The University of Central Florida Moves to Instructure Canvas for its Next Generation Learning Platform

Nearly 900 students actively participated in the decision-making process

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Jul 25, 2012, 09:00 ET

SALT LAKE CITY, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Central Florida has chosen Canvas from Instructure to replace Blackboard Vista as the institution's learning management system. The decision came after a six-month evaluation process that reviewed Desire2Learn, Blackboard 9.1, and Instructure Canvas.

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"Students, faculty and staff overwhelmingly recommended Canvas," said Dr. Joel L. Hartman, Vice Provost and CIO at UCF. "We were especially sensitive to the preferences of faculty members and students, who favored Canvas' clean, easy-to-navigate interface and many other features that facilitate teaching and learning online."

UCF's Center for Distributed Learning worked with faculty and students to find a new LMS for the institution after Blackboard announced it was discontinuing support for Vista. They organized evaluation teams that conducted two semester-long pilots with 20 faculty and 898 students. Throughout the process, students actively participated and provided ongoing feedback. In the end, the committee created a video to highlight the evaluation process and recommended Canvas based on the following features:

A clean, intuitive user interface, featuring drag-and-drop functionality throughout
Flexible communication and notification options for faculty and students
Significantly faster tools for grading (SpeedGrader and a grade book with easy student-by-student navigation)
Compatibility with any modern browser, including mobile browsers (no Java dependence)
Easy-to-use video and audio tools for posting content and grading assignments
A rapid migration tool for converting courses to Canvas
Gold Star accessibility certification from the National Federation for the Blind
iOS and (coming soon) Android mobile apps for teaching, learning, and grading
A built-in ePortfolio system for storing and organizing student content
A built-in analytics and reporting system that will assist faculty and students in successful course completion

"Canvas' flexibility and creative options will make our teaching and our students' learning a more positive and productive experience," said Dr. Ida Cook, Chair of the Faculty Senate at UCF. "I'm excited about this new opportunity to enhance our teaching and our students' learning."

More than 58,000 students attend UCF's 12 colleges, which include a new College of Medicine. The university, which offers more than 200 degree programs, ranks among the nation's top five up-and-coming universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. UCF has granted more than 232,000 degrees during its 44 years of offering classes.

"We welcome the University of Central Florida into the growing Canvas community, and we look forward to helping its faculty make a smooth transition," said Devlin Daley, co-founder and CTO of Instructure. "We built Canvas to give instructors and students the freedom to teach and learn in a way that's most effective for them."

About Instructure:
Instructure is a technology company committed to improving education. We provide instructors and students modern tools and resources to empower the learning experience. Founded by graduate students in collaboration with educational institutions, Instructure provides Canvas - the open, easy-to-use, cloud-native learning platform.

Copyright © 2012, Instructure, Inc. All rights reserved. Instructure, Canvas and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Instructure, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others.

Media Contact Info:
Devin Knighton, Director of Public Relations, Instructure Canvas, 801.722.8187, [email protected]

SOURCE Instructure