Teacher App: iOS vs Android

[rseilham]

I have compiled a list of difference between the iOS and Android Teacher app. If you notice a mistake or something I'm missing, let me know and I'll add it to the list. 

 

Attaching Media

• On Android, the camera will only take photos and won't let the user create a video.

• Not sure if it’s a bug, but editing an assignment doesn't allow a user to attach an image on Android.

• Android will not allow the user to record audio only, but this is available on iOS. 

NOTE: a user can only attach ONE item to an announcement, discussion or conversation message on BOTH iOS and Android. Conversation messages support more than one. 

Rich Content Editor (RCE)

The teacher app brings rich context editing for the first time to a Canvas mobile app. This gives instructors the ability to add simple styles to text. This includes the

• bold
• italics
• numbered lists
• ordered lists
• links

Android only

• underline
• insert an image*

*To insert an image, the user will need to know the link to the image. The app doesn’t support uploading any media directly through the the RCE on either mobile platform. 

Inbox

The Inbox is really a nice upgrade over the existing Canvas App version. It’s quick, easy on the eye and had intuitive features.

The only difference is not really a difference. This is the only place where a user can attach more than one item when attaching media. Conversation messages support attaching more than one item. 

Profile

• Android users can change their profile photo and name (if allowed by their administrator) 
• iOS support Act as User

To Do Items

• No differences. 

Announcements

There are few subtle differences in the Android and iOS version, which are mostly focused on attaching media to announcement text and the announcement itself.

Assignments

The Assignments section in iOS and Android are very similar except the following:

• Under the submission list
  • Android does not filter by Graded.
  • Terminology for iOS is Haven't submitted yet while Android is Not Submitted
  • Terminology for iOS is Haven't been graded while Android is Not Graded
• Refer to the Rich Content Editor section for other differences.
• iOS will let a user try to unpublish an assignment when there are user submissions, but there is an error (and there should be), but Android hides this option.

Quizzes

On the surface there isn’t much difference between iOS and Android, but the biggest differences come when accessing quiz settings on Android.

The Android and iOS app share the following settings in common:

• Quiz Type
• Published (On/Off) - NOTE: Android won't allow publish settings once due date has passed.
• Require Access Code (On/Off)

The iOS app allows the user to adjust more settings than Android, which includes:

• Assignment Group
• Shuffle Answers (On/Off)
• Time Limit (On/Off)
  • Length in minutes
• Allow Multiple Attempts (On/Off)
• Quiz Score to Keep (Average/Latest/Highest)
• Allowed Attempts
• Let Students See Their Quiz Responses (On/Off)
• Only Once After Each Attempt (On/Off)
• Let Students See the Correct Answer (On/Off)
• Show Correct Answers At
• Hide Correct Answers At
• Show One Question at a Time (On/Off)

Refer to the Rich Content Editor section for other differences.

Quiz Summary Information

The quiz summary shows slightly different information in Android and iOS

• Android shows points in quiz summary, iOS doesn’t, but does at the top of the quiz details screen.
• Android shows multiple attempts (Yes/No), while iOS does not. 
• Android has Show Correct Answers as “Immediately” while iOS is “Always”
• iOS shows Score to Keep, while Android does not. 
• iOS uses the terminology Allowed Attempts while Android uses Attempts

Discussions

As mentioned above in Announcements, the RCE on Android and iOS share subtle differences. As for the discussions tool itself, here are a few small differences:

• Android can only delete, but not upload or edit attached media to an existing discussion topic
• iOS orders discussion by topics that have no replies followed by last replied. Android orders discussions by last replied and then topics with no replies. If the discussion is closed for comment
• iOS allows users to subscribe to a discussion, but Android doesn’t have this option. 
• Android allows a teacher to like a discussion reply (if enabled on the web)
• Refer to the Rich Content Editor and Attaching Media section for other differences. 
• Users cannot view ungraded group discussions on iOS and Android  @mjennings ‌

Attendance

• No differences. 

SpeedGrader 

SpeedGrader is really the heart of this app. It gives teachers the ability to do so much on the go, and with the addition of an iPhone version, it’s even more convenient than before.

The parity between Android and iOS is very good with only a few subtle differences:

• When annotating, the Android app doesn’t have a button for undo
• Under comments, the Android app adds the text “Submitted Files” with the submission.
• The Android version hides “Add Comments” or “View Long Description” in a Rubric if this hasn't been set on the web. iOS hides "Add Comments" if not set on the web, but shows "View Long Description" regardless.
• The rubrics area on Android has a save button that needs to be tapped to save the grade. With iOS, the user can just swipe to the next user and the grade is saved
• The Android version can export documents from SpeedGrader to the device, while iOS does not. 
• Rubrics display from smallest to largest, left to right - This is opposite on the web version (8/10  @victoria-maloy ‌)

Pages 

• On Android, users can add choose the option Set as Front Page when creating a new page

Files 

• Refer to Attaching Media section for differences. 

 

People

• Android can filter people by section.

 

General

Android and iOS are fundamentally different, so it’s not reasonable to expect perfect parity with how features work on both platforms. For instance, Android generally leans towards drop downs, when iOS uses dropdown menus. Other difference(s) noticed: 

• Android version has limited support for web-based LTIs