What do Chapman students want to see in a well-designed Canvas course? According to a recent survey, they want Canvas to be organized, assignments clearly communicated with due dates, and the course easy to navigate. These findings are in line with a recent Ohio University survey.

In April 2023, we asked students to share examples of exemplary Canvas courses and tell us why they thought these courses made particularly good use of Canvas.

Here is what our Chapman students said:

Argyros School of Business and Economics

  • Adam Clark, Assistant Professor | EMBA-612-01

The structure is clear with assignments, test, and reading materials for grading and performance review! — Shaoqiang P., EMBA-612 student

  • Christopher Lloyd, Lecturer | MGSC-300-01

Well organized, utilized group features and explained where everything was the first day of class and had everyone navigate it themselves so we all knew how to work the course. — Anonymous MGSC-300 student

  • Cristina Nistor, Ph.D., Assistant Professor | MKTG-457-01

They have everything you could ever possibly need as a student. It is so easy to navigate the modules so each student has a clear understanding of what is due, what is happening in class, and allows for easy access to any additional resources that can help you have a better understanding of the topic. — Anonymous MKTG-457 student

 

Attallah College of Educational Studies

  • Tara Barnhart, Ph.D., Assistant Professor | EDUC-589-01

This Canvas course is organized very well. I particularly like how the ‘Modules’ tab is used and for how easy it is to see what we are discussing each week, as well as the required materials for class. Additionally, each assignment and its respective due date are in the ‘Assignments’ tab for the entire semester. Although all our assignments are present in the syllabus, having the assignments readily available to look through and plan ahead is incredibly helpful. The course also is fun and engaging with various content related memes. — Makenzie M., EDUC-589 student

  • Megan Bottoms, Lecturer | LEAD-301-01

Because it is very organized while also creating reminders for task management. — Daren S., LEAD-301 student

  • Justin Koppelman, Lecturer | MLD-664-01

What I like best about this course is that the syllabus is linked in a clear manner, and the modules organized the work for each way in a detailed way. Most importantly, the people tab is published and the professor taught us how to message our class via Canvas when sending out materials for our presentation a couple days before class. This makes it easy to communicate with everyone in the class who may not want to share their phone number. The assignments are also clearly marked in the grade section and linked for us to turn it in! — Joselyn R., MLD-664 student

  • Stephen Presley, Lecturer | LEAD 401-01

The interactive meditation exercises are engaging and the class is well organized. — Danny M., LEAD-401 student

  • Jorge Rodriguez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor | IES-102-02

Very organized and useful in how the Canvas course is set up and utilized in class. He included accessible links and assignments and discussions were all posted ahead of time. The use of announcements for additional materials and current events shown exemplary Canvas usage. — Anonymous IES-102 student

 

College of Performing Arts

  • Adam Borecki, Instructor, Music Technology | MUS-244-01

Frequent updates on what to expect in class each day. Organized Assignments tab, with each assignment having very detailed and step-by-step guides on how to complete them. Assignments are also labeled with emojis that correspond to them being in-class work, homework, exams, quizzes, etc., which makes it easy to see what type of work you have left. Posts a Zoom link every day for those who cannot make it to class, and uploads lectures afterwards for help studying. Grades frequently, making the gradebook up-to-date. Uses Namecoach to ask for name pronunciations and pronouns. — Bella B., MUS-244 student

  • Jenny Jacobs, Ed.D., Lecturer | TH-150-01

The course had clear titles and pathways to all assignments and course activities. There were mutiple ways to find the assignment you’re looking for, whether it be a link through the syllabus, the modules page, the home page, or the assignments page. The syllabus and the calendar were both updated consistently. — Sam B., TH-150 student

  • Jessica Sternfeld, Associate Professor | MUS-345-01

This is the most interactive class that I have had involving Canvas. One of my favorite aspects of the course is the Professor’s posted links to musicals that we should be watching outside of class. Our discussion boards have been incredibly effective in helping me learn and we have used the newer site “Padlet” which has been a lot of fun. Padlet has allowed our class to gather a bunch of resources in a quick and organized way, and gives each student a chance to respond to what other students have found. It is easy to use and more fun than being forced to do all of the research on your own. — Travis D., MUS-345 student

 

Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences

  • Leah Beekman, Assistant Professor | CSD-503-01

Great links, memes, discussions, videos, etc. — Britney B., CSD-503 student

  • Brittany Ingersoll | PSY-203-04

Professor Ingersoll’s Canvas is the most appealing out of all my courses. It’s very clear that she took the time to make sure it is easily accessible and all the information is organized effectively. Extra resources are readily available to students as well as everything they need to succeed in the course. I am confident in navigating through the course and locating any worksheets or extra practice materials I may need. Everything is uploaded with appealing color schemes while also not being too overwhelming as well. — Bella N., PSY-203 student

  • Jaymes Rombaoa, Lecturer | PSY-204-07

Prof. teaches in a step-by-step, dissected way with many real life, relatable, modern and practical examples. He uses visuals, such as funny memes, tv show clips, games, or animated graphics. His lectures are light hearted and conversational for a serious, complex, and bland, science and stats subject. The class is warm and friendly. The lessons are useful in life. — Lorna V., PSY-204 student

 

Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

  • Jeremy Flath, Lecturer | PRA-305-01

great layout & structure. — Emalia K., PRA 305 student

The class Canvas layout is exceptionally organized. The entire semester is already published, with the modules for each week being unlocked as the semester progresses. This all makes it easy to navigate. The work put into this Canvas course reflects the passion Professor Jeremy Flath exhibits in the class. — Anonymous PRA-305 student

