Students choose Canvas versus Google Classroom

by Mackenzie Hedges

This year Athens High School spent around 30,000 dollars on the computer program Canvas. In prior years students used Google Classroom. Was the transition worth it?

The transition from Google Classroom to Canvas was much needed. Google Classroom never seemed organized enough for holding all of our school work. With everything being online, the need for organization is extremely important. I felt that with Google Classroom there wasn’t a combined space for everything. Each page was for each class without a combined area. With Canvas there is the main calendar schedule that automatically organizes everything you need to do for each class. I feel that feature alone makes the investment worth it.

I know a lot of teachers do not enjoy Canvas due to its indirect relationship with Google products. I have come to understand that it is harder to attach documents or assignments due to this function. I don’t know what it is like from the teachers’ end but it was never much different on the students’ end, with Google assignments through Google Classroom.

Another issue that has been discussed is grade syncing. It seems that it takes Canvas quite a while to sync, which I’m sure creates havoc in the teachers’ Gmail inbox when it’s time for grade submissions. I do see how that is a major downfall, but with everything else that Canvas does offer in comparison to Google Classroom, the annoying issues seem better than the alternative.

As opposed to prior years, Canvas was also implemented as a requirement for all teachers to utilize. This makes class organization way easier for students. When teachers decided to use Google Classroom, before the pandemic, they were not required. This created havoc for organization because there were multiple platforms and techniques used by various teachers.

I asked the question, Canvas or Google Classroom, to a wider pool of students. The conclusion is the same as what I’ve expressed. With a 52% to 48% comparison, Canvas takes the top spot. Multiple people said that in the beginning, Canvas was harder to get used to. Although, after becoming acquainted with the software, they decided against Google Classroom. Most students don’t immensely favor one or the other, but given our options, we prefer Canvas.