Technology!

[mamselle]

So...I have an old iPod (generation or two past the click wheel) which is working just fine, but I worry about losing things when it eventually dies. The computer it was originally synced to is long gone and iTunes (now heading for extinction) wants to wipe it clean if I try to sync it with a new version of iTunes. Any ideas? Preferably, I'd like to move it all off to my android phone-don't know how to do that either.

I missed this before

Get an external hard drive.

M.

[Cheerful]

I haven't used a tablet in years and never for reading student papers.  I'll probably need to do so in the near future.  I'd like to avoid spending hours in Googleland researching "best tablets of 2020."

What are the best tablets with the best screen quality for reading student papers in Word and PDF?   My main concerns:  lack of glare, excellent reading quality, ease of accessing student work.  I know almost nothing about current tablets.  Do Kindles allow you to download student papers?

I am willing to pay more for the best quality.  I do not use Apple products but would consider if quality is an issue and if an Apple would not cause compatibility issues with my PC and/or Android phone.

Trying one more time if anyone has any advice, thanks!  This is an academic/teaching question but the original Tech thread was here so I revived that thread.

[Hibush]

What are the best tablets with the best screen quality for reading student papers in Word and PDF?   My main concerns:  lack of glare, excellent reading quality, ease of accessing student work.  I know almost nothing about current tablets.  Do Kindles allow you to download student papers?

I am willing to pay more for the best quality.  I do not use Apple products but would consider if quality is an issue and if an Apple would not cause compatibility issues with my PC and/or Android phone.

I got a Samsung Galaxy Tab S because it is the only tablet with a bright enough screen that we can collect data in the sun. It is also high resolution. Both of those features should also be useful for reading student papers. There are various sub-models that make the price vary about 3x.

[ergative]

I haven't used a tablet in years and never for reading student papers.  I'll probably need to do so in the near future.  I'd like to avoid spending hours in Googleland researching "best tablets of 2020."

What are the best tablets with the best screen quality for reading student papers in Word and PDF?   My main concerns:  lack of glare, excellent reading quality, ease of accessing student work.  I know almost nothing about current tablets.  Do Kindles allow you to download student papers?

I am willing to pay more for the best quality.  I do not use Apple products but would consider if quality is an issue and if an Apple would not cause compatibility issues with my PC and/or Android phone.

Trying one more time if anyone has any advice, thanks!  This is an academic/teaching question but the original Tech thread was here so I revived that thread.

I don't know if you can download through kindle, but you can definitely email documents to your kindle address, and that includes Word documents:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle/email

It'll probably destroy the formatting, though.

[Biologist_]

I haven't used a tablet in years and never for reading student papers.  I'll probably need to do so in the near future.  I'd like to avoid spending hours in Googleland researching "best tablets of 2020."

What are the best tablets with the best screen quality for reading student papers in Word and PDF?   My main concerns:  lack of glare, excellent reading quality, ease of accessing student work.  I know almost nothing about current tablets.  Do Kindles allow you to download student papers?

I am willing to pay more for the best quality.  I do not use Apple products but would consider if quality is an issue and if an Apple would not cause compatibility issues with my PC and/or Android phone.

Trying one more time if anyone has any advice, thanks!  This is an academic/teaching question but the original Tech thread was here so I revived that thread.

The Microsoft SurfacePro works well for reading and marking up pdfs. It's a full Windows PC with a touchscreen, so you can use it as your personal laptop. The keyboard can be flipped around or removed if you want it to feel like a tablet. Word and Powerpoint have pretty good built-in inking capabilities. DrawboardPDF is a cheap program for marking pdfs. The SurfacePro is fairly expensive, but Lenovo and Acer make products less expensive products that fill the same niche. If you are mainly looking for a convenient way to grade papers electronically, a cheaper option would be a Wacom tablet to connect to your PC.

[FishProf]

I use an iPad and iAnnotate to mark-up student papers.

[Cheerful]

Thank you, Hibush, ergative, Biologist_, and FishProf.  I appreciate your time and expertise.  I'm considering your advice as I contemplate a tablet purchase in the coming weeks.

