Student PDF Annotations on Web Browser Version

[danielle_kenned]

Recently, a new feature was added to the Canvas App, which allows students to "mark-up" PDFs directly in Canvas and submit them. This is amazing! However, it s only a feature on the App, and not in the normal web browser version for students with Laptops or Desktops. This is a great feature that Canvas has, and I just wish the students at our school (who all have district-provided laptops) could do it too!

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

For more information, please read through the  Canvas Release Notes (2021-05-15).

[rael225]

Yes, Please! As a teacher, I can't afford my own mobile device. All my classrooms have a desktop at the teacher station, not a mobile device. I don't understand why mobile was made a priority here.

[kmeeusen]

Hi  @rael225 ‌

The focus on mobile with Canvas, and with almost all things online in higher ed is almost entirely student driven. Students want to use the devices they have, and those devices are mobile - mostly their phones, and often a tablet. Many schools now have 1:1 mobile initiatives whereby their students are provided with a tablet of one make or another.

Many educators did not foresee the mobile IT revolution; and of those who did, even fewer appreciated how fast this revolution would grow and develop.

Our college has an older and poorer student demographic, and few of our students have a desktop or even laptop computer, but all of them have a smart phone, and they all want to be able to use that device for their online courses.

Kelley

[rael225]

That totally makes sense, Kelley. Thanks for the explanation!

[MattHanes]

As we look to go 1:1 with Chromebooks, I would love to see the ability to annotate PDFs built-in for students. On PCs and laptops they can annotate on a pdf using Adobe Reader but there doesn't appear to be any free options on Chromebooks.

[GideonWilliams]

Not sure I entirely agree with the not foreseeing the mobile IT revolution bit. 1-1 models in the UK had been around for a long time and were supported by government initiatives such as laptops for schools and direct grants.

What is important is that Canvas doesn't miss out on the next developments :O) The marked rise in OneNote in the last 18 months is in some way due to the desire to ink and the impact this is having. As you quite rightly say, this is not just K12 but also colleges/universities.

I have put in an idea request for inking for tablet based devices - https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/8810-use-of-stylus-with-docviewer  and also support this idea.

[jenna_townsend]

 @MattHanes ‌ mentioned a great Chromebook extension option for annotating PDFs, Kami. Works great for Google districts as well! See the whole post at https://community.canvaslms.com/message/97522-pdf-annotations-on-chromebooks?sr=search&searchId=b7d3....

[wlangley]

Has this been implemented yet? This needs to be done, help us go paperless!

[apratt]

The annotation tools (Docviewer) in the Canvas app and Speedgrader work great for our teachers and students.  However, all of our students do not iPads or smart phones.  We have students who need the annotation tools to make work accessible for them due to physical limitations.  Please add annotation tools for documents in Canvas that are accessed through a web browser.accessibilityannotation tools docviewer speedgrader

[shari_derossett]

As a math teacher, this addition would be very helpful to my students.  Please add the ability for students to annotate on documents within Canvas.  

Thank you!

[wlangley]

Shouldn't we be preparing students for the workforce though? Not many professions allow all work to be done on a phone, if at all really.