Case Study: Brown University boosts usability and student engagement with Instructure Canvas

Students and faculty speak, Brown University listens Canvas is the choice

Brown University faced a re-evaluation of its learning management strategy in 2010 after Blackboard announced the end of WebCT support; administrators worried their LMS technology wasn’t keeping pace. Brown ran a user-driven selection process—students, faculty and executive sponsors participated in focus groups, surveys and sandboxes—and chose Canvas from Instructure for its clean usability, integrated teaching-and-learning design and student-centered fit.

Instructure implemented Canvas with out-of-the-box mobile support, tight Google Apps integration, video/live chat features and open APIs that allowed campus extensions. That solution delivered strong community buy-in at Brown University, improved perceived usability and interoperability with campus systems and devices, and aligned the LMS with the university’s long-term needs.

Brown University

Catherine Zabriskie

Dir. of Academic Technology Services