Canvas vs. Cengage MindTap

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Canvas
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Instructure is an educational software company based in Sandy, Utah. It is the developer of the Canvas learning management system, which is a comprehensive software package that competes with such systems as Blackboard Learning System, SumTotal and Saba.N/A
MindTap
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
MindTap is an eLearning course management solution from Cengage, a digital learning content and technology provider. For educators, it includes pre-made interactive course materials (such as homework assignments, assessments, etc.), analytics around student engagement and performance, and the ability to customize courses. For students, MindTap offers a mobile app to access eBooks, flashcards, quizzes, grades, and due date reminders.N/A
Pricing
CanvasCengage MindTap
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CanvasMindTap
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact vendor for pricing information.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CanvasCengage MindTap
Features
CanvasCengage MindTap
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
Canvas
9.8
Ratings
18% above category average
Cengage MindTap
-
Ratings
Course authoring9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance management9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning9.90 Ratings00 Ratings
Gamification9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign On (SSO) Enabled Learning9.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
CanvasCengage MindTap
Small Businesses
iSpring Learn
iSpring Learn
Score 9.6 out of 10

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
Ellucian Banner
Ellucian Banner
Score 2.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoology Learning
Schoology Learning
Score 9.7 out of 10
PeopleAdmin Higher Ed Platform, from Powerschool
PeopleAdmin Higher Ed Platform, from Powerschool
Score 7.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
CanvasCengage MindTap
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.3
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CanvasCengage MindTap
Likelihood to Recommend
If you have a school you can let teachers easily create new deadlines which [automatically] get shown in the calendar. Teachers can also [temporarily] hide deadlines [until] they've given the explanation about the tasks. [Besides] that the teacher can also choose what should be uploaded, should it be a link, file, pdf, link,...
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We started using the application optimally at the beginning as a digital learning and consultation platform. In it we imported all kinds of bibliographic material so that students could access them with the ease of a tap. The application is perfect for those instructors who are not beginners in HTML. In that case, the application very practically allows them to create a complete course in the shortest possible time because it has a state-of-the-art instructional design. It was excellent for unifying all the basic course plans between teachers teaching the same subject, giving the advantage that all courses at the same level would have exactly the same information and nothing would be overlooked
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Pros
  • Learning management - Even as the educational landscape rapidly shifts due to current events, Canvas is a great LMS for providing a consistent learning environment for students.
  • Mobile accessibility - Students can access their courses on Canvas from a variety of devices, including their smartphones.
  • Rich content - Instructors have the ability to create dynamic and engaging content for their courses.
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  • The main advantage of MindTap application is that you can add digital textbooks as a support complement, apart from that they have accessibility tools that integrate between reading voice in high volume and a tool to take notes quickly in case of making a note.
  • MindTap allows us to synchronize with applications such as Blackboard to import content into an LMS. We can import and export from grades or preset activities for students. It also has the option to copy and paste content from one semester to another.
  • The application has an extension for cell phones, students can access any material such as flash cards wherever they are. It has been completely useful as it shows grades digitally while other institutions only use printed books.
  • The application integrates an LTI section where all the information and planning of activities, exams and grades can be imported into the same learning system, unifying the entire course in a single window per course.
  • As for the exams and evaluations given to our students, the application also allows us to create self-evaluation questionnaires to determine how effective your instructors are, and they can also create customizable exams for each student.
  • The application has a section where we can assign an internal technical support staff so that both teachers and students can contact each other to solve any problems that may arise.
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Cons
  • Their integration with Big Blue Button was a bust for distance learning. Would be great to see them collaborate with Zoom or Google Meets.
  • Their "feature request" process is slow and cumbersome at times because it relies on user "up votes" to get ideas addressed by the developers.
  • They seem to have a lot of turn-over with their staff. We get a new Customer Success Manager far more frequently than with other vendors.
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  • They took away some of the variety of assignments and I wish they would add them back.
  • Course settings could be more streamlined. Sometimes it’s tedious to make simple changes to the course.
  • MindTap will not work unless students turn off pop up blockers, and this is a challenge that blocks an easy start with the software. If this could be worked out, it would give students a better experience at setup.
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Likelihood to Renew
Several factors contribute to my "10" rating. First, our university just made an enormous switch to Canvas, after we were with Blackboard for almost a decade. So garnering buy-in was critical, and not something we took lightly. After nearly 18 months (start to finish) of training faculty, educating stakeholders, and migrating courses, I am not looking to make a change again anytime soon. But I am happy with the result and the product overall and that is also demonstrated in my rating.
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It's hard to imagine not renewing it as the professors would not want to go back to the way their courses were previously populated. The only thing that would cause us to change would be in the textbook changed and the new company offered a better tool
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Usability
The functions in Canvas are well integrated and consistent across the application, and mostly intuitive. Overall navigation and setup is streamlined through integrated features and navigation. The feedback we've gotten from our program participants is that it is easy to learn to use. It also integrates well with third party software like Google Docs and Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing software
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Very easy to use.
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Support Rating
I do not personally use Canvas support since we have a central office that helps us. However, our central office always has the answers we need and are always able to solve our issues - so I would assume that get great support from the Canvas team on their end. They also offer great training, which uses materials directly from Canvas
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The effort from them always feels strong - I'd just recommend they be more prepared for OS (mac) and LMS (blackboard) upgrades
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In-Person Training
The training sessions were broken down into several days as well as different levels depending upon the knowledge of the user
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
The online tutorials and videos are very clear and addressed the issues/questions that I had about using the system.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Once you purchase and sign the contract there is nothing to install or hardware to buy. You can almost immediately start using it and have courses up and going within weeks. We signed in December and had pilot courses online ready to go for the start of school in January
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It worked seamlessly with Blackboard
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Alternatives Considered
Canvas is in the experience way better than Google Classroom. Canvas has a
more robust agenda system that also allows adding in new personal
deadlines. [Assignments] can be submitted past [the] deadline (if allowed),
this isn't allowed by Google [Classroom], If you're too late you can't
submit anything anymore. In Classroom [assignments], presentations/theory, and [announcements] are all put in 1 feed instead which gets confusing way
faster.
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MindTap is one of the better/best publisher integrations. The textbook platform alone is exceptionally presented. Most publisher integrations suffer from clunky interfaces or force faculty/students to click through to using their proprietary tools after signing in. MindTap offers the illusion of seamless integration by providing deep links to content, which allows faculty to customize their courses. Only one or two publishers do this, and it really makes a difference when faculty have this kind of flexibility.
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Return on Investment
  • Teachers have consolidated their content onto one platform which has decreased reliance of students on so much support staff assistance to access content.
  • Canvas has helped make technology transitions more seamless for the school community.
  • Once teachers have set up their page, Canvas really takes care of it all- they have much more time to focus on content creation and synthesis rather than the actual learning management system.
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  • The positive impact is to help students practice statistics to solve business problems.
  • The negative side is that the pricing might be too high compared to other free options available, even though the free options might not have the same features MindTap has.
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