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Design Suggestions for Higher Education Disciplines at Grupo SEB

Interface Evaluation in Virtual Learning Environments and How Web Technologies Can Improve the Visual and Enhance the Student Experience.

2023

Timeline

Web & UX/UI Desiigner

Role

2023

Timeline

Web & UX/UI Desiigner

Role

Context

In recent years, Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become essential for online education, offering new ways to access knowledge and foster interaction. Canvas, one of the most widely adopted LMS platforms worldwide, stands out for its flexibility and range of features. However, despite its global relevance, many users still face usability challenges that affect engagement and learning outcomes.

This project focused on evaluating the usability of Canvas from the perspective of students and educators. The goal was to identify pain points in navigation, interaction, and accessibility, while also uncovering opportunities for design improvements. By analyzing these aspects, I aimed to propose practical enhancements that could streamline the user experience and reduce cognitive overload.

The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how digital learning environments impact users and provides actionable insights to guide future interface improvements. Ultimately, the project emphasizes how thoughtful UX design can create more intuitive, efficient, and motivating learning experiences.

In recent years, Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become essential for online education, offering new ways to access knowledge and foster interaction. Canvas, one of the most widely adopted LMS platforms worldwide, stands out for its flexibility and range of features. However, despite its global relevance, many users still face usability challenges that affect engagement and learning outcomes.

This project focused on evaluating the usability of Canvas from the perspective of students and educators. The goal was to identify pain points in navigation, interaction, and accessibility, while also uncovering opportunities for design improvements. By analyzing these aspects, I aimed to propose practical enhancements that could streamline the user experience and reduce cognitive overload.

The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how digital learning environments impact users and provides actionable insights to guide future interface improvements. Ultimately, the project emphasizes how thoughtful UX design can create more intuitive, efficient, and motivating learning experiences.

Case Description

Canvas is one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems (LMS) in higher education, designed by Instructure to meet both pedagogical and technological needs. With an intuitive interface and flexible features, it enables students and educators to manage content, assessments, and communication in a more seamless way—making it a core tool for distance learning.

For students, Canvas offers an accessible and organized learning experience. They can easily access study materials, join discussions, take assessments, and track progress in real time, even on mobile devices. This flexibility empowers learners to study anytime, anywhere, and manage their time more effectively.

For educators, the platform provides robust tools to design and personalize courses, manage assignments, monitor performance, and deliver feedback. With data-driven insights and integrations with other educational technologies, Canvas becomes a comprehensive solution for digital education.

In private higher education, where Canvas is often the main LMS for undergraduate and postgraduate programs, it plays a critical role in shaping teaching practices. Beyond delivering content, it fosters communication, collaboration, and engagement, directly influencing both the quality of education and user satisfaction.

This case study focuses on evaluating Canvas’s interface from the user perspective—highlighting both its strengths and challenges. By analyzing its adoption within a private institution, the study explores how design decisions impact academic outcomes and how the platform can be optimized to better support students and educators.

Canvas is one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems (LMS) in higher education, designed by Instructure to meet both pedagogical and technological needs. With an intuitive interface and flexible features, it enables students and educators to manage content, assessments, and communication in a more seamless way—making it a core tool for distance learning.

For students, Canvas offers an accessible and organized learning experience. They can easily access study materials, join discussions, take assessments, and track progress in real time, even on mobile devices. This flexibility empowers learners to study anytime, anywhere, and manage their time more effectively.

For educators, the platform provides robust tools to design and personalize courses, manage assignments, monitor performance, and deliver feedback. With data-driven insights and integrations with other educational technologies, Canvas becomes a comprehensive solution for digital education.

In private higher education, where Canvas is often the main LMS for undergraduate and postgraduate programs, it plays a critical role in shaping teaching practices. Beyond delivering content, it fosters communication, collaboration, and engagement, directly influencing both the quality of education and user satisfaction.

This case study focuses on evaluating Canvas’s interface from the user perspective—highlighting both its strengths and challenges. By analyzing its adoption within a private institution, the study explores how design decisions impact academic outcomes and how the platform can be optimized to better support students and educators.

Research Question

Identify the key usability issues reported by students and educators when navigating Canvas.

Analyze how these challenges impact the overall learning experience, including engagement, accessibility, and efficiency in completing academic tasks.

Explore opportunities for improvement by simplifying navigation, optimizing the visual layout, and integrating technological solutions tailored to the needs of each user group.

Through web design, it is possible to suggest improvements in navigation, integration of new features and optimization of platform performance.

Objective of the Study

Theoretical Framework

This study was grounded in the fields of usability, interface design, and educational technologies, with a focus on evaluating Learning Management Systems (LMS) and the interactions between technology and learning processes. The research explored essential concepts to understand Canvas’s interface, including its usability challenges and opportunities for improvement.

Learning Management Systems (LMS)
LMS platforms play a central role in online education, supporting content delivery, interaction, and assessment. Canvas stands out for its flexibility and wide adoption in higher education, but like any complex system, it still presents usability challenges that impact user satisfaction and learning effectiveness.

Usability in LMS
According to ISO 9241-11, usability refers to how effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily users can achieve their goals in a system. In LMS platforms, usability determines engagement and learning outcomes. Common issues include complex navigation, information overload, and inconsistent visual design. Canvas users, for example, often report difficulties with task submission, course setup, and the steep learning curve for newcomers.

Interface Design for Education
Educational interfaces must go beyond aesthetics, focusing on clarity, hierarchy, and intuitive navigation. User-centered design ensures that learners can concentrate on educational tasks rather than struggling with the interface. For Canvas, this means applying visual consistency, reducing cognitive load, and aligning layouts with pedagogical goals.