I'm thinking the iPad likely has the best screen quality for reading, not sure Apple is compatible with my PC and Android phone.

[FishProf]

I use PC and Android phone with iPad.  I have minimal issues in moving from one to the other (Google Drive and/or Dropbox play nice).

[Cheerful]

I use PC and Android phone with iPad.  I have minimal issues in moving from one to the other (Google Drive and/or Dropbox play nice).

Thanks again, FishProf, that's great news.

[AvidReader]

I bought an inexpensive no-name tablet for reading PDFs on a transit commute last year. I don't have a specific tablet recommendation (mine certainly has glare) except to say that anything smaller than 10" would be frustrating for student papers, I think. It can read (and lets me annotate) PDFs, and can handle Microsoft documents; I can highlight text but struggle to write comments or make even proofreader marks (though there is probably an app that lets one insert them as icons). I bought a fine-tip stylus, which is slightly better, but still leaves my annotations looking quite childish. In sum, I think most tablets would be adequate for reading PDFs, but I don't know whether the higher-end ones have better touch sensitivity/finesse.

I also bought a special adapter that lets me plug USBs into the tablet's microUSB port, which let me transition between computer and tablet without having to download every file twice. (Some tablets also have full-size USB ports, but I found that a limiting restriction when hunting for mine).

AR.

[Cheerful]

Thanks, AvidReader.  I didn't think about screen size, stylus issues, or adapters. All important.  I have a USB adapter for my laptop.

If only our campus IT people could do the research, recommend the best options, and provide ways to order at a university discount.  Especially now with more faculty doing things electronically.  Doesn't seem ridiculous to expect from IT in the 21st century.

[spork]

Since there's a high probability that my online teaching will continue through the rest of 2020, I'm now in the market for a reasonably-priced, reliable headset (earphones + microphone). I need something that runs off a single audio jack or a USB port. That's what my work-issued laptop has.

Edited to add: I'm not a gamer or a radio program host, so I don't need super-duper quality. But I don't want some cheap piece of Chinese-made plastic crap that's going to break in three months either.

[FishProf]

I've had luck with both of these (one at school, one at home)

Logitech Stereo Headset H110

Plantronics Audio 655 USB Multimedia Headset with Noise Canceling Microphone for PC and Mac

[Parasaurolophus]

Moodle question: how do I get the open/closed eye (for show/hide item from students) to show up in the gradebook setup, if it's not showing at all?

For context: it shows up for every grade item except the final exam in one class. I just can't make the final exam grades visible to students. (I can still make every other grade item in that class visible or invisible, however.)

Any idea where I screwed up?


UPDATE: Looks like I have it set to remain hidden until midnight tonight. I don't understand why I can't change the setting now, but *shrug*. I guess it'll solve itself!

[downer]

I might start a new thread for this but I thought I'd try here first. It's not totally a technology question.

I'm comparing options for what textbook or course package to use for an online course for community college students.

(Please don't tell me to use PDFs uploaded to the LMS. That ain't gonna work.)

This is a course that needs to be ADA compliant, but there's no support for making materials ADA compliant.

This makes me tempted to use course packages provided by commerical publishers like Cengage or Pearson. They have a lot of stuff up in their online platforms. It is basically plug and play. It could make my life easier.

However, I find that I really hate reading their textbooks on their online platforms. It's hard to follow the flow, and it is hard to read on a computer screen. Turning pages is slow. Some say they have apps that students can use for their phones and tablets, but I haven't tried them and I'm skeptical about how user-friendly those apps will be given my experience with the online platforms.

Personally, I am happy reading books on my Kindle app on my phone or tablet. But most other screen reading of dense texts is a challenge, whether it is PDFs or on via platforms you need to sign in to. I find that quite often students are happy to read textbooks on their tablets or phones but many prefer hard copies.

So here's my question. Has anyone had good experiences with publisher online platforms providing their textbooks and accompanying material? What has the student experience been? Are some platforms better than others?