How do you get speedgrader pen to work with a touchscreen or external tablet pen?

[robert_dutnall]

I am trying to get the speedgrader pen to work either on a touchscreen or using an external tablet pen.

I've seen questions like this before but they have not provided a solution that works for me. I'm trying to use speedgrader to annotate submissions and to get the pen or other functions to work either with a PC laptop with a touchscreen or a different PC laptop (no touchscreen) with an external Wacom tablet pen. I'm using Canvas via Chrome browser and in either situation, like others have described, the touchscreen or tablet pen just moves the document around, it does not write anything no matter what I do (similar for the highlighter etc). The mouse works fine but it is impossible to use as a writing tool with any precision unless I want it to look like a first grader wrote all over the document. I've tried as many of the suggestions I have found by searching these Q & A pages as possible (updated browser, use different browser, touch the screen first then it works for some people). I've used the pen in speedgrader on the Canvas teacher app on my android phone and it works fine there but it is really not practical to grade and make comments using a 2.5 inch by 5 inch screen.

Is there any general solution to this?

[rseilham · Accepted solution]

 @robert_dutnall ‌, 

This is the only information I was able to find that might be helpful: https://community.canvaslms.com/thread/33136-stylus-use-in-speedgrader 

Using a stylus with a Windows Laptop or connected external tablet does not work consistently. 

[ElisaBarneySmit]

"does not work consistently" - what an understatement!

I have a Surface Pro. Technically you can annotate with a stylus, but in reality it shows Canvas has miserable technology. Our university just switched from BlackBoard to Canvas. It took BlackBoard too long to give stylus support, but they finally had it. Now I'm back to practically inoperable pen input. Grading 2 page reports is taking me FOREVER and my writing looks like a kindergardner's. Pen input is not a new computer technology. You know that teachers and professors will be doing grading of essays. Why do you have a pen icon if you didn't expect it? Making a transition from one platform to another is difficult enough. Now this just another insult. I am not impressed and am incredibly frustrated.