Analyzing the Varieties of Educational Technology
It is crucial to examine the available options to choose which educational technology would be the most excellent match to incorporate into the organization for learning and teaching purposes. To do this, one must comprehend the significance of technology in education and consider the benefits each sort of technology offers.
Part 1
Explaining Technology
Online classrooms offering online learning management systems are a potential form of this technology. It provides a medium for constant communication between the professor and the class. The teacher may provide pupils remote access to supplementary online materials by uploading files to a server. In addition to providing access to course materials, it also facilitates the assessment of student performance and feedback exchange between instructors and students. My analysis will focus on the differences and similarities between two popular learning management systems, Canvas LMS and Blackboard LMS. Canvas is a free, adaptable LMS that can be modified to meet the specific needs of nurses (Canvas, n.d.). Blackboard is an LMS that can support several independently configured portals. Learners and classes are managed separately (Blackboard, n.d.).
Feature, Capability, and Benefit
Version 1 (Canvas):
Version 2 (Blackboard):
Applicability
Using the Canvas mobile applications
Available through the Blackboard app.
Functional simplicity
Shortcut keys
Toolbars
Subject matter.
Link submissions
Customized class discussions, tests, and homework.
Shortcut keys
Toolbars
Subject matter.
Link submissions
Customized class discussions, tests, and homework.
Costs
Virtually free
Educators may purchase a license for $300 per year. The cost to the whole division is $900.
It is important to note that optional add-ons come with additional costs.
User evaluations
4.10/5
3.60/5
Assessments
Capability to create, give, and evaluate examinations.
Tailored examinations
Timed exams
Capability to create, give, and evaluate examinations.
Tailored examinations
Timed exams
Distinguishing Characteristics
Portfolium
Canvas studios
Virtual classrooms
Certifications
Management development
Staff experience
Teamwork
Short cooperative apparatuses.
Comprehensive cooperative alternatives.
Cooperation in real-time during evaluations
Analytics
Budget-friendly access to data analysis
Methods and apparatus for studying how students engage with instructional materials
Finding out which student needs extra help.
The analytics section requires payment.
Scatter plots are useful for educators in analyzing data.
Examine the results of various pupils.
Grading
In specific classrooms, students’ work may be graded by their peers and teachers.
Grading may be done in an anonymous manner
Enables for annotations
Making use of peer review to assign grades.
Self-assessments
Refrain from giving feedback.
Gives feedback.
Anonymous characteristics
Offline contents
An export function is available for the files.
Unless otherwise restricted, you may download files in ebook formats.
Web accessibility for tutors to grade.
Support
Help with emails.
Online conversation in real-time.
Getting in touch with someone by phone.
Provides help over the internet.
Real-time chit-chat.
Service by telephone is available.
Students enrolled in courses like those that do not need creating may not see the effects of features like the ability to add graphics and videos to canvas presentations. For instance, students attending business classes that do need video editing and explanations may not benefit, but they may gain from other elements like the presentation of the course materials. Additionally, while examinations and tests may be taken in classrooms, blackboard features like the ability to show assignments and tests have minimal influence. However, they are handier for students taking online courses. According to Nubatonis (2021), the canvas offers the staff great assistance and encouragement by making it easier to create presentations professionally.
On the other hand, the chalkboard is a more conducive setting for student-teacher interaction in terms of grading, dialogue, and data management. The comparison of the two technologies is predicated on the premise that it is a powerful tool for enhancing postsecondary education. Technology is a tactical instrument that may be utilized to achieve an organization’s strategic objectives. Given that this assumption may change over time and impact prior decisions, those decisions may be impacted.
Benefits and Limitations of Comparing Similar Educational Technologies
The comparison is essential because it allows for an evaluation of which of the two comparable technologies has the most outstanding qualities for the advancement of learning. It helps figure out what kinds of technological resources will help different schools accomplish their missions with the fewest resources expended possible (Rapanta et al.,2020). The drawback of contrasting two similar technologies is that it is only possible to determine which one is more successful if a study is conducted on how well children use both technologies. Therefore, to get valuable results from both technologies, teachers should conduct a poll comparing their pros and downsides so that students may make an informed choice.
