Canvas is our Learning Management System (LMS)—the single place where you’ll build course content, communicate with students, collect assignments, run discussions, grade work, and sync grades back to Veracross. Whether you’re posting a quick announcement or setting up a multi‑week module, Canvas keeps everything organized.

Canvas Defined

Canvas LMS is an open and reliable web-based software that allows institutions to manage digital learning, educators to create and present online learning materials and assess student learning, and students to engage in courses and receive feedback about skill development and learning achievement.

Additionally, while Canvas is primarily a web-based software, any user can access Canvas on a mobile device from the Canvas Teacher, Canvas Student, and Canvas Parent apps. Learn more about the Canvas mobile apps.

Basic Canvas Features

Canvas includes a variety of built-in course construction and management tools that can be customized to create unique and accessible teaching and learning experiences.

• Admins and teachers may create and share course content using Assignments, Discussions, Modules, Quizzes, and Pages. They may also choose to foster a collaborative learning experience using Collaborations, Conferences, and Groups. Additionally, course creators can use the Course Import Tool to bulk-upload pre-existing LMS course packages and/or course materials.
• Students use Canvas to view and interact with course materials, view feedback, communicate with their instructor, and interact with other course users.
• Canvas also allows institutions and instructors to add institutional learning outcomes to rubrics in order to measure and track student skill development and learning achievement.
• Instructors can provide students with comprehensive feedback on assignment and quiz submissions using SpeedGrader and manage grade reporting in the Canvas Gradebook. Instructors can also allow peer reviews to encourage student-to-student feedback, for example maybe for a first draft of a paper students are paired up to review each others work.
• Instructors can communicate course news and updates with students using Announcements as well as the Calendar. Additionally, all course participants can use the Canvas Inbox to send and receive messages.
• Instructors and admins can gain greater insight into student success and make informed instructional decisions using data provided in Canvas Analytics.
• Canvas also includes the Canvas App Center, where admins, designers, and instructors can enable a variety of External Apps (LTI Tools) and services. The ever-growing app library offers a wide array of interactive resources, content repositories, assessment tools, social media integrations, and other digital learning and teaching resources. Academy offers many apps already integrated with the Canvas platform however there are some apps we either do not have linked up or do not have a paid plan with.