Seeking the multi-media advantages of online learning, Penn-Harris-Madison Schools chose Canvas for its user-friendly design that modeled social media tools students already use and its ability to integrate with Windows and Google apps seamlessly. A testament to its success? Teachers began using Canvas and rolling it out to students before training.
The Challenge
Penn-Harris-Madison Schools formerly had a piecemeal approach to online learning, with teachers using various free Web tools. At the same time, they were also “moving carefully away from the old model where you regularly adopt textbooks,” said Matthew Hapke, the district’s network administrator. “Textbooks are a slow way to get information because you’re left with this footprint in time. That was the case when you bought it.”
The district was also seeking to deepen student engagement. While they looked for a scaffolding to hold together their new curriculum, they made a conscious decision to be “device agnostic” and find tools that work across operating systems.
“The number one thing we liked about Canvas is that the workflow and look and feel resembles what students and staff members are doing already in social media and forums and Web pages online, so it was very easy to pick up.” -Matthew Hapke, Network Administrator, Penn Harris Madison Schools
Key Insights
Penn-Harris-Madison Schools is moving away from textbooks and toward a digital curriculum.
Canvas integrates seamlessly with systems already in use and works with various competing technologies.
Teachers were already using Canvas before rollout and training.
The Solution
Hapke noticed that Canvas was being discussed on an email list of Indiana computer coordinators that he subscribes to, so he included it in the group of learning management systems the district would evaluate. A core group of 15 educators, including principals, technical sta , and middle school and high school teachers, spent three months comparing LMSs from Instructure, Blackboard, Moodle, Pearson, and LoudCloud. They watched demonstrations from each company and tried out each product.
“Canvas was nearly perfect. We are a Windows school, and we have Google Apps for every sixth grader and up, and Canvas integrates with both of those seamlessly.”
-Matthew Hapke, Network Administrator, Penn Harris Madison Schools
There’s a large player who makes a habit of buying up competitors and ends up being a patchwork of all those other technologies mixed together,” he said. “Whereas Canvas is one technology, very consistent, very clean and elegant, and teachers love it.
That means teachers can send out a collaborative document to their students as a Google Doc, and when students log in, they’re using the same password they’re using in the classroom. Another reason they chose Canvas was that it “works very well on several competing platforms,” Hapke said.
“There’s a large player who makes a habit of buying up competitors and ends up being a patchwork of all those other technologies mixed together,” he said. “Whereas Canvas is one technology, very consistent, very clean and elegant, and teachers love it.”
For example, teachers liked Canvas’ forum, with audio and video options and topic streaming. “That took the whole process of communicating with students in the classroom to the level we were looking for.”
The Results
The school district hasn’t officially rolled out Canvas yet and is still in the process of setting up peer groups to train teachers. But some teachers “jumped the gun” and are already using it in the classroom, Hapke said. They enrolled 1,600 kids, all before they had any training, and “that spoke volumes to the choice of Canvas.” Teachers are implementing Canvas on their own while they are under pressure to adapt to Common Core standards and meet Indiana’s strict teacher accountability requirements. That’s proof to Hapke that Canvas was the right choice.
“Minutes, more than dollars or any other resource, is the hottest commodity for teachers,” he said. “I didn’t think it’d be as easy as it has been to get them excited about something like this, and Canvas has been responsible for a lot of that.”
“For teachers to be volunteering their time and working together to teach each other after hours — that doesn’t happen with programs that you don’t like,” Hapke said. “I only had two teachers willing to learn how to use a (competing free open source option). It’s not easy. It’s not straightforward. It’s free, but you get what you pay for.”
The district will ramp up its use of Canvas over the next school year as it moves further into its digital curriculum. Hapke also anticipates using Canvas to issue ongoing teacher education credits and host internal staff development.
I don’t think we could have made a better choice. I have dozens of teachers who, even though it’s early, are using it in their class right now, and that, to me, means success. I can’t express enough how it’s been really easy to get to that point — I’ve heard nothing but good things.
-Matthew Hapke,
Network Administrator, Penn Harris Madison Schools
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