review process, and they began by listing and ranking LMS

requirements. The district then released an RFP, which

yielded responses from ten vendors, including Canvas,

which the district had never seen before.

As one of the top three finalists, Canvas was then piloted

by 20 teachers who tested all three platforms over a

three-month period. Canvas scored highest in the pilot

testing, so the choice was clear.

Naperville began its Canvas rollout during the 2012-2013

school year. As part of a two-phase implementation

process, the district maintained its legacy system

throughout the year, which allowed teachers to begin

using Canvas at their own pace. Son and his team

anticipated that 50-60 percent of teachers would make

the switch to Canvas by the end of the first year, but in

less than three months, 50 percent of teachers were

already using Canvas to deliver materials to more than

12,000 students.

THE RESULT • • •

All students and teachers across Naperville now use

Canvas as part of their everyday teaching and learning.

“It’s a tool that is highly intuitive for our young learners,

and has the features they need to collaborate and

communicate,” says Son. “And for our oldest learners, it

provides the rich features that they’re looking for—the

media components and real-time collaborations. It really

prepares them for the tools they’re going to use when

they leave our school district.”

Research shows that younger learners absorb information

more quickly than older learners. This is just one of the

many reasons why the district opted to implement

Canvas as a K-12 solution. “‘Canvas is awesome,’

according to my students,” says Janet Park, 1st grade

teacher at Elmwood Elementary School. “With the touch

of a button, they are able to navigate through the whole

site …. It has been transformational.”

In junior high and middle school, Canvas is even more

deeply integrated into daily learning. According to 7th

grade science teacher Josh Louis, “My students access

materials on Canvas every day, and throughout the

lesson they’re responding via quiz or discussion. There’s

always an opportunity for them to interact with the tool

and each other.”

And since Canvas is the only LMS that provides a true

K-20 solution, helping students become Canvas-savvy

early on allows them to build a foundation that will carry

them throughout their entire educational careers—not just

a few grade levels. As Son says, “We have the best

solution for our environment, and we’ll use that to teach

our students how to navigate online learning so that

wherever they go next they’ll be successful.”

Canvas also helps parents stay connected. They can

customize notifications preferences, which mean they

decide how and how often they want to be alerted about

their child’s assignments, activities, and performance.

“With Canvas, parents have a window into their child’s

classroom,” says Park. “They can see all the wonderful

things [their children] are doing.”

Canvas has become an integral part of Naperville’s

present and future success. According to Son, “It’s a tool

that allows us to provide innovative and unique learning

opportunities for all of our students in a personalized way

that prepares them for life beyond district 203.”

Naperville Community Unit School District 203

THE CHALLENGE • • •

Serving more than 17,500 K-12 students, Naperville

Community Unit School District 203 is a high-performing

suburban district just outside Chicago. In 2012, the district

identified the need for a learning management system that

was simple enough for kindergarteners, powerful enough

for high school seniors, and flexible enough for every

student in between.

At the time, Naperville was using an LMS that hadn’t been

updated in more than five years and its limitations were

starting to hinder the progress of this technically innovative

SCHOOL YEAR 2012-2014

QUICK FACTS • • •

KEY FINDINGS • • •

-GRADE LEVEL-

K-12-INITIATIVES-

-RATED-

OUT OF 10 LMSs EVALUATED

1:1 No.1

20,401

Used by all K-12 teachers and students districtwide

Case Study: K12 • • •

ENGAGING ALL LEARNERS—KINDERGARTEN THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND

and highly-collaborative district. Stakeholders wanted a tool

that was media rich, supported mobile usage, and better

facilitated online collaboration among teachers and students.

THE DECISION • • •

In early 2012, Naperville’s Director of Instructional Technology,

John David Son, took matters into his own hands. Aware of

the low usage and high dissatisfaction with the district’s legacy

LMS, Son convened a team of parents, students, and teachers

from the elementary, junior, and high school levels to find a

better LMS. More than 200 people were engaged in the

NAPERVILLE

69%

100%

50%

Intuitive, familiar interface and cool features like audio/video recording credited for quick and comprehensive adoption

OF STUDENTS WERE INTRODUCED TO CANVAS WITHIN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS

OF TEACHERS WERE USING CANVAS WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF THE INITIAL ROLLOUT

200+ENGAGED IN THE LMS REVIEW PROCESS

4xTHE TEACHER ADOPTION RATE WAS FOUR TIMES FASTER THAN EXPECTED

5 5 5 5 5 5 5

5 5 5 5 5 5 5

5 5 5 5 5 5 5

USERS

review process, and they began by listing and ranking LMS

requirements. The district then released an RFP, which

yielded responses from ten vendors, including Canvas,

which the district had never seen before.