Canvas is an online learning management system (LMS) that allows teachers and students to effortlessly communicate and collaborate on course materials and tasks such as tracking grades, keeping track of who is enrolled in a class and when, and submitting and receiving assignments (Rapanta et al.,2020). Canvas is built in a manner that aids in making online education more manageable. The Canvas learning management system has several tools available. It guarantees that content on the platform may be seen without any hassle. It also aids users in understanding the platform’s key features (Rapanta et al.,2020). The Canvas Commons repository is a fundamental feature of the platform. Teachers benefit from this resource since they may customize it with questions and lessons for their students. Documents may be made and saved with the aid of this application (Rapanta et al.,2020). This function is an instructor’s greatest friend while developing new lessons.
This system does more than just let you build a course; it also facilitates data exchange between faculty and students (Rapanta et al.,2020). As a result, a teacher may distribute the curriculum throughout all the divisions that report to the central university. The Canvas module may organize course content into modules (Rapanta et al.,2020). This is a helpful feature for educators who want to provide requisites for each lesson unit in a program. In this manner, pupils will only be allowed to go on to the following unit if they have finished the required work. The resulting tool streamlines the process of evaluating students’ work. Educators may use the result tool with their grading requirements (Rapanta et al.,2020). Therefore, this function aids in maintaining rigorous standards for evaluating pupils’ performance.
Canvas has quizzes that may be used to test and improve one’s knowledge. With the quiz function, teachers may easily make their tests for their pupils. The quiz, however, should follow various guidelines (Rapanta et al.,2020). It may consist of multiple-choice questions or require pupils to write lengthy essays. The quiz taker can receive a mark upon completion or receive no grade at all. The student may take the test at leisure, or it might have a time limit.
In order to get a grade, students must complete the assigned tasks successfully. Canvas’s Gradebook is used for both bringing in and sending out grades. The grade is a program that works with student information systems to automate the recording of grades in comma-separated values (CSV) files (Rapanta et al.,2020). Canvas can keep track of teachers’ daily routines because of its built-in machine-learning capabilities. Assigning work on Canvas is simple: it takes only a few clicks.
Virtual education can only succeed with a straightforward interface. Many web browsers can use the Canvas components app (Rapanta et al.,2020). Access to reliable internet service is crucial for online classrooms. Canvas has a reliability of 99.99%. Each of the Canvas platforms is monitored by a dedicated crew that works around the clock to keep them running smoothly. Canvas provides customer service through email, mobile phone calls, and real-time chat. A ticketing mechanism is also available for handling client complaints (Rapanta et al.,2020). The customer service representative works diligently around the clock and provides speedy replies to enhance customers’ learning experiences and resolve any problems with the Canvas system.
The Canvas learning management system (LMS) works with various gadgets (Rapanta et al.,2020). Canvas has some drawbacks, but so does every other learning management system. The studying and teaching experience on this platform has been hampered by several well-known issues, including:
When the due date for an assignment is not midnight, it will be automatically erased.
Sound recording issues encountered by users.
Only when instructors respond will kids’ messages be saved.
We are too busy to take on any more projects as a team.
There is a need for the grading system to be enhanced.
However, instead of viewing them as flaws in the system, they can be seen as areas that could use some tweaking (Rapanta et al.,2020). Rapid progress is being made in the field of software development. Therefore, fixing the issues with the Canvas LMS interface should be relatively easy.
Blackboard allows teachers to centralize student grade information. Teachers may perform students’ grading and automatically compute marks for students who upload or share information to a Google Doc (Rapanta et al.,2020). There could not be a better repository for such information. Since Blackboard cannot process huge files, it has some restrictions regarding content delivery and grading student work. Furthermore, its capacity to monitor student engagement could be improved. The most recent login date and time will be visible to teachers, but they will not be able to monitor the student’s progress.
The Applications of Technologies
The canvas is ideal for students enrolled in practical programs like nursing since it allows for the presentation of equipment used in the industry. Canvas could assist nursing students with learning more about practical skills and how to use them correctly in the field. The Blackboard platform is handy for students enrolled in online courses since it facilitates online course evaluation, two-way communication between students and teachers, and the provision of graded and graded-for-review assignments and exams (Chang et al.,2020). Schools are increasingly adopting both technologies to accommodate students from various disciplines. Some have found that students in practical courses benefit more from Canvas than those in theoretical courses.
How to include technology in the nursing education curriculum?
