We performed a comparison between Canvas LMS and CYPHER Learning based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Learning Management Systems (LMS) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."I used a lot of other systems in my IT career and Canvas LMS truly has everything that I would look for in an enterprise system."
"The solution is easy to access."
"We have been using Canvas LMS, and overall, it has served our needs well for managing courses and general settings."
"Its easy adaptability to whatever form or methodology you are using to teach is valuable. It tends to be seamless, and it is very much a self-intuitive product. It requires almost no instruction, and you can be fully up to speed and ready to run on it. You can bring someone in who has never worked with any online learning or LMS system, and in a week's timeframe, they would almost be fully functional because Canvas is so simple to use."
"It's easy to follow. It flows well, and it's easy to use."
"The integration with Zoom is a notable feature. It allows for seamless access to live class sessions directly from Canvas after authentication, enabling quick entry into Zoom calls. You can also schedule Zoom calls or private recordings directly within Canvas, making it convenient, especially for situations like self-recording exams. Additionally, Canvas excels in collaboration and discussion capabilities. Users can engage in discussions on various topics, and there's the option to create custom groups for more focused interactions. These groups provide a level of privacy and isolation from the broader class, which is a significant advantage."
"They have a more extensive support base in terms of infrastructure."
"The product's flexibility is exceptional."
"There are so many valuable features: The structure of the platform is fantastic and the learner experience is very good."
"E-commerce is still one of the exotic features, meaning that not all LMS providers offer it. It is critical for us. We have had no trouble implementing payment gateways with this system and it works out-of-the-box without any special tricks."
"The ability to integrate it with a lot of our third-party service providers like Turnitin, through a plugin, is helpful. There aren't many learning management systems that integrate so well with different APIs and LTIs, especially when a school has various tools in its tech stack."
"The entire system is incredibly valuable, but one of the reasons we chose CYPHER Learning was the social interaction features, such as forums, student groups, and messaging."
"With class folders in place, it is possible to follow up on the children. I know when students have seen the material that has been uploaded to the platform and, thus, understand if they are following the classes."
"There are several valuable features. One is the competency mapping. This helps us, as faculty members and developers of learning materials, track and monitor which competencies our students have acquired, based on the outcomes that we wanted them to have at the end of a particular module or term."
"Gamification is another feature that I've recently really gotten into and I have found that my students really enjoy getting points and badges. That reinforcement is critical... my students get that instant gratification. They get specific scores when they do specific tasks within CYPHER Learning and it lets them know. It's a really big motivator for my students."
"The lessons we offer in each course can be both in written format and in audio or video format. This dramatically helps participants to choose their best way of learning."
"The solution could be upgraded and improved."
"It would be nice to be able to do more real-time comprehensive reporting with Canvas LMS."
"It would be good to be able to do teleconferencing within the LMS."
"The learning curve is not steep, but it is intermediate."
"There are a couple of areas that could be improved. Firstly, the discussion feature is not very interactive and can be slow to respond, making it less intuitive at the moment. This is an aspect that needs substantial improvement. Another point to consider is related to the cost of the LMS system. It's perceived as relatively expensive, which has led to discussions about transitioning away from Canvas, potentially to a more cost-effective alternative. This cost-related aspect is a significant factor to consider when implementing such a system."
"The high-tech interactivity with other software, like ArcGIS or RSA Archer, can be better. It is not as easily compatible with them. You can put apps in it that the students can then access, but the routing of apps through the Canvas system slows down functionality on the other types of products."
"In our working, we are encountering many challenges with Canvas LMS. One of the major area is their business model which is having a very different pricing structure. The structure is made in such a way that the license fee is needed to be paid for the complete year even if the student has been enrolled for a programme of short duration. This structure is not conducive with our needs and hence, in the past few years, been increasing our costs manifold. Along with this, Canva LMS also lacks many functionalities such as notifications and adaptive learning. There is a specific issue with the licensing model that affects us in continuous education. The inability to reuse a license for the same course in different terms hinders our cost efficiency. For instance, if a program runs from January to April, we are required to pay for the license twice within the same academic year. This contrasts with other platforms like Hyper, where reusing a license is possible, allowing us to use the same license multiple times in different terms. Along with the use, we are exploring the integration of artificial intelligence into our processes, and Canvas LMS falls short in this regard. While some platforms allow connections with external AI services, Canvas does not currently offer built-in artificial intelligence capabilities, a feature we find valuable for enhancing the learning experience."
"The product could be integrated with a talent management system."
"I think it would be helpful if the resources were more structured in a how-to format."
"Perhaps there is room for improvement in the gamification part. I have used it but it has not been very clear to me. It may be my responsibility for not asking about it in the training sessions, but the way you use it is not so clear."
"There could be improvements in the dynamic and accessibility tools for the youngest students. For example, I create or attach links from other pages, and I use activities and games, such as roulettes, that encourage student participation."
"The gamification option is a section that we have not learned because we have not been able to specify a training space for the use of this gamification tab. However, it would be good to have training and learn about how to use it."
"We can see who has accessed the portal, but it is not very intuitive. There is an issue with MATRIX user reporting. It is not that useful a lot of the time because we see conflicting dates in the activity and login. I have tried to work with their engineers, and asked, "Well, what's the real deal here," and there is no clarity around it."
"There is room for improvement in the way competencies for each area are designated. I would like the exact activities to be specified somewhere to clarify for the students what they need to complete each activity."
"When they bring on new partners, like Udemy, we do find that there are quite a few bugs in the system. They brought them on more than a year ago and there are still a few bugs, just pulling things through to CYPHER Learning. Integration bugs are a bit of an issue."
"I would like to see an improvement in peer bonding and the possibility for students to share knowledge among themselves regarding the work that they do. That would greatly help in that it wouldn’t be a one-to-many communication format."
Canvas LMS is ranked 7th in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 8 reviews while CYPHER Learning is ranked 1st in Learning Management Systems (LMS) with 50 reviews. Canvas LMS is rated 8.6, while CYPHER Learning is rated 9.0. The top reviewer of Canvas LMS writes "Intuitive, easy to learn, and easy to adapt to various teaching methodologies". On the other hand, the top reviewer of CYPHER Learning writes " Rules engine allows us to automate aspects of our training, and we get full visibility into individual students' progress". Canvas LMS is most compared with Google Classroom, Schoology Learning, Moodle, Brightspace and Kajabi Course, whereas CYPHER Learning is most compared with Moodle, TalentLMS, Google Classroom, Cornerstone Learning and Blackboard Learning Management. See our CYPHER Learning vs. Canvas LMS report.
See our list of best Learning Management Systems (LMS) vendors.
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