As one of the top three finalists, Canvas was then piloted

by 20 teachers who tested all three platforms over a

three-month period. Canvas scored highest in the pilot

testing, so the choice was clear.

Naperville began its Canvas rollout during the 2012-2013

school year. As part of a two-phase implementation

process, the district maintained its legacy system

throughout the year, which allowed teachers to begin

using Canvas at their own pace. Son and his team

anticipated that 50-60 percent of teachers would make

the switch to Canvas by the end of the first year, but in

less than three months, 50 percent of teachers were

already using Canvas to deliver materials to more than

12,000 students.

THE RESULT • • •

All students and teachers across Naperville now use

Canvas as part of their everyday teaching and learning.

“It’s a tool that is highly intuitive for our young learners,

and has the features they need to collaborate and

communicate,” says Son. “And for our oldest learners, it

provides the rich features that they’re looking for—the

media components and real-time collaborations. It really

prepares them for the tools they’re going to use when

they leave our school district.”

Research shows that younger learners absorb information

more quickly than older learners. This is just one of the

many reasons why the district opted to implement

Canvas as a K-12 solution. “‘Canvas is awesome,’

according to my students,” says Janet Park, 1st grade

teacher at Elmwood Elementary School. “With the touch

of a button, they are able to navigate through the whole

site …. It has been transformational.”

In junior high and middle school, Canvas is even more

deeply integrated into daily learning. According to 7th

grade science teacher Josh Louis, “My students access

materials on Canvas every day, and throughout the

lesson they’re responding via quiz or discussion. There’s

always an opportunity for them to interact with the tool

and each other.”

And since Canvas is the only LMS that provides a true

K-20 solution, helping students become Canvas-savvy

early on allows them to build a foundation that will carry

them throughout their entire educational careers—not just

a few grade levels. As Son says, “We have the best

solution for our environment, and we’ll use that to teach

our students how to navigate online learning so that

wherever they go next they’ll be successful.”

Canvas also helps parents stay connected. They can

customize notifications preferences, which mean they

decide how and how often they want to be alerted about

their child’s assignments, activities, and performance.

“With Canvas, parents have a window into their child’s

classroom,” says Park. “They can see all the wonderful

things [their children] are doing.”

Canvas has become an integral part of Naperville’s

present and future success. According to Son, “It’s a tool

that allows us to provide innovative and unique learning

opportunities for all of our students in a personalized way

that prepares them for life beyond district 203.”

www.canvaslms.com • 800.203.6755

Naperville And Canvas • • •

Copyright © 2014, Instructure, Inc. All rights reserved. Instructure, Canvas and their respective logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Instructure, Inc. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others. Instructure makes no warranty for the use of the information herein and assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear.

THE CHALLENGE • • •

Serving more than 17,500 K-12 students, Naperville

Community Unit School District 203 is a high-performing

suburban district just outside Chicago. In 2012, the district

identified the need for a learning management system that

was simple enough for kindergarteners, powerful enough

for high school seniors, and flexible enough for every

student in between.

At the time, Naperville was using an LMS that hadn’t been

updated in more than five years and its limitations were

starting to hinder the progress of this technically innovative

and highly-collaborative district. Stakeholders wanted a tool

that was media rich, supported mobile usage, and better

facilitated online collaboration among teachers and students.

THE DECISION • • •

In early 2012, Naperville’s Director of Instructional Technology,

John David Son, took matters into his own hands. Aware of

the low usage and high dissatisfaction with the district’s legacy

LMS, Son convened a team of parents, students, and teachers

from the elementary, junior, and high school levels to find a

better LMS. More than 200 people were engaged in the

JOHN DAVID SON, Director of Instructional Technology, Naperville Community Unit School District 203

Canvas is a tool that works for everyone—from our youngest learners to our seniors in high school ... it's highly intuitive and has the features they need to collaborate and communicate.