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Study Island vs Canvas

Last Updated: November 18th, 2024

Our analysts compared Study Island vs Canvas based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

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Product Basics

Study Island is an online learning platform that lets teachers individualize student learning through virtual, classroom or hybrid lessons. It combines technology with quality content and customizable teaching concepts to ensure higher success.

Teachers can increase student engagement and retention through game-based assignments, formative assessment tools and flexible, state-standardized learning modules. Analytics features allow teachers to track class progress and gain insight into student performance.

Canvas helps you create and deliver engaging courses to your students and track their progress in real time. It allows you to post course materials, assignments, quizzes and grades. Students can access these resources, submit their work and communicate with other team members.

You can host discussions through discussion boards and chat rooms, provide personalized feedback using SpeedGrader and track student progress with built-in analytics. Canvas integrates with third-party apps like Zoom, Webex and GoToMeeting, and offers three mobile apps, one each for teachers, students and parents.

User reviews about Canvas praise its smooth interface, real-time collaboration tools and course creation capabilities. Since pricing details aren't mentioned online, you can contact the vendor directly for more information.

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24/7 Live Support

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Product Insights

Monitor Progress: Ensure impactful, effective and continuous virtual learning though flexible classroom instruction. Gain insight into performance factors such as pace, grade and progress with intuitive data, like real-time progress dashboards and customizable reports.
Fill Gaps in Learning: Allow students to work only on what they need to. Provide opportunities for students to recover missing or incomplete skills and credits, and offer aid to those with poor academic performance through equivalent options, including accredited college courses.
Improve Knowledge Retention: Engage students through customizable lessons and tailor educational pathways to individual aptitude. Success coaches are available to communicate with students, families and teachers.
Provide a Complete Education: Teach students at every stage of their education, across all grades and skill levels.

Ensures Continuous Learning: Experience minimal disruptions with a 99.9% uptime. Say goodbye to unexpected crashes and keep your educational ecosystem reliable and accessible at all times.
Enriches Learning with Unlimited File Size: Upload as much audio, visuals and video content as you need to courses. File size is not limited, so you can provide comprehensive and engaging materials without worrying about storage constraints.
Strengthens Collaboration: If you’re looking to create collaborative learning experiences for your team, Canvas is the perfect LMS for you. Based on our analysis, it provides a variety of collaboration tools fully out of the box, such as discussion boards, content sharing, group chat, two-way messaging, and notes and annotations.
Ensures Consistency in Evaluations: Create centralized repositories of questions at account levels. For instance, you can create sub-account question banks to store assessments like basic grammar rules across various courses. This ensures consistency in evaluations across different classes, making it easier to access and administer assessments.
Offers a Flexible Pedagogy: Enable instructors to design classes around their preferred learning methods. That could mean standards-based grading, traditional grading, flipped learning, project-based learning and more.
Streamlines Corporate Training: Use Bridge LMS, Canvas’ corporate training solution, to meet your employee training needs. Create and track training programs, use built-in performance tools, integrate with HR systems and more.
Award-Winning LMS: Canvas ranks among our top 10 LMS software, alongside LMS giants like LearnUpon, Absorb LMS and Moodle. In the SelectHub Awards 2024 for the LMS category, it won best-in-class honors for assessments, collaboration, compliance, user management, gamification, and integrations and extensibility.

Digital Curriculum: Implement traditional and specialized core subject courses for elementary, middle and high school. Additional offerings include college entry courses, high school equivalency and advanced placement exams.
Language Options: Offer multiple language options for high school students to fulfill college criteria. ELL (English language learning) courses are also available for adults to improve proficiency in English listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Cognia Accreditation: Allow students to transfer credits to new institutions and receive universally recognized diplomas.
Growth Assistance Tools: Combine existing school data with NWEA, MAP and Renaissance integrations. Sort students by performance level to identify trends and stage interventions. Analyze student progress and responsiveness. Automatically detect potentially dangerous language in student work.
Custom Study Plan: Create custom assignments and lessons tailored to specific students, classes, subjects or events.
Shared Credentials: Use a single account to sign in into Clever, ClassLink, Google and Microsoft.
Grade Record: View individual reports and maintain course records. Auto-generate and fill templates.
Reading Eggspress For Pre K–6: Improve phonetics, spelling and syllable manipulation through engaging animations. Adjust lessons in spelling, sentences, words, letters and sounds based on knowledge level. Track and ensure completion of milestones with Lexile measure and growth charts.

