Create mobile learning experiences

[tobe_baeyens]

Canvas has a great mobile app. It can't do everything, but it can be used to create great mobile learning experiences.

Communication

The mobile app makes it possible to communicate with students on the go.

1. Open a course and go to people to find and send messages to people in your course, or go directly to your Inbox.
2. Create discussion topics and let students reply.

Assessment

The mobile app makes it possible to measure students progress.

1. Create assignments. You can use rubrics for easy online grading, and ask the students to write a few lines, take a picture or record a video with their phone.
2. Create quizzes. For the best mobile experience you shouldn't use certain settings and quiz types.
   1. Let your students do quizzes when they have a minute to spare. Add a mobile friendly quiz to every module in your course.
   2. Let students do quizzes at the beginning or at the end of your lesson. You can check the results immediately and check your students understanding.
   3. Let students do quizzes during your lesson. Quizzes can be used as a polling tool. Prepare some quizzes in advance, or make them when you need them. Ask one or more questions and publish the quiz when you need it.

Learning experiences

Create mobile friendly learning modules.

1. Create at least one learning module that's 100% mobile friendly. It could be a course introduction, or a course summary (everything you need to get a C). This module can be used by students when they have a minute to spare.

Mobile friendly course

Make your courses mobile friendly.

1. Reduce the width of your browser window when your creating content. By doing this you will get an idea of how your course looks on a mobile device. Try to avoid the horizontal scrollbar in your content.
2. Don't add to much content to a page.
3. Add your pages to modules. It's incredibly easy to navigate through modules on a mobile device.
4. And last but not least: Did you know that you can use pdfCreator to create a mobile friendly pdf version of your course text.
   1. Open your course text and choose print
   2. Choose pdfCreator as your printer
   3. Go to printer properties and to advanced settings
   4. Change the page size from A4 to A5 or A6

Your course text will be converted in a pdf that looks beautiful on a smartphone screen. You can make it even better if you decrease the page margins and increase the font size a bit.