LCC transitions to a new learning management system
by Ella DiDomenico
Goodbye Moodle, hello Canvas!
As the 2025-2026 school year came to a close, so did Lane’s use of Moodle as its learning management system (LMS). The college has instead started their transition to Canvas.
Many students and staff alike seem to be welcoming the change with open arms, but what is Canvas, really? How does it differ from Moodle, and what prompted the switch? We spoke with Josh Manders, a learning management systems administrator at LCC, to learn more about why the switch was made.
“Moodle came before Canvas in terms of it being on the market first.” Manders said. “Canvas became kind of a notable product specifically because it was built on newer technology, so newer infrastructure, and it was easier [compared to Moodle].”
He explained that Canvas ” was a lot of simplified interfaces, buttons that were really more intuitive, especially for elementary schools.”
On the other hand, Manders said, “Moodle was seen as far too complicated in terms of having too many options and too many menus. It didn’t really serve students or faculty particularly well because of that.”
Regarding Moodle, Manders said that LCC has maintained “that it’s an incredibly capable product, and you can make it do a lot, but because it’s so flexible, the downside is that every instructor can use it very differently. The students who go into those courses often are at a disadvantage because they’re re-learning how to use that LMS every time they go into a different course.”
The decision to switch to Canvas wasn’t an incredibly difficult one because, in addition to being more user-friendly, it also smoothens the transition into college. Given that other local schools are using Canvas, most students are not required to learn an entirely new LMS.
“When we looked at the skill sets that people already had, even instructors at other colleges, they have these Canvas skills,” Manders told The Torch. He added, LCC instructors]“are saying ‘Oh, it would be so much easier if the college had Canvas, because then I would know how to do these things faster.’”
Canvas is very list-oriented, as Mander put it, which students of all ages come to find particularly helpful when figuring out what to do next. There’s little wiggle room for customization, which provides a more sound and straightforward structure for learning.
A significant struggle that the college had with Moodle was allowing a student to continue to access a course after it had ended, because it was cost-prohibitive. “We couldn’t allow students to have access to past courses without paying really exorbitant fees, and now with Canvas that is no longer the case.”
“I got a lot of requests from students who were wanting to collect everything that they’ve taken at the end of their degree, and it’s always been difficult to do that because instructors themselves have to provide those materials because they can’t let them back in the course.”
The transition to Canvas has been a long time coming, and involved student opinion heavily in the process.
Happy Canvas-ing, and best of luck for this fall term.
Find out more about Canvas at LCC at Canvas.lanecc.edu, and reach out to the Student Help Desk (SHeD) Library.lanecc.edu/shed if you need help.