Academic institutions and business establishments alike rely on learning management systems (LMS) to educate and train individuals. Even though Canvas and Zoho LMS weren’t made to serve the same users, both are LMS software products that aid the learning process in an organization. In this article, we’ll take a look at the similar features of Canvas and Zoho LMS and talk about their distinct features to help you make a decision. If you want to save time on your software search for your school or business, use our Product Selection Tool to get a free shortlist of the best LMS software for you. We’ll ask a few questions to learn more about your needs then send a list of personalized software recommendations.

An overview of Canvas vs. Zoho LMS

Canvas is an LMS software from Instructure that offers software products designed for K-12 and higher education. Canvas has various features to facilitate smoother learning management for both educators and students. For example, the system lets educators grade and assess students while also letting students easily communicate with their teachers and peers. Numerous schools and universities in the US use Canvas for the digital learning needs, including Oregon State University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of California. Zoho LMS is a new product from Zoho People HR. The beta version of this LMS software from Zoho was released in December 2019. Designed for corporate use, Zoho LMS lets instructors create and customize training courses. It also lets learners interact with each other virtually. Additionally, this LMS software product offers several other features related to employee training and performance.

Feature comparison

Canvas and Zoho LMS offer features to help instructors or educators create courses and assess learners or students. They also have features to let the LMS users interact with each other.

Course creation

Canvas lets educators create a course from scratch or import a course from a student information system (SIS). Educators can easily create courses straight from their dashboard. From there, users can publish and share their courses with other educators and admins as well as view and remove people enrolled in courses. Zoho LMS lets instructors create and customize their courses. When you create a course, you can add assignments, assessments, videos, and downloadable content. This LMS software also makes recommendations as to which courses are suitable for a particular department.

Grading

Canvas’s Speedgrader feature lets educators grade their students. Grades for quizzes and assignments can be provided by educators through this feature, along with feedback and annotations. Educators can also give video feedback. For Zoho LMS, instructors can grade learners based on the results of their assessments and attendance. Learners can also provide feedback on their instructor through the grading feature of Zoho LMS. This grading feature integrates seamlessly with the Performance Management System. This means grades for completed courses will automatically be added to learners’ performance assessments. Read also: What Is eLearning? How eLearning Can Help Your Business

Conferences

For Canvas, students and educators can have conferences related to courses. Educators can host conferences to give students a chance to raise questions or concerns about certain courses or lessons. Students can join conferences they are invited to, and instructors can include videos, notes, and statistics in conferences. Educators and students alike can access Canvas conferences archives. Zoho LMS also lets learners raise questions and concerns through the Discussions feature. Discussions can be started by the instructor or trainer, the course admin, or both, providing a channel for two-way communication between trainers and learners.

Other unique features of Canvas and Zoho LMS

Since Canvas was made for educational institutions, it has features that can’t be found in Zoho LMS. For instance, Canvas has a feature that lets parents communicate with educators so parents can stay updated on their child’s academic life. Canvas lets users share resources such as quizzes, modules, courses, assignments, and videos with each other. Another unique feature is the ability to share web pages or URLs with the educator. Zoho LMS also has special capabilities that aren’t available in Canvas. Course admin and instructors in Zoho LMS can see who the top-performing employees and the top-rated trainers are. With Zoho LMS, managers can choose the specific courses they want their employees to take. This LMS automatically recommends the appropriate courses for a specific job department, too.

Integrations

Canvas may be integrated with many popular software and applications that are most commonly used in an academic environment. It can be integrated with web storage services, assessment engines, video platforms, anti-plagiarism software products, time management software products, and other communication tools. Integration for Canvas include:
  • Amazon S3
  • Facebook
  • Microsoft
  • Twitter
  • G Suite
  • LinkedIn
  • Panopto
Zoho LMS readily integrates with the products and platforms that can aid in a smoother learning process for businesses. It mostly integrates with other Zoho products and applications that help in web conferencing, gauging employee performance, and bug tracking. There are some select non-Zoho tools for digital employee rewarding and e-signature that readily integrates with Zoho. More third-party tools and applications can be integrated with Zoho LMS through an integration software, Workato. Some integrations for Zoho LMS are:
  • Zoho Meetings
  • Zoho Performance Management Software
  • Xoxoday Plum
  • eSkill
  • Adobe Document Cloud
  • Rewarderr

Best uses

Canvas is a well-respected LMS used by reputable schools, colleges, and universities. This system offers a set of useful features that any academic organization can benefit from. If you are managing an educational institution, Canvas is certainly worth your consideration. While Zoho LMS is still a new LMS product, it was developed by the reputable company, Zoho. In addition, Zoho LMS has a range of promising features that can improve the learning management structure of businesses. What’s more, it readily integrates with other Zoho products. If you’re already using Zoho for your business, choosing Zoho LMS for your employee training needs is a smart move. Still not sure if either of these products are right for you? Use our Product Selection Tool to get your free shortlist of LMS software recommendations. Getting started is easy and takes five minutes or less.