Finding His Footing in Canvas
One Professor’s First-Semester Experience
What is it really like to teach in Canvas for the first time? Honors College Faculty Fellow Vincent Adiutori reflects on his first semester using the LMS, from learning a new way to organize his course to discovering how support, experimentation, and even his students helped make the transition easier. Now, with one semester behind him, he is thinking about what he wants to try next.
Getting Comfortable With Canvas
With UIC’s transition from Blackboard to Canvas underway, faculty across campus are preparing to make the move – whether they are launching courses in Canvas this fall or planning their transition for spring 2027.
We spoke with Honors College Faculty Fellow Adiutori about his first semester teaching Fiction and NonFiction in the Anthropocene in Canvas. As an early adopter, he reflected on the learning process, the support he received, and how the platform worked for him and his students.
We began by asking him to reflect on the start of the semester, including how he felt heading into his first week of teaching in Canvas and how those feelings had changed by the end of the term.
Organizing the Course With Modules
Canvas Modules allowed Adiutori to organize the course week by week around central themes, giving students one place to find the readings, assignments, and other materials they needed. He did not make the transition alone. Adiutori worked closely with LTS Instructional Designer Christian Sweeney, who supported the Honors College during the migration.
That partnership strengthened his confidence and eased one of his main concerns: struggling with the technology and appearing unprepared in front of his class. His students, many of whom were already familiar with Canvas, became valuable partners in the process. By being open about his own learning curve, Adiutori created a collaborative environment in which students felt comfortable stepping in to help.
With one semester in Canvas behind him, Adiutori is already considering what he wants to refine next. This fall, he will teach African American Cultural Production, a Black literature course that begins with several dense, foundational readings. To help students work through those complex arguments, he plans to use Perusall, a social annotation tool integrated into Canvas that allows students to highlight, comment on, and discuss readings together directly on the page.
Using Perusall to Deepen Discussion
Adiutori is also exploring Canvas tools for creating an informal community space, such as a dedicated discussion board where students can connect, share spontaneous responses to the readings, and ask questions.
As he prepares for the fall semester, he is looking forward to building the course in Canvas and seeing how these choices support both his teaching and his students’ learning.
Need Help With Your Canvas Course?
Not sure how you want to organize your Canvas course, or interested in exploring learning technology tools such as Perusall? The Learning Design team can help you think through your course structure, identify tools that fit your teaching goals, and find approaches that work for you and your students.
Contact LTS@uic.edu to connect with the Learning Design team.
You can also explore LTS Faculty Resources for guidance on Canvas, accessibility, instructional technologies, and other tools available to support teaching and learning at UIC.