If you’ve logged in to Learn@UW recently, you may have noticed that each one of your classes is listed under the same software.
Over the past 18 months, UW-Madison has been working to transition from using three learning management systems — Desire2Learn, Moodle and Canvas — to just one, Canvas, by June 1.
According to Brian Rust, communications director for the Department of Information and Technology, using a single software will create “consistency and familiarity” for students and faculty, regardless of the variety of courses they either take or teach.
This is beneficial, according to UW-Madison freshman Jai Khanna, who has the Canvas application on his phone.
“Compared to any other application, Canvas is much better because it is on my phone as well,” he said. “I have all my courses handy, and I can check any of them whenever I want.”
Rust also noted the open nature of Canvas and the ease with which the university can access student data on the software.
While learning management systems usually provide universities with student-performance metadata that they analyze to determine how to help students succeed in their courses, this information was not accessible on Desire2Learn.
To solve this issue, UW-Madison helped found Unizin, a higher education association of universities — including nine Big Ten universities — who wanted to own and manage their own instruction software, according to Rust.
Rust said the association allows universities more buying power and authority with whatever products or services would be licensed by the association.
“[Members of the association] have free access to not only the data that is housed in the learning management system, but also the metadata regarding the use of learning management systems [and] course analytics … that would help us to be able to understand what factors into a student’s success in a class,” he said.
Canvas, among other programs, comes as an added benefit of UW-Madison’s Unizin membership, Rust said.
The transition to Canvas has received positive feedback from faculty, and faculty members can receive assistance or even have an instructional support staff make the software transition for them, according to Rust.
Anne Hansen, director of undergraduate studies for the history department, said faculty members in the department have taken workshops to learn how to use Canvas.
Hansen said while there “was a certain amount of panic” when professors realized the Learn@UW pages they created would no longer be available after June, the department has been making “good progress” with the transition.
The level of difficulty transitioning to Canvas, Hansen said, depends on what professors are doing with the software.
“It has been easier, I think, when you are just using the site for readings, syllabi — a few things like that,” she said. “For people who are trying to do blended or online courses, the learning curve is much steeper, and I think those are the people who have felt that it has been quite time-consuming to make the transition.”
Rust encouraged students and faculty to collect important information they may have on Desire2Learn and Moodle from previous classes before the programs are discontinued this summer.
