The Pulse App is D2L’s mobile platform that maximizes productivity on the go while delivering a comprehensive learning experience on any device. The app allows students to stay connected and engaged with convenient, mobile learning. Students can view their class schedules, grades, and content with D2L Brightspace. They can access their full course content seamlessly from their phones without re-signing in.
I use Brightspace for my online courses and have students get the Pulse application on their mobile devices and turn on notifications so that they can view the calendar, be reminded of due dates etc. I know some LMSs don’t support a great mobile experience, however, the Pulse app affords convenience and accessibility for students and improved communication and collaboration between students and instructors. It’s great for posting announcements and helping students stay organized.
It’s nice to see these large companies focusing efforts on supporting mobile platforms in addition to their desktop versions. However, there does seem to be some work to do in terms of usability on the instructor/teacher end of things. Do you use any LMS apps? What are the educational advantages am I missing for instructors?
I often go back and forth between two opposing thoughts when the question of mobile apps for an LMS comes up. On one hand, I think about the practical applications of a mobile app version of an LMS see promise there. I appreciate that D2L has spent some time in consideration of the student experience and think to myself “why it’s taken so long for these larger companies to invest in the mobile experience?”, but I suppose part of it is explained in this post. There is often something left to be desired in the mobile app and despite resources being used to develop things like the Pulse app, it often has less functionality than their desktop counterpart. I also had the Canvas app on my phone for a while, but I found similar issues to what was described earlier in this thread, which has led me to ignore it and opt for an internet browser to check for notifications.
The other thought I have is wondering if an LMS mobile experience is worth the resources that it requires to develop and support. A major criticism of the LMS for quite some time is how onerous it is on educators, institutions, and students as well. It is far from the perfect platform for education, and I think investing in a mobile experience only entrenches the use of a system many have complaints about, rather than considering alternatives that have the potential of contributing to a larger technological ecosystem. I’m not sure what those alternatives could be, but I think it’s worthwhile to ask the question.
Thank you for this post, Megan. I am intrigued by LMSs for mobile devices, and this one seems pretty neat and user-friendly for students. I wish Canvas had a mobile version. It would be superb for communications/notifications/reminders…
However, like you said, there seems to be much work to do in making it user-friendly for educators or instructional designers. Does it allow content editing features? Can learning experience designers easily and conveniently upload, edit, and design content for their courses using this app?
What kinds of learning experiences should be conducted through such apps? Can mobile LMSs host complete learning experiences or are they used as supplements for desk-top versions? What types of pedagogical practices do they readily lend themselves to?
I apologize for the many questions. They are definitely worth exploring in my opinion so I guess I’ll do it for A1!
There is an iOS version of Canvas Student for both iPhone and iPad. It is……. less than satisfactory. In particular, as a student, I find navigating the discussions for my classes frustrating. While the web version of Canvas has a feature to search by the author of the posts, they appear to have left this out of the mobile version. Checking feedback for assignments works, but I wouldn’t want to be submitting assignments on the mobile app.
Yes, Canvas’s mobile version is not a great experience at all. Hard to navigate and frustrating to use (at least in my limited experience with it). While the Pulse app seems to be great for student use, it does not allow me to edit or add content. It’s really just for students, and more of a “view only” tool for instructors. Any changes to the course have to be done through the desktop version. I hope that the mobile version will become more versatile for instructors in the near future!