Learning Never Stops: Exploring Canvas LMS as a Lifelong Learning Tool

As summer approaches, many faculty begin looking ahead not just to the next semester, but to new ways of refining their courses, streamlining their workflows, and better supporting student success. While Canvas is already a central part of teaching at UBalt, it’s also a tool that evolves alongside us. Whether you’re exploring its deeper functionality or rethinking how it supports experiential learning, Canvas has more to offer than what many of us use day to day.

These resources from Instructure, the parent company of Canvas LMS, offer timely insights to help faculty make the most of the platform:

• Experiential Learning: How to Change the World – This episode of Educast 3000 explores how experiential learning helps students connect course content with their values and goals. Featuring educators who design experiences that encourage agency, curiosity, and community impact, the conversation offers a reminder that platforms like Canvas can support much more than content delivery—they can help foster reflective, applied learning.
• Reclaim Your Time: 10 Time-Saving Features Every Canvas LMS Educator Should Know – From batch editing due dates to customizing assignment submission types, this blog post showcases features can help faculty reduce administrative load and refocus on what matters most: meaningful interaction with students. Many of these tools are already built into your Canvas dashboard; you just might not be using them yet.
• Lifelong Learning Report 2024 – This report places Canvas within a broader shift toward lifelong learning, where digital platforms support career transitions, upskilling, and flexible education models. For faculty, it’s an invitation to think about how your course design can support students long after the semester ends and how Canvas helps scaffold that journey.

Canvas is already part of everyday teaching at UBalt, but that doesn’t mean we’ve exhausted its potential. These resources invite us to explore Canvas more intentionally as a platform for reflective practice, time-saving strategies, and lifelong learning. As you plan ahead for summer and fall, consider what role Canvas might play in helping your students (and yourself) stay curious, connected, and prepared.