By Melissa Greenwald
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – Camden County College will switch its learning management system from WebStudy to Canvas in time for the summer 2019 term.
Student Cameron Dubrow checks his Webstudy account while at his job. By Melissa Greenwald, CCC Journalism Program
The Camden County College Board of Trustees approved the selection of Canvas as the new learning management system on Tuesday. A multiyear contract was put in place so an immediate migration to the Canvas platform could begin.
The college needed to switch to a new system because WebStudy is set to go out of business in June. The college expects to begin using Canvas in the summer 2019 term.
Many Camden County College courses use the learning management system, which enables students to receive lessons, submit assignments, take examinations and participate in discussions online.
Before the Board of Trustees selected Canvas, all full-time faculty members had to attend presentations, conduct product research and provide feedback on three options for the new learning management system. The options were Blackboard, Canvas and Desire2Learn. A representative from each company gave a presentation about their learning management system and its abilities.
Rich Dolan, the director of computer graphics and computer systems technology at Camden County College, said he had his eye set on another program. “I liked Canvas the best. It seemed to be the most intuitive of the three.”
Canvas, Blackboard and Desire2Learn are already used by many colleges and universities in the area. For example, Rutgers University uses Canvas as its primary learning management system.
“I personally have mixed feelings about the switch,” said Dolan.
He stated WebStudy had many issues that could raise alarm, including it was “hard to find students’ assignments after they were graded.” However, he said he was “used to it and pretty much knew where everything was.”
He added he was “looking forward to using the new features of the new system.”
Cameron Dubrow, a sophomore at Camden County College, said he “hopes Canvas is a better resource than WebStudy.”
“Not many of my classes use WebStudy as it is. In total I think I’ve only had really two or three out of my 18 some classes use it as intended,” said Dubrow.
About the switch, he noted, “as with all things you adjust as needed.”
As Camden County College moves from WebStudy to Canvas, college officials will soon provide training protocols and implementation details about the new platform to students and teachers.