UC Davis Canvas handles record volume on first day of classes

Here’s an icebreaker you can use when waiting for your next Zoom meeting to begin:

What core part of UC Davis was viewed 3.28 million times on the first day of classes fall term?

Answer: UC Davis Canvas. The learning management system (LMS) logged that many page views on Sept. 30, a volume more than twice as large as last year’s.

Since 2016, UC Davis faculty and students have used Canvas to teach and learn – to deliver course materials, turn in homework, team up on projects, communicate information about tests or classwork, and more. UC Davis is one of thousands of universities, colleges and schools that use Canvas, an LMS provided by Instructure, an educational technology company in Salt Lake City. The campus calls its version of the LMS UC Davis Canvas.

“The system seems to be running smoothly,” said Todd Van Zandt, manager of Teaching and Learning Technology Services for Information and Educational Technology at UC Davis, on Oct. 1. “Canvas really did a good job meeting the new demands.”

When problems do occur, Canvas operates a service desk that’s open 24/7, including live chat and a hotline.

The sudden switch to remote instruction last March made Canvas even more essential to UC Davis, and kicked off this year’s growth surge. On the first day of spring term, UC Davis Canvas logged 2.33 million views. The numbers usually peak in fall, which tends to be the busiest term on campus. The busiest day for UC Davis Canvas last fall recorded 1.49 million views.

As of the morning of Oct. 1, UC Davis instructors had published 2,354 courses in Canvas, up from 2,059 a year earlier.