The following piece is an opinion and does not reflect the views of The Eagle and its staff. All opinions are edited for grammar, style and argument structure and fact-checked, but the opinions are the writer’s own.
As a junior at American University, I spend up to fifteen hours a week on homework and assignments. While this volume of work in and of itself is challenging, one thing makes it all the more difficult: Canvas. Well, sort of. Canvas is not truly the issue here. The problem is how each professor uses the learning management platform so differently. The structural differences between Canvas pages across classes only add to confusion and anxiety around assignments. This seemingly small gripe reflects a greater culture of online disorganization and IT issues at AU.
Each week, I make a to-do list with all the assignments I must complete. From reading textbook chapters to submitting homework and reminding myself to go to office hours, I use this list as an outline for the week. However, it is extremely difficult to compile without feeling like I’ve forgotten a class or an assignment.
For some of my classes, the schedule is at the end of the syllabus, with weekly labels and suggested paces. For others, the professor uses the modules or assignments tab to lay out the units and due dates chronologically; for others still, a Google Doc or webpage linked to the Canvas homepage is where the assignments are listed; and worst of all, there are the professors that seldom use Canvas and verbally share assignments far too close to the due date. All this is to say that the disunity of professors’ Canvas pages makes it much more challenging for students to stay up to date on assignments and course topics.
Research has found a positive link between organization and reducing anxiety. Yet, staying organized is far more difficult when each class’ Canvas page has its own hyper-specific layout and structure. Looking at the files tab for one class, the syllabus tab for another and the modules for the next is difficult to remember and navigate.
Beyond the nonuniform structure of Canvas pages, IT issues at AU are commonplace. Professors often cannot connect to the projector, have regular audio issues and deal with locked modules and assignments on Canvas. These and many other scenarios prove that something is wrong with how this school handles technology.
The average AU student can expect to pay around $40,000 per year in tuition after aid. For such a hefty price, it should not be unrealistic to expect cohesive Canvas pages and professors who have adequate resources and education on the technology they work with. Each time a professor has to call an IT worker to turn on the projector or bring a dongle for their computer, class time is interrupted and learning is interfered with.
This column is not intended to call out professors or shame them for technological issues. For an adjunct who teaches one class per semester, for example, it is more than reasonable for them not to know how to connect to a 1990s-esque projector in Kerwin Hall. The responsibility to educate faculty on how to work each classroom’s technology and create an accessible Canvas page, then, falls upon the administration. It is a disservice to AU students, who pay considerable money to study here, to have their classes and work interrupted by technical difficulties and Canvas pages that feel like a maze to navigate.
As time progresses, higher education is predicted to become even more reliant on online technologies and platforms such as Canvas I believe. AU can’t continue to allow professors to be so technologically challenged if students are to reach their full potential and get the most out of their education.
The first step to remediating this issue is creating a more robust, cohesive and modernized technology policy. It is also vital to provide all professors with adequate training to utilize the University’s existing technology. For the AU students reading this, do not undersell the disservice IT-based interruptions are to your education. Bringing attention to this issue will only help the administration and staff recognize its significance.
Addie DiPaolo is a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and a columnist for The Eagle.
This article was edited by Quinn Volpe, Alana Parker and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks, Olivia Citarella and Emma Brown.
