Canvas LMS Reviews

“well-organized courses and pacing”

Pros

Canvas keeps classroom materials very well organized. Assignments, announcements, quizzes and grades are all in one place which makes communication more efficient and helps students stay on top of things. Being able to schedule content and build courses with clearly defined modules has also made it much simpler to control pacing across the semester.

Cons

One problem I ran into was with quizzes not transferring properly from one course to another especially between school years. We eventually learned the quizzes were somehow stored on a different server than the rest of the course content. Unfortunately, it took nearly three years for that issue to get fixed.

“Useful for lecture scheduling”

Pros

It makes it really simple to organize daily lectures and set schedules for assessments and exams which helps keep everything structured.

Cons

The software can be glitchy and updating certain things is not very easy. It's also frustrating that admin access is needed for some of the extra functions.

“helpful to-do tracking”

Pros

One thing that really helps on Canvas is the To-Do feature. As it makes it much easier to keep track of which assignments need to be completed at any given time.

Cons

My biggest complaint is that the platform doesn't seem to have gotten any meaningful updates to improve usability. It feels like it has stayed mostly the same for years without any real changes or improvements.

“Amazing slide-style teaching tools”

Pros

The feature set is excellent especially the way it works almost like a PowerPoint while showing all the slides in a much cleaner, more visually appealing layout.

Cons

From a teacher's side, one challenge is editing student work without making the changes directly for them. It would be much better if students could clearly see the edits and feedback made.

“Reliable software it is”

Pros

I used it for school and it worked as a one-stop place for everything. Class materials were all there, including PowerPoints, tests, quizzes, exams and eventually the grading too.

Cons

The interface is a little complex and not very easy to follow and it comes across as inconsistent. I couldn't always tell whether that was because of each professor's setup or the platform itself. Finding documents was hit or miss and uploading assignments regularly caused problems so I often had to email professors backup copies just to make sure my work would actually be graded.

“Has great tools for everyday materials”

Pros

Canvas has been useful for a lot of our day-to-day work, from printing things out and putting together flyers to making street signs, documents and invoices.

Cons

It did not feel very user friendly especially when creating flyers and the color choices and design options can feel limiting.

“clean layout and clear tracking”

Pros

The clean layout makes it simple to navigate, the notifications are genuinely helpful and assignment tracking is very clear for students on a daily basis.

Cons

There are times when it feels a bit slow, messages can get buried and the grading tools may come across as confusing or somewhat limited.

“fantastic for employee management”

Pros

Employee management has been the best. It's very simple to use, offers excellent value for the money and the customer support team stayed on top of every issue I ran into.

Cons

Nothing significant to complain about. I had a small issue with the software in the beginning but customer support walked me through it and got it sorted out.

“Top all in one training hub”

Pros

Canvas works well for us as a training platform, with videos and other training content all housed in one place for both employees and managers.

Cons

The training videos on the tool do not load properly right when you try to start them.

“Simplifies course tracking”

Pros

During my graduate program at the university, I used Canvas and appreciated having everything integrated into a single platform. It lets you keep track of practically everything in one place.

Cons

Coming into it as my first course management platform, this one felt pretty complex at the start for a beginner. On top of that as a Teaching Assistant, grading papers took some getting used to in the beginning.

“beginner-friendly and dependable tool”

Pros

This tool is very user-friendly, with a clean interface that's welcoming for beginners. It works really well for employee management and the customer support has been helpful whenever needed.

Cons

I haven't run into any issues so far. Everything has been very simple and it has covered all the needs I use it for.

“helpful reports and SEO setup”

Pros

With everything else going on, it was a relief that they managed to get the SEO side up and running without me needing to explain my business over and over again. The reports land in my email automatically and not having to think about them has been exactly what I needed.

Cons

Well the coding and development side dragged on much longer than I wanted and the pace felt pretty slow throughout. Communication with the offshore team was also difficult because of the time zone differences. On a much smaller note, the chocolate chip holiday cookie they sent was only about a 6/10 and noticeably dry compared to other cookies.

“It has a modern dashboard”

Pros

A clean, modern dashboard makes Canvas very approachable for both students and instructors and it's especially helpful that instructors can switch to a student view. The mobile app is also easy to use and includes almost all of the core features. It also connects well with third-party tools like Zoom, Google Drive and other LTI plugins. Built-in features such as Turnitin and auto-graders save a lot of time by cutting down on manual checking and grading. On top of that there are plenty of extensions available for added customization.

Cons

The biggest annoyance is the amount of notifications, since if the settings aren't configured properly, you can end up getting alerts from both the app and email. There are also occasional bugs and sometimes it will show a message saying the tool is experiencing issues and the platform goes down which can be frustrating.

“announcements are a lifesaver”

Pros

It has been a huge help when it comes to keeping our student information organized. It lets me structure learning content clearly and the announcements feature has honestly been a game changer. Not having to build and manage email groups anymore is such a relief.

Cons

Creating quizzes in it can take quite a bit of time, even though it's still manageable. I just wish that part of the system felt a little more user friendly.

“mobile app is very useful”

Pros

Canvas does a great job with organization. The dashboard gives a clear snapshot of all my courses and the built-in calendar and to-do list make it simple to stay on top of deadlines. The mobile app is especially useful for checking progress and announcements while away from my computer so it works well as a central place for everything.

Cons

One thing that gets frustrating is the lack of consistency. A lot depends on how well each instructor sets up the course and when a class page is poorly organized, it becomes a pain to find anything. The interface also feels a bit outdated and the default notification settings tend to bombard you with emails over every small update.

“reliable for every course”

Pros

This tool is accessible and fairly easy to navigate and students respond well to it. It has consistently worked really well for the courses I teach.

Cons

Honestly there's not much I dislike about it. I use it across all of my courses at CSUF and it has fit well for both of the classes I teach.

“helpful class management tools”

Pros

Canvas has been really simple to navigate and the support is helpful. I can check my classes and grades without any hassle and it also works well for managing classes overall.

Cons

The thing that bothers me is that it can be buggy at times. There are moments when things do not load properly and the app occasionally crashes.

“user friendly with responsive support”

Pros

Using it is fun and it is user friendly too. The customer support is also excellent so whenever something comes up, I know it'll be handled quickly.

Cons

A few of the grading tools can be a bit tricky to work with at times. I also wish there were a faster, more efficient way to upload grades into the gradebook.

“customizable and user-friendly”

Pros

It's very user friendly and simple to tailor to the way I want to use it. I can turn notifications on or off without any hassle and the whole app is easy to navigate.

Cons

Whenever major updates roll out, it can take a bit of time to locate features or tools that used to be familiar. Smaller, more gradual changes would make those transitions a lot better.

“Simple layout and provide quick access”

Pros

Canvas LMS is very easy to use, even without much prior experience. The layout keeps everything clearly organized so it's simple to scan through pages and find what you need quickly.

Cons

I don't really have any complaints about it. It's very user-friendly and makes pulling up documents and quizzes fast and convenient.