If you have recently logged onto your portal, you may have noticed there is a new tab.
Canvas is the new form of Blackboard that will hold assignments, grades and various other things, much like Blackboard does now. Canvas has a sleek layout, making everything easier to find and much less of a crowded mess; whereas on Blackboard, everything is crammed onto the home page.
While many professors are still using Blackboard rather than Canvas, until the transition is made there will be no sure way of knowing if Canvas holds any advantages over Blackboard. The final transition will take place May 31, 2017, when Blackboard is officially retired.
Another change going on in UTM’s online world is the UT Martin app. If you have updated your app, then you might have noticed a lot of changes from the old version to the current one. The new app is full of loves and hates. On the updated version, class rosters are no longer available for viewing, but there are more tabs with information regarding campus activities and news.
Another handy feature is the Campus Maps. While UTM is not the biggest campus, it can still be confusing for those who have just started here. It is easy to get turned around, especially when someone tells you something is by the administration building, but they don’t specify which one.
The new app also holds a couple of new features not found on the old version. Sodexo has its own tab that lets you see what is going to be served that day, what is available in different locations and your meal plan balance. Barnes & Noble also has its own tab that allows you to shop for books and spirit wear all from the updated app on your phone. WUTM is available to stream right from the app, and there is a photo tab that allows anyone to access photos that other Skyhawks have taken around our beautiful campus.
These changes, like any, will bring out both positive and negative feedback on whether or not the app is good or bad; it will also bring out the opinions of those who prefer Blackboard to Canvas and vice versa. Either way that you look at it, changes are coming to the university’s online life, whether the students like it or not.
