Canvas and E-Hallpass: 

Kymberle Ruiz, sophomore, using Canvas to complete her school work. This new addition to the school year has caused mixed opinions among both students and teachers. Photo Credit: Britney Ta

Students everywhere in Lincoln Prep have had varied opinions on the new additions to the school year: Canvas and E-Hallpass. Both of which are educational programs that were implemented for the new school year. Why switch from Google Classroom? Why not use paper passes? Were these good choices?

But what are Canvas and E-Hallpass? Canvas is a program that students use to communicate with teachers and learn their courses online. This shows the students’ courses and assignments. It also keeps track of work for them. E-Hallpass on the other hand is what it’s literally called: an electronic hall pass. This has features such as making appointments, managing pass time, and of course passes. But these programs seem to have accumulated quite a bit of criticism: Why?

Teachers and students alike have had issues with the transition from Google Classroom to Canvas that should have been implemented sooner.

“The switch from Google Classroom to Canvas is a bad idea. A lot of teachers have been complaining about their learning curve and how McGraw Hill and other resources we usually use for school can’t connect to Canvas," said Yen Sophaphone, sophomore. 

On the other hand, several students shared different sentiments. What features did they enjoy about Canvas? 

"Canvas is very organized. The calendar shows all current and future assignments due, completed assignments are crossed out and classes are up-to-date," said Olivia Smith, sophomore.

But with the addition of these programs comes the learning curve of navigation. Are they easy to navigate through? Are certain features easily accessible? How long does it take to navigate accurately and confidently?

"At the beginning, both Canvas and E-Hallpass were slightly difficult to navigate; but with repeated use, they became easy to understand," said Danny Nguyen, sophomore.

"E-Hallpass can be a bit difficult to navigate at first," Smith said.

With contrasting opinions on both of these programs, there are bound to be changes wanted for both.

"Canvas should have the ability to be able to link with educational websites such as Google Docs and McGraw Hill to make work for teachers easier," Sophaphone said. “I’d like it if Canvas ran just as fast as Google Classroom.” 

The efficiency of E-Hallpass also caused students to question if the switch was really a good choice. After all, paper passes were copiously used in the previous year.

“Personally, I love the e-hallpass system. It is simple to use and provides us with useful data, and I’m proud of our staff for implementing this new procedure so quickly,” said Seth Oldham, LCPA vice principal. “I appreciate Dr. Rider, Ms. Nix, Mr. Owens, and Ms. Mailen for piloting the system last Spring and helping us think through how to roll it out schoolwide."