  • Nana Greenwald, Assistant Professor | CRPR-317-01

For every class I’ve had with Nana, it’s always been incredibly easy to find all of the information on current or future assignments because of how organized her page is. The relevant information is all that’s posted so there never trouble finding the details for a project. She also provides supplementary articles and documents that aid us in our projects. — Jacob D., CRPR-317 student

  • Eric Vanstrom, Lecturer | FTV-140-01

The use of Canvas by Eric Vanstrom is drastically above other instructors because he uses all the tools so that all the students of various education levels can navigate it easily. He ensures that the most up-to-date information for class is available and important in-class lecture items are posted. His turn-around for grading quizzes, papers, and other assignments is timely so that student can rest easy knowing what their current grade is in the class. The syllabus is the homepage which makes it easy to access, and his coverage of assignments due or modules covered are easy to understand thanks to his weekly breakdowns of past and upcoming topics. His efforts are greatly appreciated from a student standpoint, and it shows that he really thought about the uses and setup of the class’s Canvas portal. — Karla A., FTV-140 student

 

Fowler School of Engineering

  • Emad Arasteh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor | CENG-231-01

This Canvas course is incredible. All of the assignments and lectures are posted in a way that is easy to find and easy to understand. Plus, the instructor’s information is on the front of the course in order to contact him easily as well. Overall, the course is extremely organized and fun to learn from! — Anonymous CENG-231 student

  • Franceli Cibrian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor | CPSC-355-01

Everything is split into dates, it is easy to find what you may have missed for class, it is aesthetically pleasing. — Rashel L., CPSC-355 student

  • Kendra Day, Ed.D., Assistant Professor | CPSC-285-01

She was just the best teacher and had the best organization skills when it comes to navigating Canvas. Everything was in its place as she said and I was never confused on where to look. — Asiya U., CPSC-285 student

School of Communication

  • Erin Craw | SCC-301-01

She always updates Canvas; with our grades and weekly modules! She also posts announcements almost every week and is really great at using Canvas to communicate with the class. I’ve never been blindsided by an assignment because Professor Craw is always on top of things! – Rachel R., SCC-301 student

Schmid College of Science and Technology

  • Jean-Louis Bru, Assistant Professor | BIOL-205-02

The course module is the most organized one I have ever seen. It contains all the weeks of the course. Each week has the presentations, Zoom recordings, assignment dates, and learning objectives. The course syllabus, discussion board, and announcements are also there. Everything has been custom designed to fit into the Chapman theme. The instructor has all their contact info on the bottom along with office hour times. — Anonymous BIOL-205 student

  • Allegra Liberman-Martin, Assistant Professor | CHEM-331-02

I am nominating this course because the class is very organized and consistent on Canvas. Every class meeting has its own module, and every module for each meeting of the semester is already on Canvas, with new modules unlocking every Friday for the new week. I like how the modules are released at the same time every week and how the Canvas page is like a roadmap for the semester. There is never a day where I can’t find something I am looking for. — Anonymous CHEM-331 student

  • Esther Martinez, Lecturer | MATH-110-04

It is personalized to her and was a way to get to know her and the class before starting. — Anonymous MATH-110 student

  • Maduka Ogba, Assistant Professor | CHEM-331-01

best videos ever. — Myles D., CHEM-331 student

 

Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

  • Jennifer Carr, Lecturer | ENG-204-01

Professor Carr’s course is engaging and organized by week and easy to access. — Anonymous ENG-204 student

  • Ana Palomar, Assistant Professor | SPAN-201-06

Dr. Palomar’s Canvas page for SPAN-201-06 maximizes all features, creating an engaging and aesthetically pleasing page that is easy to navigate. All resources are neatly organized and showcase features beyond PDFs for student’s to study, complete assignments, and interact via Canvas. Visitors can quickly see the amount of time and energy put into the page through a quick glance and recognize the effort Dr. Palomar puts into what she does. Her energy is outstanding and her Canvas page only further exhibits this! — Anonymous SPAN-201 student

  • Jana Remy, PhD | HIST-301-01

I am nominating Dr. Remy’s course because she makes using Canvas and the internet in the classroom as easy as possible. Often times in other classes I will spend a significant amount of time acquainting myself with websites that my professors want us to use. This process is time consuming and takes away from the objective of the assignment. Dr. Remy makes her Canvas page straightforward and easy to follow so that her students can complete assignments swiftly. I never have to worry about searching the Canvas page for any materials because of Dr. Remy’s organization. I am thankful for this organized structure and I hope that more professors use this style in the future. — Gracie-Anne F., HIST-301 student

The modules are well regulated and are conducive to student learning… all content and assignments are easily accessible and the layout of the page just makes sense! Multi-media is utilized and the page simply just runs well; embedded links, pop-ups to proper sites, etc. I’ve never had a Canvas Page like it before. — Anonymous HIST-301 student

 

  • Nora Rivera, Assistant Professor | ENG-380-01

I appreciate that Dr. Rivera fully utilizes all of Canvas’s features. She has very clear, effective instructions on her page including the syllabus, assignments, grades, etc. Everything is easy to navigate because of the way she’s organized it. It allows for her to give us concise, detailed feedback as well; she annotates our discussions and essays with great detail. — Julia K., ENG-380 student

  • Barbara Smith, Lecturer | ANTH-321-01

[Canvas is} super pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate as a student! — Anonymous ANTH-321 student