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Canvas vs Watermark Insights

Last Updated: November 25th, 2024

Our analysts compared Canvas vs Watermark Insights based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

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Product Basics

Canvas helps you create and deliver engaging courses to your students and track their progress in real time. It allows you to post course materials, assignments, quizzes and grades. Students can access these resources, submit their work and communicate with other team members.

You can host discussions through discussion boards and chat rooms, provide personalized feedback using SpeedGrader and track student progress with built-in analytics. Canvas integrates with third-party apps like Zoom, Webex and GoToMeeting, and offers three mobile apps, one each for teachers, students and parents.

User reviews about Canvas praise its smooth interface, real-time collaboration tools and course creation capabilities. Since pricing details aren't mentioned online, you can contact the vendor directly for more information.

Watermark Insights offers comprehensive software designed to streamline tasks such as Learning Management System (LMS) administration, assessment management, and accreditation processes. This robust platform is particularly well-suited for educational institutions and organizations seeking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities. By integrating various academic and administrative functions, Watermark Insights helps institutions improve efficiency and maintain compliance with accreditation standards. Key benefits include enhanced data collection, improved reporting capabilities, and seamless integration with existing systems. Popular features encompass curriculum mapping, outcomes assessment, and faculty activity reporting, all of which contribute to a more cohesive and transparent educational environment. Compared to similar products, users often highlight Watermark Insights' user-friendly interface and comprehensive support services. Pricing details are typically customized based on the institution's specific needs, so it is advisable to contact SelectHub for a tailored quote. This ensures that the solution aligns perfectly with the unique requirements and budget constraints of the user.

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Product Insights

Ensures Continuous Learning: Experience minimal disruptions with a 99.9% uptime. Say goodbye to unexpected crashes and keep your educational ecosystem reliable and accessible at all times.
Enriches Learning with Unlimited File Size: Upload as much audio, visuals and video content as you need to courses. File size is not limited, so you can provide comprehensive and engaging materials without worrying about storage constraints.
Strengthens Collaboration: If you’re looking to create collaborative learning experiences for your team, Canvas is the perfect LMS for you. Based on our analysis, it provides a variety of collaboration tools fully out of the box, such as discussion boards, content sharing, group chat, two-way messaging, and notes and annotations.
Ensures Consistency in Evaluations: Create centralized repositories of questions at account levels. For instance, you can create sub-account question banks to store assessments like basic grammar rules across various courses. This ensures consistency in evaluations across different classes, making it easier to access and administer assessments.
Offers a Flexible Pedagogy: Enable instructors to design classes around their preferred learning methods. That could mean standards-based grading, traditional grading, flipped learning, project-based learning and more.
Streamlines Corporate Training: Use Bridge LMS, Canvas’ corporate training solution, to meet your employee training needs. Create and track training programs, use built-in performance tools, integrate with HR systems and more.
Award-Winning LMS: Canvas ranks among our top 10 LMS software, alongside LMS giants like LearnUpon, Absorb LMS and Moodle. In the SelectHub Awards 2024 for the LMS category, it won best-in-class honors for assessments, collaboration, compliance, user management, gamification, and integrations and extensibility.

Enhanced Efficiency: Streamlines administrative tasks, reducing the time spent on manual data entry and allowing staff to focus on more strategic activities.
Data-Driven Decisions: Provides robust analytics and reporting tools that help institutions make informed decisions based on real-time data.
Improved Compliance: Ensures adherence to accreditation standards and regulatory requirements through automated tracking and documentation.
Centralized Information: Consolidates data from various sources into a single platform, making it easier to access and manage information.
Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitates better communication and collaboration among faculty, staff, and students through integrated tools and shared resources.
Customizable Workflows: Allows institutions to tailor workflows to their specific needs, improving process efficiency and user satisfaction.
Scalability: Adapts to the growing needs of institutions, whether they are expanding their programs or increasing their student population.
Student Success: Supports student achievement by providing tools for tracking progress, identifying at-risk students, and implementing targeted interventions.
Resource Optimization: Helps institutions allocate resources more effectively by providing insights into usage patterns and needs.
Enhanced Security: Protects sensitive data with robust security measures, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.
Seamless Integration: Integrates with existing systems such as LMS, SIS, and ERP, reducing the need for duplicate data entry and ensuring consistency across platforms.
Continuous Improvement: Offers tools for ongoing assessment and improvement of programs and processes, fostering a culture of excellence.
Cost Savings: Reduces operational costs by automating routine tasks and improving resource management.
User-Friendly Interface: Features an intuitive design that simplifies navigation and reduces the learning curve for new users.
Real-Time Updates: Provides instant access to the latest data and reports, enabling timely decision-making and action.

