Canvas Studio Assessment

Project Summary & Background

Academic Technology Initiatives (ATI) undertook a light assessment of Canvas Studio, motivated in part by results from the Academic Technology (AT) Survey distributed in February 2024. The satisfaction scores for the tool were mixed, with lower scores than for Canvas, Classroom Capture, and Zoom. Because the user groups for Studio are lower, free response comments on the tool were limited. Therefore, we undertook an assessment of Canvas Studio to confirm if the mixed results could be due to the lower response rates or if there are user pain points we could address. 

Approach 

The ATI team analyzed results from the AT Survey and followed up with respondents to obtain more detailed feedback on their usage of Canvas Studio. We met with the Learning Design Group to gather information on the group’s experience working with faculty who use Studio for online courses. We also conducted a thorough review of helpdesk tickets related to Studio, aiming to assess the nature of the issues reported by users. The date range for Studio cases spanned March 2020 to September 2024. Meeting with the Training and Consulting Lead for the Academic Technology Consultants provided further context on the help desk tickets and additional information on issues or limitations with Canvas Studio that arose during training sessions and consultations. To gain understanding of Studio usage and issues from the student perspective, we consulted with a Student Business Analyst who shared their experiences completing Canvas Studio assignments and quizzes.         

Findings and Conclusions

Key limitations that we identified in this assessment include issues with tracking student participation in video assignments, the inability to allow private annotations on videos and confusion regarding the sharing of video content. Additional follow-up with faculty revealed the need for subfolders to organize videos and more precise methods of embedding quizzes. Overall, the feedback was generally positive, with users appreciating Canvas Studio’s ease of use and integration with the LMS.

Quotes from faculty:

• “I think Canvas Studio is a very useful tool, especially for asynchronous learning, and I think OIT itself has done a great job supporting instructors who use it with their guides and training sessions.”
• "I think Canvas Studio is much simpler than using an outside video program such as Playposit. Everything is already part of Canvas; no need to download, convert, upload."
• "I greatly appreciate having access to it even if I don’t use much of its functionality. It makes life way easier than trying to teach students to upload a video to a storage site like YouTube prior to submitting an assignment."

As evidenced by the last quote, some faculty acknowledged that they have not used all the functionality available in Canvas Studio. In some cases they cited not having adequate time and resources to develop course materials that incorporate pedagogical methods better suited for online learning.

The Canvas Product Roadmap appears to address some of the faculty-reported limitations, particularly with viewing analytics and video organization. Studio Release Notes (2025-01-06) further explains the enhancements. With the transition from Kaltura to Canvas Studio now complete, ongoing monitoring of Studio-related support tickets and follow-up with late adopters can uncover additional trends and enhance OIT’s training and support services.

Project Participants