PLATFORM AUDIT

Canvas
BY INSTRUCTURE

Tara Grier
Sydney Chandler
Introduction
The implementation of new media in everyday life
has reached beyond social and amusement
purposes. Now, and in 2020-2021 more than ever,
new media technologies and platforms are
essential to students’ learning. K-12 and college
students alike use platforms like Blackboard,
Schoology, and Canvas to learn, track their grades,
and communicate with educators. With the
addition of the pandemic, we’ve been able to see
just how vital technology and these platforms are
to modern education.
Canvas, founded by Instructure, has been uniquely
successful. Canvas is a website and app that offers
various educational tools to students and
educators. Institutions purchase the service for
their staff and students to use campus-wide to
create a universal learning experience. Interacting
with this platform can mean as little as checking
your grades, or as much as watching lectures,
participating in discussion posts, and creating
content. The platform began in 2008, and has
quickly dominated the online education space in
the last thirteen years. In 2008, two graduate
students turned Instructure into a viable startup.
 The next year, the pre-canvas tour went to metro
(Geo Metro). In 2010, Instructure took on a new
CEO, Josh Coates. Also in this year, Instructure
became the state-wide LMS for all Utah schools
and universities. In 2011, Instructure finally
launched Canvas. Canvas then began offering
open, online courses for everyone in all locations
just a year later. In 2014, they moved their
headquarters and by 2015 Canvas was
international. 2016 launched Canvas Studio, and
hit the $1 Billion market cap a year later. Also in
2017, Canvas acquired Practice, a video learning
tool. In 2019, Canvas surpassed 30 million global
users. Finally, in 2020, Thoma Bravo and Steve
Daly joined in leadership positions and Instructure
acquired Certica Solution
.Canvas is represented as a participatory platform.
They do this by emphasizing the use of student
and educator communication through various
media, student interactions, discussion boards,
and even offers a personal profile option that
resembles that of a social media app.
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canvas
statistics

99.9%
ANNUAL SYSTEM UPTIME

5,000
CUSTOMERS IN OVER 70
COUNTRIES

100%
NATIVE CLOUD
CONFIGURATION

03
 platform
walkthrough
The first page you see greets
you with the Canvas logo and
"find my school" button
In the Side menu, there is a section
where a student can select their
profile picture.
The Student Dashboard is the
first tab that shows up as soon
as opening the mobile
application. This houses all of
the student’s classes from all of
their past and present classes.
There is an option to hide the
old class in the edit tab.
Students can select their
favorite or current courses to
always be viewed.
Notifications are stored under one tab
for all of the classes for the given
semester. This tab will give you updates
on subscribed on discussion boards as
well as notes on assignments and
emails.

Within the Canvas, there is a direct
messaging system akin to the average
emailing application. A notification
pops up as a red bubble with a white
number inside of it above the tab that is
notifying the student.
When you have nothing
planned for a day, Canvas
suggests you take the day to
recharge.
Course Homepage that is
available to show all of the
major tabs within a class.
Calendar showing all the due dates of
future assignments. These cross off
when an assignment is submitted or
marked as such by the user. There are
different views, both weekly and
monthly listings.
A student can customize their class
from their side to make each class fit
into their comfort level. This ranges
from selecting the color that their
courses show up as to giving each
one a nickname.
Modules fall under every class
that show sections of the class
either daily, weekly, or month.
 Teachers and Professors can
The groups tab shows all the groups
place videos of pre-recorded
students were put into for every class in
lectures for missed and online
one spot for easy access.
classes.

Grading Periods Tab with listings of

The grading system automatically weighs assignments that need to be or have
the grades out and shows an accurate been completed.
percentage. This section has all past and
future assignments that teachers and
professors post. Within the grading system,
there is a section labeled “What if?” In this
tally, students can see what their grade
would be like if they had gotten an “80%”
instead of a “90%” on their assignments.

Discussions can be pinned and

subscribed to. This is so students,
teachers, and professors can receive
notifications on their devices that tell There is a chat feature where you can
them who commented and where speak with group mates, classmates,
they did. These boards are often used and professors about class
for shorter assignments and as an easy assignments.
way to leave feedback.

Some boards have hidden replies

until the student replies as an anti-
cheating method.
 Analysis

I. Relationships and Collaboration

Upon opening Canvas, a student can easily find four different methods of communication between
themselves, educators, and fellow students. The inbox, discussions tab, chat function, and
conferences are all easily accessible and navigated to. This array of various avenues of
communication displays the vitality of collaboration in education environments. Canvas makes a point
to provide both written and video communication between all its members. You are also easily able to
see every student in each of your classes. This provides an openness among classmates. Students
can message each other for collaborative purposes, or even just asking a peer a question about
class. The “groups” tab allows students to be put in groups for group projects and workshops, making
collaborative work much easier.

