Photo courtesy of Google
Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manila has officially transitioned from Google Classroom to Canvas Instructure as its new Learning Management System (LMS), implemented for the second semester.
According to Asst. Prof. Winchell Palomeno, Director of the Information Technology Services Department (ITSD), while Google Classroom was easy to set up and use, it no longer met the long-term demands of the institution.
“Canvas offers better tools for managing courses, grading reports and system integration and also supports long term institutional needs such as analytics, structured course design and centralized control. So basically, ito yung mga important things na kailangan natin sa Letran,” Asst. Prof. Winchell explained.
From the ITSD’s perspective, control was one of the most significant factors in the transition. Canvas, which is widely used by top universities, provides administrators and faculty with more comprehensive control over courses and academic records.
“If we want to be at part with other universities, moving to Canvas is the right choice,” Asst. Prof. Palomeno added.
In terms of system performance, Canvas was found to be more responsive, reliable, and scalable, especially for an institution with a growing number of students.
Although the full rollout of Canvas was felt in the second semester, he clarified that the preparations began as early as 2024 by planning, training and logistics.
However, the implementation for this semester encountered technical issues such as user synchronization and network configuration adjustments.
Despite the LMS transition, Letran-Manila still continues to use Gmail as its official communication channel as the institution’s ecosystem is built on Google Workspace, this is also to avoid confusion especially to non-techy users.
In preparation for the transition, Letran-Manila upgraded its internet bandwidth, and strengthened system integrations. Training sessions for the faculty members were also conducted before the semester started.
“Lahat po ng departments [nakapag-train]. Yung iba nga pong mga departments, ano na, take two, take three na yun kasi nga syempre, yung iba gusto nila ng mga refresher course. Sabi ko, wala naman pong problema yun on our end, as much as you want, okay lang,” Asst. Prof. Palomeno emphasized.
Addressing concerns about students who are unable to access Canvas, Asst. Prof. Palomeno clarified that the issue is often linked to enrollment status or internet connectivity rather than system failure.
In case of needed assistance, ITSD has designated Ms. Mary Joy Padura as the LMS coordinator who handles Canvas-related issues. Looking ahead, ITSD will assess the success of the LMS transition by monitoring system performance, usage reports, and user feedback.
“So looking at the user feedback, as of the moment, marami po ang negative connotations during the migration kasi we expect naman yung ganitong bagay,” Asst. Prof. Palomeno shared.
While some resistance during the migration phase is expected, he noted that many faculty members are willing to adapt.
Initial observations from pilot testing also suggest that students generally find Canvas familiar and easy to use.
“Sa student part, LMS is a tool for faculty to use. So regardless po gaano kaganda ang isang LMS, depende pa rin sa delivery ng isang faculty member at depende rin sa kanya paano niya i-utilize. Again, it's a tool. It’s a platform. So kaya gumagawa tayo ng policies, gumagawa tayo ng processes na mas mapaganda natin yung teaching and learning experience.” Asst. Prof. Palomeno said.
Meanwhile, anonymous students from College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) and College of Engineering and Information Technology (CEIT) shared their same sentiment that they prefer to use the Google Classroom as it is easier to use.
On the other hand, student from College of Education, Liberal Arts and Sciences (CELAS), Kirsten Abutin, a second year Psychology student initially viewed the transition as an upgrade but later questioned its necessity pointing that the students were already familiar with Google Classroom.
“Allocating the institution’s budget to changing the LMS seems less practical, especially when there are more pressing concerns that should be prioritized by the school,” Abutin shared.
She also highlighted the confusion and lack of preparedness on the transition suggesting clearer guidelines to help the students adapt more effectively.