Instructure today announced that 13 states have adopted its Canvas Learning Management Platform as a statewide solution to help students and teachers adapt to the challenges of returning to school during an unpredictable 2020-2021 school year.
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State education leaders are looking for partners with experience that can scale to meet their needs as they wrestle with the challenges of the global pandemic. Increasingly, these leaders have turned to Canvas to provide the needed digital foundation for learning that can quickly adapt to support classes whether they are in-person, online, or require a hybrid model. Consistent use of an LMS ensures a smoother transition for teachers and students as they return to school, and ensures parents can stay informed and involved in their children’s education.
“We have seen that Canvas creates a more equitable and consistent learning experience for students in the classroom and online whether it’s used to support a 2nd grade spelling assignment, an 8th grade algebra class, a 12th grade AP English class, or their bachelor’s degree honor’s thesis,” said Melissa Loble, chief customer experience officer at Instructure.
School districts across all 50 states use Canvas to meet the needs of their students and educators. Thirteen of these states offer Canvas as a statewide solution. State education leaders in Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming have implemented statewide agreements that allow every district in the state the opportunity to use Canvas. Wyoming and New Hampshire have made Canvas available for students from kindergarten through college.
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“We want to provide the right level of leadership and equity across the state, and it is especially important that this project supports educators in the field who interact with students on a daily basis,” said Tamara Van Wyhe, Division Director at Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. “The Canvas team understands that implementations don’t look the same for every state, and worked with us to strike the right balance ensuring our districts and educators got what they needed to support an excellent education for every student, every day.”
Other states such as Vermont and Virginia have adopted Canvas statewide for use across their virtual school programs to ensure consistency in the online experience. More than 1.5 million students across Texas use Canvas to support their learning journey through local district contracts; and the Texas Education Agency has partnered with Instructure to offer Canvas in support of statewide Reading Academies for educators.
“The Department’s investment in Canvas and Digital Engineers, our online experts, is a statewide strategy to support students, educators, and families as they engage in various forms of distance education,” said Jhone Ebert, State Superintendent of Public Instruction in Nevada. “This investment goes beyond the pandemic as it positions Nevada into the future. We now have a strategic and cohesive link with the Nevada System of Higher Learning.”
Canvas supports state education leaders by providing a platform based on open standards that encourage districts to integrate Canvas with other leading educational technologies. The open interoperability between platforms helps maximize instructional time so teachers are free to work with students individually, address their social or emotional needs, and differentiate or personalize instruction. Canvas also supports and enhances instructional strategies by helping measure student progress, instructional strategies, and curriculum effectiveness. It also offers a place for educators to address their own growth and professional development.
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