Category: Our Mission

To improve learning experiences through evaluation, recommendation and advocacy of student resources.

When Canvas launched its app on April 12, 2013, they changed the game in online learning. They gave students and educators access on the go, without having to connect to the internet or sit down at a desk. Technology has significantly improved online learning and helped those who may not have the availability to attend a classroom style learning.  Professors are now able to mock a real classroom environment but there may still need some work to be done.

The Canvas app has some bumps and we have the info on how to make the experience for you better.  With the help from other students we have gathered helpful tips, information on changes and keeping you in the “know.”

As students we want our education experience to be one that we remember in a good way, one that we can grow from and one we enjoy looking back on, hopefully this blog can help along the way.

Signing on to your Canvas, regardless from your laptop or your phone, shows you all your classes in the form of clickable cards. Each card has its own title (the name of the class) and a color, but there really is no rhyme or reason when it comes to the placement or color of these cards. Even research suggests that organizing your Canvas to your liking will make you more productive!  Ahmad Qasim AlHamad in their article, “Identifying Students’ Trends toward Personalizing Learning Management System (LMS) at Zarqa University (Extended).” explored the idea of personalizing tools like Canvas to better education in an online setting. Having systems where users can pick and choose helps all kinds of learners (AlHamad).

Here’s how to customize your home page:

1. On your web browser or on the Canvas app, you can click or tap on the three dots on each of the cards and click on one of the colors that you like.
2. You can also change the name of the course using the same method in #1. We recommend renaming all math classes to “Useless Subject 101”.

Extra Credit: You can also choose any color you want by putting the hex color code in the text box in the card-customizing menu. Here is a link to a page where you can choose any color and get the corresponding hex code. Hex Color Codes

Here’s an example of my Canvas page!

This sleek, new, and inspiring new look helps me every time I log on to do homework. It gets me motivated because I am doing work in something that is handmade. So go forth and be creative!