Web Design & Accessibility
Accessibility is essential in digital learning environments. Interfaces should be responsive, inclusive, and compliant with accessibility standards. In Canvas, web design can enhance personalization, responsiveness across devices, and inclusive access for users with different abilities—ensuring equitable learning experiences.

Instructional Design & Pedagogical Alignment
Instructional design bridges pedagogy and technology by adapting digital tools to teaching strategies. Within Canvas, instructional designers collaborate with educators to structure content and interaction flows that drive engagement and align with academic objectives.

Proposed Solutions for Canvas Usability
To address usability gaps, specialists across design fields can contribute:

Graphic Design: Improve visual clarity and navigation through consistent layouts.
Web Design: Enhance responsiveness, accessibility, and system performance.
Instructional Design: Align tools with teaching goals and improve student engagement.

Integrating these approaches can lead to significant improvements in Canvas’s user experience. Solutions such as streamlined navigation flows, standardized visual components, and mobile optimization consistently emerge as key opportunities for enhancing the platform.

Methodology

To evaluate the usability and interface of Canvas, I applied a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques. This allowed for a more complete understanding of user challenges, balancing objective data with subjective experiences. The process was structured in three key stages

Document Research

I reviewed Canvas’s official documentation, user guides, and academic studies on usability best practices in learning platforms. This step provided the theoretical foundation for designing research instruments and benchmarking evaluation criteria.

Document Research

User Questionnaires

Online surveys were distributed to students and faculty, structured around Nielsen’s usability heuristics—efficiency, navigation, accessibility, and overall satisfaction. Closed and open-ended questions gathered both measurable data and personal insights. Quantitative responses were statistically analyzed, while qualitative answers were categorized to reveal recurring patterns.

User Questionnaires

Semi-Structured Interviews

To deepen the findings, I conducted interviews with a sample of students and professors. Open-ended questions explored real experiences, usability barriers, and suggestions for improvement. Transcripts were analyzed thematically to highlight the most relevant issues affecting engagement and learning.

Semi-Structured Interviews

Data Analysis

Both datasets were integrated to create a holistic perspective. Quantitative results identified frequency and correlations of usability issues, while qualitative findings captured the nuances of user perception. This combined analysis was then cross-referenced with theoretical frameworks, leading to concrete design recommendations to enhance Canvas’s usability and overall user experience.

Data Analysis

Case Study Execution

The study was conducted within a higher education institution to investigate the usability of Canvas and the user experience of both students and faculty. The goal was to identify key difficulties, highlight opportunities for improvement, and provide actionable insights to optimize the platform’s interface.

Application of Research Methods
A sequential and integrated approach was used to capture both objective and subjective data. This allowed for a comprehensive picture of user perceptions and usability challenges.

1. Document Research
The study began with a literature and documentation review of Canvas, usability principles, and best practices in digital learning environments. Findings emphasized the importance of efficiency, ease of use, accessibility, and continuous feedback. Common challenges reported in LMS platforms—such as cognitive overload, navigation issues, and limited personalization—were identified as starting points for further investigation. These insights directly informed the structure of surveys, interviews, and usability tests.

2. Questionnaires
Based on the literature review, online questionnaires were distributed to students and faculty. They addressed usability, navigation, satisfaction, and specific interaction difficulties.

Responses: 265 participants
Key findings: Around 20% of students reported difficulty locating assignments and tracking academic progress.
Suggestions: Improvements in layout organization and simplification of activity configuration were frequently mentioned.

3. Semi-Structured Interviews
From the survey participants, 10 students and 5 faculty members were selected for in-depth interviews (avg. 30 minutes each, conducted online).

Faculty insights: Struggles with tool customization and time-consuming course setup.
Student insights: Difficulty locating specific content and cognitive overload from visually dense pages.
Emerging opportunities: Simplified navigation, cleaner interface layouts, and integrated guidance materials within the platform.

Survey Findings

To understand how students and faculty perceived Canvas in their daily academic tasks, I analyzed survey data supported by visual graphs.

1. Usability of the Platform
Most students evaluated Canvas positively when it came to completing academic tasks. However, about 4% reported difficulties, considering the interaction moderately clear, unclear, or not useful at all. This indicates opportunities to simplify navigation and improve task visibility.

2. Clarity of Learning Materials
When asked about the clarity of the learning materials (produced by content authors), the results showed 56.3% approval. Although more than half of the students found the content clear, the feedback suggested that adopting a standardized content template—separating e-book texts from LMS material—would make it easier to digest information across different formats.

3. Interaction and Assessments
The final graphs addressed student interaction with tutors and whether assessments matched the content provided. Both areas received positive feedback above 60%, showing that while there are usability issues, the core teaching and evaluation processes were generally aligned with student expectations.

Conclusion

This study examined the usability and user experience of Canvas, an LMS adopted by a higher education institution for undergraduate and graduate distance programs. While Canvas is robust and flexible, research through surveys, interviews, and usability tests revealed critical pain points—such as complex navigation, excessive clicks for basic tasks, and visual overload—that negatively impact both students and educators.

Key insights showed that students often struggled with finding specific content and interpreting instructional materials, while faculty highlighted inefficiencies in configuring activities and assessments. These issues can lead to frustration, reduced engagement, and longer task completion times.

Based on participant feedback, opportunities for improvement include: simplifying the layout, reducing cognitive load, creating shortcuts for frequent tasks, and offering clearer separation between e-books and platform materials. Such refinements would make Canvas more intuitive, especially for first-time users and those less familiar with digital tools.

The findings emphasize the importance of clear interfaces, consistent feedback, and accessible design in educational platforms. By implementing these enhancements, Canvas could significantly improve efficiency and foster a more engaging and motivating learning experience.

Looking ahead, expanding the research to compare multiple LMS platforms and adapting solutions to different user profiles would provide valuable directions for future improvements in digital learning environments.