Use of Stylus with DOCViewer

[GideonWilliams]

This idea has been developed and deployed to Canvas

This idea is applicable to any 2-in-1 / hybrid device with stylus capacity eg Chromebook, Surface Pro 4, Yoga, ASUS etc.

Microsoft's recent education event (May 2017) highlighted the increasing opportunities for schools to invest in low cost 2-in-1 hybrids running Windows 10. Since then at least 5 new devices have been released - 5 Budget Windows Hybrids 2-in-1 Tablets and Laptops for Schools – Colour My Learning . Many schools, including our own, are now looking at these as viable alternatives to 1-1 iPads.

The potential of inking is huge, not just in the hands of students but for teachers and marking.

Canvas has just released DOCViewer in Beta. As yet it is not possible to annotate work inline using the stylus (at least on my Surface Pro).

We would love to see inking/hand-written/stylus based annotations being available for those using Canvas via the browser.

This idea has been added to our product plan for Q1 2019 and will influence development within Canvas. Follow this idea to receive updates as they are available.

:smileyinfo: Adding this idea to our product plan means we will be working on it, but it does not guarantee that it will be developed exactly as defined by the idea, or that it will be added to the production environment.

Read more about the feature idea process:

• Adaptation: Feature Idea Process Changes‌
• How does the feature idea process work in the Canvas Community?
• What is the feature development process for Canvas? ‌

Comments from Instructure

For more information, please read through the https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-16291-canvas-release-notes-2019-02-16 .

[GideonWilliams]

Fond memories of Moodle's PDF assignment - that was quite a while ago too!

[graham_stock]

Thank you for putting this through! I have been using speedgrader on Canvas on my Surface Pro 4 to mark student work for years without issue. Now with this update to the new DocViewer it is unusable. Incredibly disappointing!

[locke]

It's also interesting to note that even in the, US Windows is second only to Chrome and has more than 50% of the non-Chrome market.
(I also think Chrome might be as high as it is, because it might be the only way to go if you attempt to put a mobile device in every student's hand.)

[gharbor]

100% agree. We are trying to move to a full Continuous Reporting system with Canvas at the centre of the Feedback loop, and I just worked out that with our staff's Dell Latitude Pen Enabled devices they can't mark using the SpeedGrader and a pen!! 

The native web-based version of DocViewer should just work with a pen enabled device regardless of the OS you are on??? Surely this should have been the first priority when rebuilding the grading system of Canvas?

Deactivated user‌

[luc_vancauwenbe]

Can someone from Canvas give some more insight here? What is the status? To what extend will Instructure support the use of pen enabled windows 10 devices?

[gramos]

I would welcome this as well! I use a Surface Pro & being able to ink within Speedgrader would open up a whole new world.  I teach physics so being able to ink on a student's diagrams or equations is important feedback for students. I envision a world where a student can snap a picture of their work & upload it and then I can give it a quick grade in Speedgrader.  Students would get feedback much more quickly than submitting paper assignments.  Would be useful, too, if, for example, I created an assignment where students could submit the solution to any HW/practice problem they are having trouble with & I could quickly annotate it. (Sure, I *could* do the screencast workaround that was mentioned, but I have a LOT of students and problems to grade so it's just not feasible.)

[cc_armidale]

This is a good question. Is there somewhere we can find out whether this feature is being considered? Within the school I work in, it's a very hot topic. Teachers with online classes have just been provided with great new laptops, complete with touchscreens and styluses. We're very keen to be able to use the devices to the fullest extent in SpeedGrader.

[adam_wiseman]

Our K-12 district is majority Chromebooks with our secondary schools having some of the newer models that work with Android apps; however, the Canvas Teacher app is not able to be downloaded to Chromebooks probably due to a line of code. Please have your Canvas developers check into this so that teachers can use a stylus on SpeedGrader or get the web-based DocViewer to work better with a stylus, otherwise more teachers will be forced to use Google Classroom which marks up documents seamlessly with the Classroom app.

[locke]

I teach physics online (as well as on campus) and use a Surface Pro.  I also have students submit work in progress either with a photo or pdf (for those who use a tablet themselves.  I have to download those submissions if I want to comment/draw on them.  I even do that with sharing a screen through ConferZoom.  But, it would be more efficient if I could mark up within speed grader with the stylus.

Don't forget to ask all of your colleagues to vote this one up.

[GideonWilliams]

From press release last week - 

• Canvas DocViewer: Built in-house to replace the Box previewer and Crocodoc annotation tools (and initially rolled out in 2017), Canvas DocViewer automatically converts common document types into web-viewable and interactive learning experiences. DocViewer supports a variety of document types that can be converted in Canvas, rendering them as PDFs in SpeedGrader where they can be easily annotated, streamlining the grading process for teachers. And with ongoing enhancements, DocViewer has surpassed the functionality of those legacy tools, empowering teachers like never before.

But not yet the functionality of being able to use a stylus...... Still waiting for this to happen :O(