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Mobile-friendly course design

Research data show that students are using mobile devices to access course materials. In response to those data and to support University of Minnesota students and instructors, staff members from Academic Technology Support Services developed and facilitated the first Meet your students where they are: Design your Canvas course to be mobile-friendly session. In this post, we’ll share the mobile device access data, provide key takeaways shared by webinar participants, and invite you to enroll in another opportunity to explore mobile-friendly Canvas courses.

Research Data

The use of mobile devices for learning is on the rise. A 2018 survey of 64,536 college students from 130 higher educational institutions found that 95% of those students had smartphones (Galanek, Gierdowski, & Brooks, 2018). Additionally, demographics also make a difference in the use of mobile devices. While 95% of students owned smartphones, the students who identified as “non-white, first-generation college students, students whose families have lower incomes, and those with disabilities” (Galanek, Gierdowski, & Brooks, 2018, p. 11) viewed mobile devices as more important for academic success than white, wealthier students.

How are students using mobiles for learning?

Mobile learning is typically defined as an ability to learn anywhere, any time through the use of mobile computing devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops (Gierdowski, 2019). Students find that using mobile devices is a convenient way to perform certain online learning activities and tasks. They tend to use mobile phones to:
  • view notes,
  • access course readings,
  • check course messages and grades, and
  • participate in class discussions (Baldwin & Ching, 2020).

What do we know about UMN students' use of mobile devices for learning?


Mobile use of Canvas by UMN students followed similar patterns. The mobile browser - viewing or interacting with a Canvas course using a browser on a phone - was used by 42% of students between the time period of June 2020 to April 2021.

Usage of the Canvas Student app was slightly higher, with 47.3% of UMN students using the student app during June 2020 to April 2021.

Get Started with Mobile Design

One of the recommendations provided in Guidelines for designing online courses for mobile devices (Baldwin & Ching, 2020) was for instructors and course designers to view the design of courses on mobile devices. This is where the hands-on activities for the November 2021 Meet your students where they are: Design your Canvas course to be mobile-friendly session began.

Session recap

Alongside the facilitators, participants explored the topics of mobile usage, its impact on course learning, patterns of mobile use by students, and then delved into hands-on activities to experience mobile learning from the student perspective. During the session, while logged into an example Canvas course site on their mobile devices, participants broke into groups to:
  • compare Canvas Pages to how Google Docs and PDFs can be accessed
  • submit an assignment
  • reply to a discussion post
  • view an announcement
  • watch a Kaltura video embedded on a page
  • reply to a Flipgrid assignment

Key session takeaways

  • Exploring your basic course elements (discussions, assignments, accessing course readings/videos) from a mobile device is eye-opening for how students may be navigating your course
  • The To-Do List is key (both on mobile and from browser) as to how students navigate a Canvas course
  • The mobile app may not a reliable place to submit assignments 
  • Using tools integrated in Canvas such as VoiceThread and FlipGrid, require students to download the app for that tool which is an extra step for the student. Ensure you are using such tools more than once to make it worthwhile for the students to take those extra steps. Some tools also require additional instructions to use the app and complete the assignment that instructors would need to provide to students
  • Test the student experience for yourself.  Download the Canvas Student app on a mobile device [Android | iOS] so you can see firsthand how your Canvas course appears. It is important to note, the iOS app and the Android app don’t always display the same, and even different devices within the same platform can have variable functionality and user experience depending on the individual devices and notification settings. 

The Mobile design investigation continues

Round Two of the exploration of mobile learning is coming up on April 12, 2022. Register and join the exploration.

References

Baldwin, S.J., Ching, YH. (2020). Guidelines for Designing Online Courses for Mobile Devices. TechTrends 64, 413–422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-019-00463-6

Galanek, J.D., Gierdowski, D.C., & Brooks, D.C. (2018). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2018. Educause Center for Analysis and Research. https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2018/10/studentitstudy2018.pdf?la=en&hash=C590C1F6C62B77792711BFAC1F642254A5618590

Gierdowski, D.C. (2019). ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2019. Educause Center for Analysis and Research. https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2019/10/studentstudy2019.pdf?la=en&hash=25FBB396AE482FAC3B765862BA6B197DBC98B42C

Acknowledgments

Blog post contributors and mobile session facilitators include Sara Schoen and Susan Tade.