Collaboration between students, peers, and educators being such a ubiquitous value displayed on
Canvas is important because it shows Canvas directly rejecting the concept that learning is a solitary
activity. This helps eliminate toxic competitiveness among students, barriers between educators and
students, and students’ feelings of isolation. By providing channels of communication, it’s much easier
for students to reach out for help and to form relationships with their peers and educators. This benefits
everyone involved. By having such a strong focus on communication, Canvas enriches the online
learning experience. Even when in-person, it is sometimes easier for students to ask questions through
a written message rather than approach an educator in the classroom. Canvas offers various ways for
students to do this and receive the help they need.

By introducing students to the importance of collaboration, Canvas also helps to prepare them for the
workplace. Rather than teaching students to work alone, to care only about their grades, it’s much more
effective to stress the importance of succeeding as a group. This approach by Canvas is both innovative
and productive in a multitude of ways.
 II. Learning styles, Organization &
Productivity
Canvas offering various methods of learning: video lectures, transcripts of those lectures,
readings, and other forms of media exhibits an awareness of different learning styles.
Canvas accommodates many of these learning styles. This is an indication that Canvas
values students’ success. This, too, veers away from traditional teaching methods in which
students are expected to learn one specific way.

Another way Canvas contributes to student success is their apparent dedication to

organization and productivity. Modules for each class are ordered chronologically and
sorted by week so students are able to easily access work from previous weeks or even
work ahead. This also allows for students to better follow the timeline of the class and be
more aware of how far into the semester they are. This, along with the other organizational
tools Canvas offers, like the calendar, helps to manage time, leading to student success.
Class times and assignments are automatically placed in students’ calendars, and they may
add or alter it to what works best for them. On days where there aren’t any events in the
calendar, there is an animated panda relaxing telling the student to to take the day to rest
and recharge. While this is a small gesture, it is one that at least acknowledges the
importance of mental health and rest.

The blue and white color scheme strengthens the themes of orderliness and tranquility while
the red notifications for the “to-do” tab and inbox contrast that with a sense of urgency. The “to-
do” tab also assists students in organization, and notifies them of both late and upcoming
assignments. By offering diverse methods of learning and organization, Canvas assists is
student success.
 III. Personalized Experience

There are several ways students can personalize their experience on the Canvas app. The
first and most obvious is by adding a profile picture to your account. This helps put faces to
names among classmates and professors, especially while learning online. There’s also a
sense of identity that comes with having a profile picture--choosing the way you want
everyone online to see you. This function is somewhat new to educational environments.

Another way Canvas allows students to customize their experience is by assigning each class
a color. This contributes to expression as well as organization. Color-coding is proven to be a
successful organization tactic, and choosing a color to represent each class can be both fun
and helpful to students’ learning. Students are also able to choose whether or not their grade
percentage is visible on their dashboard. This helps them manage the app aesthetically, but
also may help manage anxiety. Students can also manage what classes are shown on their
dashboard. They can prioritize some by starring them with the “edit” tool, and hide others.

Through all of these personalization tools, Canvas gives students a

sense of control over their education and how they interact with the app.
These tools also further the emphasization on organization for students.
 IV. Impact on Students &
Educators

Online platforms like Canvas have become more and more crucial to education. Especially with the
outbreak of COVID in 2020, learning moved almost entirely online. Canvas quickly became a
necessity. It became the main source of communication between students and educators. Adapting
to this new way of learning has almost made us accustomed to it. Returning to physical classrooms
will be an adjustment, while Canvas will remain a familiar tool.

Will Canvas impact how we interact in physical education spaces? Even prior to the pandemic,
students generally stopped turning things in physically and began to turn to canvas/blackboard to
submit electronically. Some find this less personal, but it makes it easier for students to receive grades
and feedback in a timely manner and to communicate with their professors when they have questions.
Not to mention, the less paper that is printed and used, the better for the environment.

A lot of the topics discussed--personalization and communication specifically--aid students in having a

sense of control over their education. Canvas also provides students with a voice. The power to
communicate with an entire class, or even just your professor, on a regular basis with just a click of a
button is powerful. Students are able to reach out for help, air any grievances about the class, or find a
way to collaborate for everyone’s success.