Course Creation: Create new courses using built-in interactive tools. Add specific details like name, course code, due date, language, grading scheme, modules and sections, description and more.
- Announcements: Share key course information with everyone. Remind students of dates and tasks, point them to valuable resources, celebrate achievements and highlight events. You can include text, multimedia and files.
- Grades: Show grades as points, percentages and complete/incomplete. Filter and arrange Gradebook entries, automatically apply grades for missing/late work, and hide grades until you're ready to release them.
- People: Depending on permissions, add students, teachers, assistants and observers. Create student groups for group assignments, discussions and file sharing.
- Pages: Create interactive content like weekly updates, collaborative wikis or resource lists. Include text, multimedia and links, and allow students to contribute to specific pages.
- Files: Easily insert files into modules, assignments, discussions or pages. Share files with students or lock them until ready for download.
- Quizzes: Use the New Quizzes engine for diverse question types. If unavailable, use Classic Quizzes to achieve your objectives.
- Modules: Organize content by weeks and units. Add files, discussions, assignments, quizzes and more. Set prerequisites or lock modules until specific dates.
- New Analytics: Use the New Analytics tool to monitor who has viewed content and participated in assignments and identify students needing extra support.
Dashboard: View published/unpublished courses, access the calendar and upcoming events, start new courses, view grades, enable notifications and more.
Assignments: Include quizzes, graded discussions and various online submissions (files, images, text, URLs media). Assign to everyone or set different due dates for specific groups. Organize assignments into groups, weigh them by percentage, and enable Peer Review for student feedback.
Gradebook: Easily input and distribute grades using various methods, such as points, percentages, pass/fail, GPA scale and letter grades.
- Use SpeedGrader to assign grades and provide feedback efficiently.
- Automatically create columns in the Gradebook for assignments, discussions, quizzes, surveys and attendance tracking.
- View grades by grading periods, sort by due dates or student names, and apply specific filters for streamlined management.
- Download and grade assignments offline and calculate totals.
- Monitor grades across all courses, notify students of graded assignments and manage grade history.
- Customize grading curves, message students based on assignment status, leave private comments and excuse assignments when necessary.
Rubrics: Set custom or outcome-based assessment criteria to communicate quality expectations. Use rubrics to align learning outcomes, assess submissions in SpeedGrader and support non-scoring assessments for comprehensive grading.
Canvas Catalog: Integrate with Canvas Catalog to streamline course offerings.
- Easily bundle multiple courses into programs and enable registration for community education and professional development.
- Create branded sub-catalog listings for specific departments or organizations.
- Customize page templates for FAQs, contact info and individual course landing pages.
- Set up personalized certificates and automate their distribution.
- Allow students to track their progress with customized dashboards.
- Generate reports on course progress, registrations, revenue and enrollment trends.
- Offer hassle-free self-registration and self-paced courses with automated enrollment, payments and certificate distribution.
- Build, manage and customize courses and programs.
SpeedGrader: Quickly grade student submissions in one place with SpeedGrader. Use a simple point scale or detailed rubrics to assign grades, and accept various document formats and URLs to mark up assignments directly for feedback. Sort submissions by student, hide names for anonymous grading and track your progress. Easily view submission details, handle resubmissions and manage moderated assignments.
Intelligent Insights: Enhance teaching and learning effectiveness with Intelligent Insights, a premium analytics solution tailored for admins.
- Use AI and analytics to gather actionable data.
- Leverage conversational AI for quick ad hoc data requests and pre-built analytics for tracking goals such as course effectiveness and student success.
- Customize insights to pinpoint best practices, optimize LTI usage and address learning needs.
- Build custom dashboards and automate SQL queries to streamline data management and improve learner support.
- Identify courses that need improvement, notify instructors promptly and foster continuous improvement across teams.
Roll Call Attendance: Manage attendance in courses using the Attendance (Roll Call) tool, an external LTI app suitable for both online and face-to-face classes. Enabled at the account level, users can access it across all courses within your Canvas account.
Discussions: Communicate about course topics anytime. Create graded or casual discussions for idea exchange and problem-solving. Use threaded discussions for detailed topics and focused discussions for short exchanges.
Assessments: Administer assessments in the form of assignments, quizzes and discussions.
Assignments
- Allow students to submit assignments online through text entry, file uploads, media recordings, external tools, URLs or Canvas pages.
- Assign to individual students, groups or sections.
- Include a due date for Not Graded assignments, without providing points or grades.
Discussions
- Grade student responses to discussion topics.
- Assign to individual students, groups or sections.
Quizzes
- Conduct surveys or assess student comprehension of course content through quizzes.
- Assign to individual students or sections, but not to groups.
Collaboration: Teachers can communicate with individual students, groups or the entire class through messaging, audio notes, video and more. Students can work together via chat groups, video and other messaging tools.
Mobile App: Provide equal access to curriculum and instruction with native mobile apps for students, teachers and parents on iOS and Android devices.
Canvas Student: Enables students to access courses anytime, anywhere. They can:
- View grades and course content.
- Submit assignments.
- Keep track of coursework with a to-do list and calendar.
- Send and receive messages.
- Post to discussions, take quizzes and watch videos.
- Receive notifications for new grades and course updates.
Canvas Teacher: Helps teachers manage their courses anywhere, both in and out of the classroom. This app offers quick access to three main tasks:
- Browse submissions and give feedback to students with the enhanced mobile SpeedGrader.
- Send announcements and messages (like "Message Students Who..."), and join course discussions quickly.
- Change due dates, publish assignments and correct misspellings directly from your phone.
Canvas Parent: Allows parents to see their child's educational details easily at a glance. They can:
- View assignment descriptions and due dates
- Set reminders for assignments
- View assignment and course grades
- View course announcements
Outcomes: Set and track learning goals. Focus on skills and activities, not just grades. Assess progress using the Learning Mastery Gradebook. Import existing outcomes and align them with course rubrics.
SIS Imports: Upload and integrate data from SIS using CSV files or through the Canvas API. Manage users, accounts, courses, enrollments, logins and more. Use IMS Enterprise Specification XML zip files or Banner Grade Exchange Results XML for automated imports.
Canvas Studio: Create, deliver and organize video content in various formats within your media library using Canvas Studio.
- Upload videos directly from devices or integrate them from YouTube into courses.
- Monitor student engagement by tracking views, duration and interactions.
- Connect with platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts.
- Engage students with interactive video quizzes, real-time feedback and integrated Gradebook.
- Provide personalized feedback using SpeedGrader and customize learning paths with MasteryPaths.
- Encourage student participation through video creation and peer feedback.
- Integrate instruction, assessment and additional learning opportunities directly into the video experience.
Conferences: Integrate with BigBlueButton to host lectures, office hours and group meetings. Broadcast audio/video, share slides, and demonstrate applications and resources.
ePortfolios: Create ePortfolios to display and discuss your students’ submissions and experiences. Allow them to collect and document educational projects, assignments and more. Keep ePortfolios private or share them with peers, instructors and future employers.
Video Assessments: Create engaging video quizzes where students answer questions as they watch. Give instant feedback and automatically submit grades to the Gradebook. Review videos and provide comments. Use SpeedGrader to apply rubrics and offer quick, personalized feedback.

