By Meghan Runte
At the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, McNicholas High School made a transition in Learning Management Software, or LMS programs from Schoology to Canvas and results from a recent Milestone survey show Schoology was favored by 63% of students and teachers surveyed over Canvas.
Math teacher Mr. Mathew Brunner, English teacher Mr. Robert Cornwell, English teacher Mr. Dan Freeman and science teacher Mr. Devin Kovar are the Canvas educational technology coaches. They are each assigned to a group of teachers that look to them to assist them with Canvas.
Cornwell, one of McNick’s Canvas educational technology coaches, is tasked with helping other teachers with the transition in programs. Cornwell said that he “only used Schoology for one year.” “I was not the biggest fan of the program. I found it to be unnecessarily clunky and outdated,” he said.
Cornwell believes that Canvas is more beneficial for students because he knows that most colleges have adopted Canvas as their LMS. “It makes sense that a college-prep high school would use the same LMS that colleges are using. It also has many more options for types of assignments, quizzes, and organization, which I enjoy as a teacher,” Cornwell added.
There is also a parent-observer role on Canvas that helps parents keep track of assignments as well as a messaging system for teachers to quickly message students for guidance.
Educational technology coach and Geometry and Robotics teacher Mr. Mathew Brunner also prefers the use of Canvas. He shared that “it’s frustrating at times because it takes a long time to get things done, but I like being able to email students and parents at the same time when students get a low grade.”
Brunner added that he does like all the features and options. “It’s still early and it takes time to transition to a new system and get used to it. We are in year 0, so everything has to be made from scratch or transferred from Schoology then modified,” Brunner said.
Math teacher Mr. Ed English said that he prefers Schoology because it takes fewer clicks to enter assignments and is easier. He added that there is a “lack of ‘folders’ on Canvas to store information for students.”
Sophomore Lily June said that “Schoology was much more straightforward and easy to understand.” She does not like that all assignments must be accessed through the “modules” section on Canvas.
Junior Edward Gibson prefers Canvas because “it is easier to see all classes and schedules in one place, including grades.”
Senior Emmet Froman prefers Schoology because “it’s way more straightforward. I also liked PowerSchool because I would get notifications on my phone when my grade changed.” He believes that it is too difficult to see grades and assignments on Canvas and that Schoology was more clear.
Cornwell added, “I know there are many frustrations with Canvas currently, but we are only a quarter into this new program, and it is going to take some time to adjust to. In a couple years, I think more students and teachers will become used to Canvas, and they may start to see all the benefits this LMS has to offer. It definitely has a learning curve, but as time goes on, it should become easier and more natural to use.”