Applying
Gillespie
In The Politics of Platforms, Tarleton Gillespie describes
platforms, saying, “Like other structural metaphors (think
‘network’, ‘broadcast’ or ‘channel’) the term depends on
a semantic richness that, though it may go unnoticed by
the casual listener or even the speaker, gives the term
discursive resonance” (Gillespie, 2010). Gillespie goes
on to define four semantic territories that the term
platform has denoted in the past. These categories are
computational, architectural, figurative and political. We
are able to apply each of these categories to Canvas as
a platform.
I. Computational
Computational platforms are defined as “...an
infrastructure that supports the design and use
of particular applications, be they computer
hardware, operating systems, gaming devices,
mobile devices or digital disc formats” (Gillespie,
2010). Canvas is primarily focused on the
computational definition of a platform. Canvas is
an online platform for teachers, professors, and
students. This gives teachers and professors a
way to reach out to their students in a structured
manner since Canvas is on the internet, it does
not require everyone to be in the same place.
Canvas as a computational platform works as
both an app and website created through
complex code. The platform is reached through
laptops, PCs, phones, and other devices
connected to the internet. Further, Canvas was
created by Instructure, Inc. This company plays
a large role into how Canvas was made, but
also how it is continuously updated. It’s worth
nothing that Canvas isn’t the only online
educational platform. Other successful
examples include Schoology and Blackboard.
These are Canvas’ largest competitors.
Canvas is largely a computational platform. It
lives online, through computer screens and
apps. However, this is not the only definition
of platform that is applicable to Canvas.
II.Architecural
To contrast the concept of a computational
platform, the architectural platform refers to
physical, tangible platforms. “In this sense
‘platform’ has been broadly used to describe
human-built or naturally formed physical
structures, whether generic or dedicated to a
specific use…”(Gillespie, 2010). While Canvas
is fully online, it has a physical presence and
platform in the offline world as well.
Canvas’ architectural platform exists in the
physical offices and headquarters where people
are working on and building this online
educational space. This is where perhaps the
most important decisions are made on design,
values, and missions that directly impact the
way we as end users later interact with the
platform. Even though we only see the result,
there is a very present architectural platform for
Canvas behind the scenes.
Another way Canvas manifests itself physically
is how it impacts how we interact with each
other in in-person classrooms. Canvas is used
in class to navigate the lesson plans, explain
assignments, present, and many other ways.
Not only this, but even students and educators
who aren't actively engaging in Canvas in class
are often affected by their prior use of the
platform. Because we are so used to handing in
assignments online, through applications like
Canvas, and are so accustomed to
communicating through Canvas-- there is
sometimes less face-to-face interaction between
and among educations and students.
Canvas is not limited to the online space. In
more ways than one, Canvas is a prevalent
architectural platform as well.

III. Figurative
To explore Canvas as a platform further,
refer to Gillespie’s definition of a figurative
platform. This is described as, “the ground,
foundation, or basis of an action, event,
calculation, condition, etc. Now also: a
position achieved or situation brought about
which forms the basis for further
achievement” (OED, 2006). In order to
evaluate Canvas as a figurative platform, it is
imperative to consider its foundation.
Canvas, as mentioned above, was created
by Instructure Inc. in 2011. Instructure itself
was founded in 2008 by two graduate
students. This is a platform made for
students and educators by students. These
students were familiar with their own
experiences as students and built a platform
that would support future students.
Instructure started as a Learning
Management System that quickly took over
Utah, then national, and international
education spaces.
Part of Canvas’ foundation is Instructure. If
we look further back, it is reasonable to
consider the history of education systems,
specifically in the United States, as their
foundation. Without a developed education
system, Canvas wouldn’t have a blueprint.
The progression of the education system
gave Canvas a starting point, and its failures
or flaws gave it a reason to exist. Finally,
part of Canvas’ foundation is the evolution
of other interactive online platforms.
Because we interact so much online in a
social environment, the same concept was
applicable to education spaces.
Canvas doesn’t just have a foundation, it is a
foundation. As a figurative platform, Canvas
has the ability to lift up and be the foundation
for even more developed educational
technology.
Canvas offers online courses taught through
professors--is it possible that we may, in the
future, have courses taught entirely by
computers? Will we need in-person
classrooms at all? The future of what Canvas
can become, and what can come of that, is
infinite.
IV.Political
The final category of platform that Gillespie
identifies is a political platform. It is described
as, “We now refer to the issues a political
candidate or party endorses as their ‘platform’;
this usage first emerged from the more
architectural meaning, referring first to the
actual stage constructed for a candidate to
address an audience, from which they would
articulate their political beliefs”(Gillespie,
2010). While Canvas may not seem like a
political platform at first glance, it is arguable
that no platform is entirely neutral politically.
Canvas is not endorsing certain candidates or
policies, but they do have very clear values.
As described above, Canvas’ main values
seem to be organization, productivity, and
collaboration. This is to encourage student
success. To consider what the motive behind
these values may be, it was found that
Instructure’s second major platform is
Masteryconnect. It is defined by its own
website as “the assessment and curriculum
platform designed to show student learning in
an intuitive, visual way, so educators can focus
on what matters most—improving student
outcomes”. Canvas sets up students for
success in the ways they deem most effective,
to then be successful in their assessments by
Masteryconnect. Instructure defines improving
student outcomes as “what matters most”.
The stress on productivity and improved
outcomes is very reflective of the capitalistic
society we as U.S. residents live in. It is the
notion that above all, productivity and success
in predefined terms is what matters most. The
education system’s main goal is intended to be
to prepare students for the workplace, and
Canvas upholds this very well.

