What can't instructors do on an iPad?

[anthonem]

With the Speedgrader and Canvas apps, and given that Canvas unofficially works on Safari and Chrome mobile browsers, which instructor tasks should NOT be attempted on an iPad?

Here's a preliminary list:

• Speedgrader app
  • Can’t upload files to student assignment comments (this is most often used when a student emails you their paper rather than uploading on Canvas)
  • Doesn’t display Google Doc submissions when grading…no way to view in the Speedgrader app…would have to open the Canvas app or use a mobile internet browser

• Canvas app
  • Can’t create a new Assignments and Quizzes
  • Uploading documents is unintuitive (need to find file in another app and then choose “Open in” Canvas)
  • Doesn't support Conferences, Collaborations, Outcomes, Course settings

• iOS internet browser

  • Although possible, use of Canvas from a mobile web browser is NOT officially supported by Canvas – unclear which features will or won’t reliably work
  • Anything that requires Flash won’t work (uploading Word/PDF/PDF’s; recording & uploading media into Announcements, Pages, Conferences)

In your experience, are there additional instructor tasks to avoid when using an iPad?

[rseilham]

This is a good list. I hope to add to it soon. Stay tuned.

[anthonem]

 @rseilham ​ -- let me know if you have any questions as you're trying to figure out the relatively few things you can't do as an instructor using an iPad.

[rseilham · Accepted solution]

We have mainly focused on the smartphone apps at UCF because this is where the majority of our mobile users are accessing Canvas. With that, it's still important to know what is available and this is a great list. It's always promising since there are only a few items. Here are few more:

SpeedGrader:

• Cannot adjust assignment details (This can be done on Android SpeedGrader)
• Set setting: Use this rubric for assignment grading
• Show Ungraded Students First

Canvas by Instructure

• Access student group areas (They can access their own)
• Set notification preferences (available on Android)
• Calendar access (which would also include not being to add/delete events) <-- This is going to change real soon.
• Delete announcements
• Save Discussion as Draft (Instructors) (on Android)
• View Global Announcements

iOS Internet Browser:

• I generally don't focus on this, so I agree with your list. I would think anything not requiring Flash would work pretty well, but like you said, it's unsupported, so it's hard to trust.

[anthonem]

Awesome thanks  @rseilham ​ for getting into the weeds with this. Very helpful!

[dhulsey]

I don't think there is a good way for the instructor to see students' averages or the grade book on any of the mobile apps, and the grade book is not all that friendly on a mobile browser, especially a phone.

[rseilham]

Great point. There is no gradebook support on the mobile apps. You can only see student grades in SpeedGrader, which will let you change the student's grade per assignment, but doesn't give you the whole view of the gradebook.

[joel_mills]

Hi,

My first comment on this group:

I have found that the annotation tools that are available in Crocadoc on the desktop browser such as the drawing tool are not available in the speedgrader app.

This just doesn't make sense: here we have a touch screen that works really well with a stylus input allowing people to add hand-written comments and annotation/charts/diagrams to student feedback... that simply isn't there on the iPad or the Android app for speedgrader.

Has anybody submitted this as a feature request or know why it isn't available on the mobile speedgrader?

[KristinL]

Hi  @joel_mills ​,

Last spring, " modifiedtitle="true" title="Option to Use Stylus with Speedgrader on iPad was created. The (beautiful) yellow banner says that the feature is in development. Once it rolls out, I know our faculty will be excited!

[KristinL]

Yesterday, I was able to connect to a Conference via mobile using the Puffin Browser. It wasn't as smooth as attending/leading a conference at a desktop, but it worked!!