This week sees the official launch of SFU’s version of the mobile app for Canvas, an open source learning management system (LMS) which delivers course content to students.
At the beginning of January, there was soft launch of the app after Canvas completely replaced the previous system, WebCT, late last year. The app will allow students to easily access course material, such as lecture slides and assignment details.
Originally, there were doubts about the implementation of the app because BC’s strict privacy legislation does not allow institutions such as SFU to post personal information on Cloud-based servers outside of Canada. However, by opting to host the app on SFU’s servers instead of using the original US-based hosting platform, Kaltura, the Canvas app will be separated so that it complies with BC legislation.
“We couldn’t just take on the mobile app that everyone else was using. It had to be adapted for our own circumstances,” explained Mark Bachmann, communications officer at the Teaching and Learning Centre.
“The ultimate goal is to have identical versions of Canvas in the browser and the mobile app.”
– Mark Bachmann, communications officer at the Teaching and Learning Centre
“People could [still] access [Canvas] on their phones, but it was always through a browser. Sometimes it’s slow, sometimes it doesn’t look as good on a mobile device, so I think there’s always been a demand for the mobile app.”
There are parts of the site that will not be accessible on the mobile app. These include uploading capabilities, access to large PDFs, and the “what if?” component, which allows students to calculate their current course grades and estimate their final marks.
“What you’ll see if you use the mobile app isn’t identical to what you’ll see with the browser,” Bachmann said. “Some things that work well with the browser don’t work well with the mobile app and vice versa. Part of it’s a matter of figuring out what you can do best with [each].”
Bachmann concluded, “The ultimate goal is to have identical versions of Canvas in the browser and the mobile app.”
Christine Tulloch, the student representative on the Canvas Executive Steering Committee, related her own frustrations with WebCT, which she feels will be mitigated by the Canvas system.
“I’ve always had trouble with WebCT in the past where an assignment was due, and of course you need to put it online or get it off of WebCT, and it crashes,” said Tulloch. “[The SFU Canvas team has] gone to great lengths to make sure that that won’t happen.”
Tulloch feels that students will mainly use the app to check their notifications, discussions, assignment due dates, and lecture slides: “From what I’ve heard, people are more so looking at it as a sort of quick use; they’re not wanting to go on it for a long period of time.”
An advantage of the app is that it doesn’t require wifi; although it does access wifi by default, students can also use data to access Canvas. Additionally, the app does not require student log in through the browser, which means quicker access.
“We’re working on [SFU’s wifi issues],” Tulloch said, laughing. “One of the things that I’ve really learned from being on this committee was that our faculty really care about us as students. They really care about the way we’re using technology, that SFU is at the forefront [. . .] they’re really doing everything in their power to make sure our learning is as effective as possible.”