Applying
Conclusion
Gillespie
Instructure, the mother company founded
Canvas in 2008. Canvas is an idea that
came to fruition by two graduate students to
make learning more accessible and to have
everything in one place for both the
organization of students and those
educating them. This educational platform
quickly grew over the following years to
become one of the most sought after
learning management systems in the world
and the top LMS in North America. This
platform is for the advancement of
education and ease of access for both
students and educators alike. Categorizing
these findings in Gillespie’s definitions of a
platform from architectural, computational,
figurative, and political aided to deeper
understanding of Canvas as an educational
application as well as a participatory culture.
Jenkin's Definition
Jenkin’s definition of “Participatory Culture”
refers to the expressed artistic freedoms
with very little limitations. Jenkins states that
every culture is participatory however, the
levels of participation varies between them.
(Jenkins, 10) In this sense, the sharing of
content and distribution of content deeply
connects both sides of this participatory
media as well as students and their
educators. Jenkins idea of participatory
culture includes the idea of prosumers, or
producers and consumers of the media
content created.
Participatory and Not
Canvas is a platform that depends on both
of its participatory and non-participatory
actions. In many ways, Canvas does not
stray from being like several different media
platforms however, it completely differs in its
purpose. Canvas is not like traditional social
media applications since the primary focus
of the application is sharing education
media. Everyone utilizing this platform is a
prosumer. As students, completing
assignments, discussions boards, and
exams is both producing and consuming
media. Oh the other side, for educators it is
posting the assignments and grading them.
This alone makes Canvas participatory
because of how the media is shared. Unlike
other social media platforms, Canvas does
not have repost buttons or like buttons or
anything remotely similar so it is not a very
social experience and is instead more
focused on the individual experience. This
pulls it away from Jenkin’s idea of a truly
participatory platform.
Applying Chayko
When applying Chayko’s piece to Canvas
as a platform, it does not exactly fit the
standard idea of participatory. Since it is not
a traditional super connected platform like
Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, Canvas
could use a method to connect the
educators and the students more closely.
More often than not, the announcements
page or discussion boards can serve this
purpose. However, this can be easily
substituted by accessories like Zoom,
WebEx, or Discord which give the option for
conversations in and outside of the
scheduled class period if it has one.
This would aid in a deeper connection
between the students of the class with one
another making it a more deeply connected
platform that transcends a platform with an
educational focus. Since Chayko’s focus is
on an interconnected platform, Canvas
would need another method besides emails,
discussion boards, and announcements to
give the illusion of a more connected social
platform.

Applying vanDijck
In terms of what vanDijck has to say about
the traditional participatory platforms, the
culture of connectivity again differs from the
standard. Depending on which level a
student studies at, the feeling of
connectedness does not last long. Since
Canvas deals with classes, some can last
for a few hours and upwards to a year or
more. The connection between the
educators and students is not the same as it
is on social focused platforms. The primary
focus of this platform is education at the end
of the day. The advancement of learning will
cause all of the social interaction in this
application.

Applying Hogan
In Hogan’s article, the main purpose is to be
a curator of the platform and to show the
world the best side of yourself. Hogan has
the idea that the performance of the
individual is the contribution to the
participatory culture. It is hard to interact
with one another on Canvas outside of the
discussion boards, announcements, and
group assignments. This makes discussion
boards one of the most prominent “exhibits”
according to Hogan. Canvas as a whole has
made efforts to lessen the toxic competitive
spirit that some platforms may seem to
encourage. Canvas does the best job with
Hogan’s definition of participatory media.
Applying
Works Cited
Gillespie
Canvas Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.instructure.com/canvas

Chayko, M. (2021). Superconnected: The internet, digital media, and techno-social life.
Los Angeles: SAGE.
Dijck, J. V. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. New

York: Oxford University Press.

Gillespie, T. (2010). The politics of ‘platforms.’New Media & Society, 12(3),347–364.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444809342738

Hogan, B. (2010). The Presentation of Self in the Age of Social Media: Distinguishing
Performances and Exhibitions Online. Bulletin of Science, Technology &
Society.
Jenkins, H. (2018). Fandom, Negotiation, and Participatory Culture. A Companion to
Media Fandom and Fan Studies. Stories: They're Where Your Customers Share and
Discover Things