Canvas Research
After collected extensive feedback from faculty, the Distance Learning committee recommended adoption of Canvas in Spring 2016. This worked its way through the Curriculum & Instruction Council and reached Academic Senate toward the end of Spring 2016, at which point the recommendation was read and then voted upon and approved.
Beginning in Spring 2015, research has been collected to help inform the decision about the LMS being used at Mt. SAC. Changing learning management systems is a big undertaking that requires work on the part of many entities on campus, but relies most heavily on the work of faculty who use the LMS and must migrate their course materials, learn new tools, and deal with any unforeseen problems that changes can create in functionality, available features, or other differences in service. This is why we take the process of making a recommendation very seriously. We want to make a selection that first and foremost works for faculty and contributes to student success as well as representing technology that meets the education standards of higher education today and into the future.
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- How was the move to Canvas decided?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of research for the Canvas LMS decision.Full report of research conducted for the Canvas LMS decision.- AS of June 2, 2016, the recommendation to adopt Canvas was voted and approved at Academic Senate. The Academic Senate also awarded the DLC a 10+1 award in Academic and Professional Matters for "creating a thorough and inclusive process to vet and recommend the Canvas LMS to campus." The next step is approval through the President's Advisory Council (PAC).
- As of May 19, 2016, the recommendation to adopt Canvas was presented as a discussion item at Academic Senate. It is scheduled as an action item at the Academic Senate June 2 meeting.
- As of May 12, 2016, the Executive Committee reviewed the Canvas recommendation. The recommendation was passed along to Academic Senate, who added Canvas to the discussion items for May 19.
- As of May 10 2016, the Curriculum & Instruction committee has approved the Canvas recommendation. Curriculum and Instruction now forwards the recommendation to the Executive Committee and Academic Senate.
- As of May 2016, the Distance Learning Committee prepared a recommendation advising the college to move from Moodlerooms to Canvas. This recommendation is expected to be sent on to the Curriculum and Instruction Council in their first May meeting. The next stage will involve review by Curriculum and Instruction. Updates will continue to be posted here.
- As of April 2016, the Distance Learning Committee completed deliberations and reviewed research collected from faculty and students at Mt. SAC. The determination based on this research and the research on the Canvas system and its compatibility with other Mt. SAC technology resulted in a decision to recommend the transition from Moodlerooms to Canvas.
- How was the move to Canvas decided?
Completed Canvas Research
The following research has been completed:
- Faculty focus groups were completed in November 2015 to assess faculty needs and questions related to LMS use.
- Faculty Technology Survey was gathered online. Nearly 200 faculty completed a survey asking about LMS needs, questions, and opinions of Moodlerooms and Canvas.
- Student experience research included opportunities for students to complete a set of exercises in Canvas that required them to locate and use various commonly used LMS tools, and then complete a survey on their user experience.
- Based on the results of faculty feedback, "Explore Canvas" information sessions were held in Winter 2016 during eLearning week so those wanting to learn about Canvas had opportunities to do so.
- Additional opportunities to Explore Canvas have been created and listed on our web page, which has been advertised to faculty through varied communication channels to try to reach any interested faculty.
Canvas Research Findings
Faculty Focus Group - November 2015, 12 participants, in 2 groups
- Biggest complaint in Focus Groups: Moodlerooms is overly complicated, with too many settings. It requires too much work/training to achieve competency.
- Consensus in Focus Groups: Focus groups supported a change to Canvas as long as two
conditions were met:
- Enough time/support given to smooth the transition
- Canvas offers similar learning management system (LMS) features with lower complexity
Faculty Technology Survey - November 2015, 193 faculty members responded to this online survey.
| In Favor of Canvas: 65.5% | Opposed to Canvas: 34.5% |
| 70 respondents wanted Mt. SAC to benefit from savings | 35 respondents don’t want to learn new system |
| 69 respondents wanted after-hours tech support included with Canvas | 24 respondents expressed skepticism about ongoing savings |
| 66 respondents wanted students to use the LMS adopted in California colleges | 5 respondents opposed OEI participation |
In addition, the large number of respondents who were leaning toward favoring Canvas (53%) or toward opposing Canvas (24%) expressed some level of uncertainty. To address this concern, the OLSC developed several opportunities to allow faculty to explore Canvas in order to develop a more informed opinion about the decision.
Student Research on Canvas, November 2015, 20 students
Twenty students with varied levels of previous LMS experience participated in a Canvas Experience Survey. This research was designed to give students a thorough overview of Canvas functionality. Each student completed a checklist of common course activities that asked them to navigate through the LMS in order to find information, submit assignments, communicate with a professor, or check grades. Our sample of students liked Canvas:
- Eighty percent said Canvas was "very easy to use."
- Sixteen of the 17 students who had used Moodlerooms thought Canvas was “somewhat better” or “much better.”
- Fifteen out of the 20 students sampled said they would recommend courses in Canvas to other students.