Canvas technology may be employed in nursing programs like family nursing, where the tutors can use the canvas to illustrate various practical lessons relevant to the curriculum (Thapa et al.,2022). Tutors could utilize a canvas while instructing students since it allows them to review what they learned in class at their own pace. In the family nursing program, the blackboard may enable students to communicate with their tutors about any areas in which they may be having difficulties and to provide and receive feedback from other students and instructors (Chen et al.,2020). The student’s performance and engagement in the learning process may be improved by incorporating both technologies into the family nursing curriculum. The technologies also positively affect learning since they provide teachers adequate time to evaluate their students.
Part 2
Assumptions
The comparison in the chart was helpful since it considered the needs of both students and teachers while selecting an online classroom. The ratings and costs help determine which technological setup has the best chance of being widely adopted. Finding the benefits and drawbacks of each method is another benefit. The chart also compares the available help options in the event of system failures. This table has the drawback that people’s impressions of the two LMS versions vary greatly.
Additionally, these two variants may be helpful in certain classes while failing miserably in others. Some nursing students may find it more convenient to use the built-in mathematical formulae on a blackboard than on Canvas. As a result, the question of which variant is better in which circumstances cannot be answered with complete accuracy using this comparison.
The comparison may provide light on the proportion of users who identify as nurses or who are interested in pursuing nursing education. There is also a need for more details on the different versions’ adaptability and any necessary training. For the sake of this comparison, we will assume that the ratings supplied are correct and that everyone will have the same experience. Moreover, the success of the technology would depend on its widespread adoption by teachers and pupils. It has also been expected that all the students and lecturers would already be familiar with and able to use all the significant features and technology platforms efficiently.
Analysis
Bachelor of Science in Nursing candidates gained the most from the Canvas platform. This is because BSN students are required to complete a mix of theoretical and applied tasks, all of which need frequent quizzes, tests, and teacher grading. Students benefit most from offline material in this scenario since it allows convenient file access without requiring a mobile app (Vats, 2022). Second, in contrast to Blackboard, Canvas makes grading considerably more efficient for teachers by letting them annotate and remark directly on student work (Vats, 2022). They would have an efficient way to provide timely feedback without having to meet individually with each kid. Canvas also provides free analytics tools to assist teachers in determining which students in their nursing classes need further support (Vats, 2022). This conclusion is grounded on survey data collected from institutions using Canvas for nursing education, in which respondents reported feeling more confident after taking the initiative. Teachers’ workloads were lightened thanks to this change since the online template could be adapted to meet the specific requirements of both students and teachers.
References
Blackboard. (n.d.). Educational Technology Services | Blackboard | North America. https://www.blackboard.com/
Canvas. (n.d.). Canvas.com by Instructure | Landing Page. Instructure. https://www.instructure.com/canvas
Chang, C. Y., Hwang, G. J., & Gau, M. L. (2022). Promoting students’ learning achievement and self‐efficacy: A mobile chatbot approach for nursing training. British Journal of Educational Technology, 53(1), 171-188. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13158
Chen, J. C., Dobinson, T., & Kent, S. (2020). Students’ Perspectives on the Impact of Blackboard Collaborate on Open University Australia (OUA) Online Learning. Journal of Educators Online, 17(1), n1. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1241569
Gonzalez, E. (2022, May 19). Canvas vs. Blackboard Learn: Which Is Better? The Motley Fool. https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/small-business/learning-management/canvas-vs-blacboard/
Nubatonis, O. E. (2021). Pelatihan Pembuatan Video Pembelajaran Dengan Aplikasi Bandicam dan Screencast O-Matic. Jurnal Nasional Pengabdian Masyarakat, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.47747/pengabdiankepadamasyarakat.v2i1.255
Rapanta, C., Botturi, L., Goodyear, P., Guàrdia, L., & Koole, M. (2020). Online university teaching during and after the Covid-19 crisis: Refocusing teacher presence and learning activity. Postdigital science and education, 2(3), 923–945. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42438-020-00155-y
Thapa, P., Bhandari, S. L., & Pathak, S. (2021). Nursing students’ attitude on the practice of elearning: A cross-sectional survey amid COVID-19 in Nepal. PloS one, 16(6), e0253651. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253651
Vats, I. (2022, September 30). Canvas vs. Blackboard: Which is the Winner? https://www.selecthub.com/learning-management/canvas-vs-blackboard/
