Starting in the 2023-2024 school year, all teachers across Wake County will be required to use Canvas as an educational application for their students to work on assignments. This means teachers that have only used Google Classroom throughout their teaching careers have to switch to Canvas next year. 

This transition has sparked conversations about what students and teachers actually prefer and whether this switch is a negative or positive action.

“I’m not excited because Canvas sucks, and all the teachers don’t know how to use it either,” junior Emma Simmons said.

Students that have experience with both applications express why they prefer Google Classroom.

“It works better for students as a collective. It’s a lot easier to find your classes, and it’s so much more simple than Canvas,” senior Talia Manning said.

In order to get more comfortable with Canvas, some teachers are already preparing for next year’s transition.

“I’ve taken some professional development coursework in Canvas over the past few years, but I still have to relearn some techniques before the county fully implements it,” English teacher Victoria Crouse said.

For some students, the switch will not apply to them, but they still do not agree with it being put in place.

“I personally don’t think they shouldn’t make that permanent switch because it’s not fair to those who don’t know, and also there are some teachers that don’t know how to use Canvas to the best of their ability,” senior Lars Uhland said.

On the other hand, students that are attending the school next year do not seem to mind the switch.

“I mean it’s not really that bad. I don’t mind it too much. It is kind of annoying, but at least everyone will finally be in one place,” sophomore Kip Coltrane said.

A majority of the school population believe Google Classroom to be a better classroom management system.

“I like Google Classroom more because it’s more organized, and it connects better with Google Docs and where we do our assignments,” senior Layne Neudecker said.

Luckily, some teachers are already comfortable with Canvas and prefer the application over Google Classroom, which could be an advantage for some students next year.

“As I am learning better ways to apply them, ​I have begun to increasingly appreciate Canvas and its available features. In particular, I like its ability to integrate with PowerSchool and that class modules can be merged for duplicate sections of any course,” English teacher Jaya Martin said.

Despite how students and teachers feel about the decision, all Wake County schools are set to switch to Canvas. Senior Talia Manning hopes students will persevere through the change.

“It’s going to be frustrating, but students should try their best,” Manning said.