Course Creation: Create new courses using built-in interactive tools. Add specific details like name, course code, due date, language, grading scheme, modules and sections, description and more.
- Announcements: Share key course information with everyone. Remind students of dates and tasks, point them to valuable resources, celebrate achievements and highlight events. You can include text, multimedia and files.
- Grades: Show grades as points, percentages and complete/incomplete. Filter and arrange Gradebook entries, automatically apply grades for missing/late work, and hide grades until you're ready to release them.
- People: Depending on permissions, add students, teachers, assistants and observers. Create student groups for group assignments, discussions and file sharing.
- Pages: Create interactive content like weekly updates, collaborative wikis or resource lists. Include text, multimedia and links, and allow students to contribute to specific pages.
- Files: Easily insert files into modules, assignments, discussions or pages. Share files with students or lock them until ready for download.
- Quizzes: Use the New Quizzes engine for diverse question types. If unavailable, use Classic Quizzes to achieve your objectives.
- Modules: Organize content by weeks and units. Add files, discussions, assignments, quizzes and more. Set prerequisites or lock modules until specific dates.
- New Analytics: Use the New Analytics tool to monitor who has viewed content and participated in assignments and identify students needing extra support.
Dashboard: View published/unpublished courses, access the calendar and upcoming events, start new courses, view grades, enable notifications and more.
Assignments: Include quizzes, graded discussions and various online submissions (files, images, text, URLs media). Assign to everyone or set different due dates for specific groups. Organize assignments into groups, weigh them by percentage, and enable Peer Review for student feedback.
Gradebook: Easily input and distribute grades using various methods, such as points, percentages, pass/fail, GPA scale and letter grades.
- Use SpeedGrader to assign grades and provide feedback efficiently.
- Automatically create columns in the Gradebook for assignments, discussions, quizzes, surveys and attendance tracking.
- View grades by grading periods, sort by due dates or student names, and apply specific filters for streamlined management.
- Download and grade assignments offline and calculate totals.
- Monitor grades across all courses, notify students of graded assignments and manage grade history.
- Customize grading curves, message students based on assignment status, leave private comments and excuse assignments when necessary.
Rubrics: Set custom or outcome-based assessment criteria to communicate quality expectations. Use rubrics to align learning outcomes, assess submissions in SpeedGrader and support non-scoring assessments for comprehensive grading.
Canvas Catalog: Integrate with Canvas Catalog to streamline course offerings.
- Easily bundle multiple courses into programs and enable registration for community education and professional development.
- Create branded sub-catalog listings for specific departments or organizations.
- Customize page templates for FAQs, contact info and individual course landing pages.
- Set up personalized certificates and automate their distribution.
- Allow students to track their progress with customized dashboards.
- Generate reports on course progress, registrations, revenue and enrollment trends.
- Offer hassle-free self-registration and self-paced courses with automated enrollment, payments and certificate distribution.
- Build, manage and customize courses and programs.
SpeedGrader: Quickly grade student submissions in one place with SpeedGrader. Use a simple point scale or detailed rubrics to assign grades, and accept various document formats and URLs to mark up assignments directly for feedback. Sort submissions by student, hide names for anonymous grading and track your progress. Easily view submission details, handle resubmissions and manage moderated assignments.
Intelligent Insights: Enhance teaching and learning effectiveness with Intelligent Insights, a premium analytics solution tailored for admins.
- Use AI and analytics to gather actionable data.
- Leverage conversational AI for quick ad hoc data requests and pre-built analytics for tracking goals such as course effectiveness and student success.
- Customize insights to pinpoint best practices, optimize LTI usage and address learning needs.