Data Integration: Seamlessly integrates with various data sources, including SIS, LMS, and HR systems, to provide a comprehensive view of institutional data.
Customizable Dashboards: Offers user-friendly, customizable dashboards that allow stakeholders to visualize and interact with data in real-time.
Assessment Management: Facilitates the creation, distribution, and analysis of assessments to ensure alignment with institutional goals and accreditation standards.
Reporting and Analytics: Provides robust reporting tools and advanced analytics to support data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.
Survey Administration: Enables the design and deployment of surveys to gather feedback from students, faculty, and staff, with built-in tools for analysis and reporting.
Curriculum Mapping: Allows institutions to map curriculum to learning outcomes, ensuring that educational programs meet desired competencies and standards.
Accreditation Support: Streamlines the accreditation process by organizing and managing documentation, evidence, and reports required for accreditation reviews.
Faculty Activity Reporting: Tracks and reports on faculty activities, including teaching, research, and service, to support performance evaluations and professional development.
Student Learning Outcomes: Monitors and assesses student learning outcomes to ensure educational effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
Role-Based Access: Provides secure, role-based access to data and tools, ensuring that users have appropriate permissions based on their responsibilities.
Mobile Accessibility: Offers mobile-friendly interfaces, allowing users to access and interact with the platform from various devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Collaboration Tools: Includes features that facilitate collaboration among faculty, staff, and administrators, such as shared workspaces and communication tools.
Data Security: Employs advanced security measures to protect sensitive data, including encryption, user authentication, and regular security audits.
API Support: Provides robust API support for custom integrations and extensions, allowing institutions to tailor the platform to their specific needs.
Training and Support: Offers comprehensive training resources and dedicated support to ensure users can effectively utilize the platform's features.

