One looming question has lingered around Wayne Hills for the start of this school year: What is Canvas?

The 2024-2025 school year got off to a bit of a rocky start due to Canvas replacing Google Classroom, leaving students and teachers wondering how to use it. Students have had many questions and concerns about this new installation, but there seem to be three reoccurring problems that students run into when using Canvas.

1. Teacher’s Aren’t Using It

Many students at Wayne Hills High School have found that teachers have been reverting to using paper and pencil for assignments more than they have in the past years. Google Classroom was an app that everyone was familiar with, making it easy for teachers to post their lessons and kids could easily follow along. However, since both teachers and students aren’t as familiar with Canvas, teachers seem to not want to risk wasting time and many seem to find it easier to hand out assignments on paper. Alise Pauksena, a senior, told me, “I definitely have been having more paper assignments in class now that we switched to Canvas. Most of my teachers think its easier to use paper than try to get all students on the same page with Canvas.”

2. Students Can’t See Their To-Do Assignment

A popular complaint with the new addition of Canvas has been that students have trouble finding upcoming assignments. With Google Classroom, each classroom page had the upcoming assignments listed under the course name so that students could easily see when their homework was due. Unfortunately, the upcoming assignments are not listed under the course page for Canvas, causing for lots of confusion about due dates for students. Angie Vera, a senior, shared with me, “I liked how Google Classroom had a reminder for your assignments. I feel like a lot of kids have missed assignments because Canvas doesn’t seem to tell you when assignments are due.”

3. Student’s Just Don’t Know How To Use It

Ultimately, the main problem students and teachers are facing with Canvas is that people just don’t know how to use it. Google Classroom was an application that students and teachers have been using for years, allowing it to become a second language for most kids. Students feel that they haven’t been properly taught how to use Canvas, making it harder to do their work. Rebecca Suiffe, a junior, shared, “I just don’t know the layout or where anything is. I’d rather just use Google Classroom since I have been using it for years.”

As the year goes on, hopefully, students and teachers will become more familiar with Canvas. While there have been many reoccurring issues, slowly but surely students can catch up with how to use this new app. Otherwise, the school year will definitely be a year filled with assignments on paper.