- Build custom dashboards and automate SQL queries to streamline data management and improve learner support.
- Identify courses that need improvement, notify instructors promptly and foster continuous improvement across teams.
Roll Call Attendance: Manage attendance in courses using the Attendance (Roll Call) tool, an external LTI app suitable for both online and face-to-face classes. Enabled at the account level, users can access it across all courses within your Canvas account.
Discussions: Communicate about course topics anytime. Create graded or casual discussions for idea exchange and problem-solving. Use threaded discussions for detailed topics and focused discussions for short exchanges.
Assessments: Administer assessments in the form of assignments, quizzes and discussions.
Assignments
- Allow students to submit assignments online through text entry, file uploads, media recordings, external tools, URLs or Canvas pages.
- Assign to individual students, groups or sections.
- Include a due date for Not Graded assignments, without providing points or grades.
Discussions
- Grade student responses to discussion topics.
- Assign to individual students, groups or sections.
Quizzes
- Conduct surveys or assess student comprehension of course content through quizzes.
- Assign to individual students or sections, but not to groups.
Collaboration: Teachers can communicate with individual students, groups or the entire class through messaging, audio notes, video and more. Students can work together via chat groups, video and other messaging tools.
Mobile App: Provide equal access to curriculum and instruction with native mobile apps for students, teachers and parents on iOS and Android devices.
Canvas Student: Enables students to access courses anytime, anywhere. They can:
- View grades and course content.
- Submit assignments.
- Keep track of coursework with a to-do list and calendar.
- Send and receive messages.
- Post to discussions, take quizzes and watch videos.
- Receive notifications for new grades and course updates.
Canvas Teacher: Helps teachers manage their courses anywhere, both in and out of the classroom. This app offers quick access to three main tasks:
- Browse submissions and give feedback to students with the enhanced mobile SpeedGrader.
- Send announcements and messages (like "Message Students Who..."), and join course discussions quickly.
- Change due dates, publish assignments and correct misspellings directly from your phone.
Canvas Parent: Allows parents to see their child's educational details easily at a glance. They can:
- View assignment descriptions and due dates
- Set reminders for assignments
- View assignment and course grades
- View course announcements
Outcomes: Set and track learning goals. Focus on skills and activities, not just grades. Assess progress using the Learning Mastery Gradebook. Import existing outcomes and align them with course rubrics.
SIS Imports: Upload and integrate data from SIS using CSV files or through the Canvas API. Manage users, accounts, courses, enrollments, logins and more. Use IMS Enterprise Specification XML zip files or Banner Grade Exchange Results XML for automated imports.
Canvas Studio: Create, deliver and organize video content in various formats within your media library using Canvas Studio.
- Upload videos directly from devices or integrate them from YouTube into courses.
- Monitor student engagement by tracking views, duration and interactions.
- Connect with platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts.
- Engage students with interactive video quizzes, real-time feedback and integrated Gradebook.
- Provide personalized feedback using SpeedGrader and customize learning paths with MasteryPaths.
- Encourage student participation through video creation and peer feedback.
- Integrate instruction, assessment and additional learning opportunities directly into the video experience.
Conferences: Integrate with BigBlueButton to host lectures, office hours and group meetings. Broadcast audio/video, share slides, and demonstrate applications and resources.
ePortfolios: Create ePortfolios to display and discuss your students’ submissions and experiences. Allow them to collect and document educational projects, assignments and more. Keep ePortfolios private or share them with peers, instructors and future employers.
Video Assessments: Create engaging video quizzes where students answer questions as they watch. Give instant feedback and automatically submit grades to the Gradebook. Review videos and provide comments. Use SpeedGrader to apply rubrics and offer quick, personalized feedback.