Product Ranking

#10

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#148

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Analyst Rating Summary

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User Sentiment Summary

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Canvas has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 5849 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-Friendly Interface: According to 60% of users who mentioned this pro, Canvas offers an intuitive and navigable interface, and is easy to use for both instructors and students.

Mobile Accessibility: The Canvas mobile app, praised by 72% of users, offers a responsive design and on-the-go access on various devices.

Best-In-Class Integration Capabilities: 55% of users said Canvas integrates well with a wide range of third-party tools and services, and helps create a customized learning environment.

Effective Communication and Collaboration Features: 45% of users appreciate Canvas’ communication tools, specifically discussion boards, announcements and email.

Personalized Course Design: Canvas offers flexible course designs, allowing instructors to create personalized learning experiences for their students, said 40% of users.

Canvas Integration: Allows instructors to conveniently access and view course evaluations directly within their Canvas LMS environment.

Streamlined Evaluations and Surveys: Simplifies the process of creating, distributing, and collecting feedback through course evaluations and surveys.

Data-Driven Insights: Provides tools for analyzing evaluation and survey data to gain insights into student learning, teaching effectiveness, and program improvement.

Technical Glitches and Bugs: Nearly 40% of users report experiencing technical issues, such as system crashes, data loss and bugs.

Steep Learning Curve for Complex Features: According to 30% of users, while the overall interface is user-friendly, more advanced features have a steep learning curve.

Rigid Due Date Policies: Some users mentioned that Canvas's rigid due date rules can be challenging for students who submit work late due to technical issues or other reasons.

Limited Formatting Options: Users have reported limitations in formatting options within the accreditation management features, particularly when creating documents, which may require workarounds for institutions with specific formatting needs.

System Complexity: Watermark offers a suite of products, which while comprehensive, could lead to a steeper learning curve for users who may only need specific features or those accustomed to simpler systems.

Potential for Integration Issues: While Watermark integrates with various Learning Management Systems (LMS), some users have reported challenges requiring customized roles within their LMS to manage course evaluations effectively, highlighting potential compatibility hurdles depending on the LMS used.

Canvas is an eLearning solution used for online, in-person and hybrid learning in a variety of educational settings. Users praise its smooth interface, mobile accessibility and integration capabilities, while also highlighting some technical and usability challenges that may require attention.Users found the system easy to use and navigate, and were happy with its vast suite of features, especially the grading, assignments and assessment tools. Most reported that it’s budget-friendly and had positive experiences with customer service.On the downside, users said they encountered bugs and glitches in the program. They requested a more flexible due date policy and more ease of use in advanced features.All things considered, Canvas is a versatile LMS that provides a modern platform and industry-specific features to make learning more engaging and personalized. It may require some initial investment in training and customization, but it delivers a positive overall experience for both instructors and students.

Is Watermark Insights the high watermark for managing academic tasks, or does it leave users up a creek without a paddle? User reviews from the last year suggest Watermark Insights is a breath of fresh air for higher education institutions looking to streamline their processes and gain valuable insights from their data. Users rave about its intuitive interface and robust integration with popular LMS platforms like Canvas. For instance, instructors can view and analyze course evaluations directly within Canvas, making it a breeze to collect and act on student feedback. This seamless integration is a major differentiating factor, saving educators time and effort compared to juggling multiple platforms. However, some users point out that while Watermark Insights excels in LMS integration and data analysis, its support for creating visually appealing, self-contained websites for accreditation reviews could be improved. While this is a "nice-to-have" feature, it highlights that Watermark Insights, like any software, has areas for potential growth. Overall, Watermark Insights is best suited for higher education institutions seeking a comprehensive solution to manage academic tasks, particularly those already invested in LMS platforms like Canvas. Its intuitive design, seamless integration, and powerful analytics make it a valuable tool for institutions looking to enhance their administrative efficiency and leverage data for continuous improvement.

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FAQ

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