Simon Fraser University Goes Digital with ‘Canvas’ for iOS Course Integration

Simon Fraser University in Burnaby British Columbia, is just 1 of 9 universities to implement Canvas, a way for professors and students to take their course integration digital when it comes to submitting assignments, seeing grades and interacting with faculty and other students, reports Gillian Shaw from the Vancouver Sun:

“I was thrilled by our choice,” Martin Laba, SFU School of Communication associate professor, and director, Academic Community Engagement for the Canvas project, said in a video explaining the project. “…It is a particularly bold move to choose this particular system.

“There are many open source systems to choose from. I have become committed through this process and through consultation to the idea of an open source solution.

“But Canvas takes us beyond that and I think speaks forcefully to the university’s commitment not just to teaching and learning but in this boldness of this choice I think to breaking new ground.”

Simon Fraser University student Christine Tulloch, who is on the Canvas project executive steering committee says “Canvas creates such a nice place to find everything, it’s very straightforward.” It has allowed her to access course material right on her iPad or iPhone via the Canvas iOS app, which is used by 11 million teachers and students across Canada and the USA.

SFU runs Canvas from its own servers opposed to the latter’s cloud solution based in the USA, allowing for greater privacy and flexibility. The Canvas project, according to Bill Krane, leader of the operation said its implementation is estimated to cost $1.7 million over the first three years, with the majority of its budget allocated towards support staff.

Anyone out there using Canvas with their courses at SFU? How do you like it?