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Analyst Rating Summary

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User Sentiment Summary

92%

of users recommend this product

Study Island has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 92% when considering 9 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

91%

of users recommend this product

Canvas has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 5849 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Standards-aligned Content: Study Island's content is aligned with state and Common Core standards, ensuring students learn what they need to know for their grade level.

Personalized Learning: The platform creates a personalized learning path for each student based on their individual strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to focus on areas where they need the most help.

Engaging Activities: Study Island offers a variety of engaging activities, such as games, quizzes, and simulations, to help students learn and retain information.

Data and Reporting: Teachers and administrators can track student progress and performance through detailed data and reports, allowing them to identify areas where students need additional support.

Test Preparation: Study Island provides practice tests and other resources to help students prepare for standardized tests.

User-Friendly Interface: According to 60% of users who mentioned this pro, Canvas offers an intuitive and navigable interface, and is easy to use for both instructors and students.

Mobile Accessibility: The Canvas mobile app, praised by 72% of users, offers a responsive design and on-the-go access on various devices.

Best-In-Class Integration Capabilities: 55% of users said Canvas integrates well with a wide range of third-party tools and services, and helps create a customized learning environment.

Effective Communication and Collaboration Features: 45% of users appreciate Canvas’ communication tools, specifically discussion boards, announcements and email.

Personalized Course Design: Canvas offers flexible course designs, allowing instructors to create personalized learning experiences for their students, said 40% of users.

Content Accuracy Issues: Some users have reported encountering outdated or inaccurate information within the platform's learning materials, particularly in subjects like science and history. This can lead to confusion and frustration for students who rely on the platform for accurate and up-to-date information.

Technical Issues and Glitches: Users have expressed concerns about technical problems and glitches within the platform, such as slow loading times, freezing, and occasional crashes. These technical issues can disrupt the learning process and cause frustration for both students and educators.

Limited Customization Options: Study Island offers limited options for educators to customize the learning experience for their students. This lack of flexibility can make it challenging for teachers to tailor the platform to meet the specific needs and learning styles of their students.

Repetitive Question Format: The platform's question format can become repetitive over time, which may lead to student boredom and disengagement. The lack of variety in question types can also limit the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Technical Glitches and Bugs: Nearly 40% of users report experiencing technical issues, such as system crashes, data loss and bugs.

Steep Learning Curve for Complex Features: According to 30% of users, while the overall interface is user-friendly, more advanced features have a steep learning curve.

Rigid Due Date Policies: Some users mentioned that Canvas's rigid due date rules can be challenging for students who submit work late due to technical issues or other reasons.

Ready to embark on a learning adventure and navigate the vast sea of educational software? Let's set sail and chart a course through the user reviews of Study Island! Study Island receives praise for its user-friendly interface and engaging content, making it a popular choice among educators. The platform's gamified approach, with features like earning points and badges, motivates students and fosters a sense of accomplishment. Its comprehensive coverage of various subjects and grade levels, aligned with state standards, ensures that students have access to the necessary materials for academic success. The flexibility to assign specific topics or skills allows teachers to personalize learning and address individual student needs. However, some users note that the question format can become repetitive, potentially limiting its effectiveness for long-term engagement. Additionally, while Study Island offers a wide range of content, it may not always align perfectly with specific curriculum requirements, requiring teachers to supplement with additional resources. Despite these limitations, Study Island's strengths in user-friendliness, engaging content, and standards alignment make it a valuable tool for educators seeking to enhance student learning and track progress. Its adaptability to different learning styles and its ability to provide personalized instruction make it particularly well-suited for students who benefit from a structured and gamified learning environment. Please note that user experiences and software functionalities can evolve over time. It's always a good idea to check the latest online reviews and resources for the most current information on Study Island and similar educational software options.

Canvas is an eLearning solution used for online, in-person and hybrid learning in a variety of educational settings. Users praise its smooth interface, mobile accessibility and integration capabilities, while also highlighting some technical and usability challenges that may require attention.Users found the system easy to use and navigate, and were happy with its vast suite of features, especially the grading, assignments and assessment tools. Most reported that it’s budget-friendly and had positive experiences with customer service.On the downside, users said they encountered bugs and glitches in the program. They requested a more flexible due date policy and more ease of use in advanced features.All things considered, Canvas is a versatile LMS that provides a modern platform and industry-specific features to make learning more engaging and personalized. It may require some initial investment in training and customization, but it delivers a positive overall experience for both instructors and students.

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FAQ

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