canvas to replace OpenClass

Committee selects Canvas to replace OpenClass

January 22, 2015 by Collin Wieder

Students have entered their final semester of the OpenClass learning management system (LMS), as a committee of faculty members decided to fully switch to Canvas for the fall 2015 semester.

Some classes began using Canvas this semester. The JMC 495 Internship class started using it to keep attendance and grades. The change to Canvas continues the trend of transitions from one LMS to another. Canvas is the third LMS used over the last four years.

The transition to Canvas comes after two years of using OpenClass which was preceded by Blackboard LMS. Canvas features an impressive list of schools including the University of Texas and Juilliard School.

According to Instructure Inc.’s website – the developer of Canvas – the system has spread to 165 countries to more than 1 million students ranging from high school to college in 2013.

Canvas was selected by a multidisciplinary faculty committee, said Lyndell Lee, educational technology specialist.

“They used a number of factors, not the least of which was reliability, ease of use and a forward looking feature set,” Lee said.

The switch came as no surprise to Marisa Beard, director of educational technology.

“We needed to go to an enterprise software LMS that was going to be more user-friendly for both faculty and students,” Beard said.

The Department of Educational Technology had already tested Canvas and got positive results.

“Canvas contains multiple features that benefit both teacher and student,” Beard said. “It allows students to send work in without having to go through a multitude of other sites, including Turnitin.”

The new LMS will do more than make turning in assignments easier.

“The product has stronger adaptability, particularly with other third-party software applications,” Lee said. “In OpenClass you had to live in two different worlds. You had do some stuff in OpenClass and then you would have to go to a different URL.”

Caleb Hughes, senior criminal justice major from Weatherford, said the committee needed to address the problem sooner.

“I would’ve liked for them to have made better choices earlier with their online source so we didn’t have to switch three times,” Hughes said.

Though the constant change in LMSs has caused some frustration, Hughes said he is willing to work with the new system.

“If this is going to be less problematic than other sites, then I’m OK with it if it works,” he said. “And if it’s easier to use and less buggy, then I don’t think students will be so upset about the change.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Technology

Other News:

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About Collin Wieder

You are here: Home / News / Committee selects Canvas to replace OpenClass

Other News:

  • ACU to join Western Athletic Conference in July

  • Sing Song 2021 to ban sets, significantly limit act capacity

  • Tyler officials locate body of missing student

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acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
8h

Sing Song 2021 will undergo major changes to comply with COVID-19 health and safety regulations. Read more below:
https://acuoptimist.com/2021/01/sing-song-2021-to-ban-sets-significantly-limit-act-capacity/

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acuoptimistThe Optimist@acuoptimist·
13 Jan

Tyler officials have located the body of 21-year-old Corbin Stiefer, a senior history major from Tyler, who had been missing since Jan. 6. Read more below:
http://acuoptimist.com/2021/01/tyler-officials-locate-body-of-missing-student/

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8 hours ago

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Sing Song 2021 will undergo major changes to comply with COVID-19 health and safety regulations. Read more below: ...

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Sing Song, which has been delayed until April 22-24 at the Paramount Theatre, will undergo major changes in 2021 to follow health and safety guidelines due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A minimum of eight and a maximum of 16 participants will be allowed in each act. This max number pales in comp...
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11 hours ago

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Students gathered in Galaxy Park Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil celebrating the life of senior history major Corbin Stiefer. See more photos from our gallery below: ...

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Students gathered in Galaxy Park Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil celebrating the life of senior history major Corbin Steifer.
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