Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL Pilot Report
Report on the spring 2013 pilot of the Blackboard mobile application designed for
ANGEL, Penn State’s course management system
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1
About This Report ................................................................................................................................... 2
About Blackboard Mobile Learn ........................................................................................................ 3
Results of the General Mobile Survey .............................................................................................. 4
General Mobile Survey Demographic Information ...................................................................................... 4
The Top Four Apps/Services Respondents Were Most Likely to Use.................................................... 4
The Top Three Requested Capabilities Desired in a Mobile Learning App ....................................... 4
Respondent Awareness of Mobile Apps Offered by Penn State ............................................................... 5
Pilot Demographics ................................................................................................................................ 6
Number of Unique Logins by Month.................................................................................................................... 6
Number of Unique Logins by Platform............................................................................................................... 6
Devices Using the Mobile App................................................................................................................................. 7
End-of-Pilot Survey Results ................................................................................................................. 8
Reasons for Using the Mobile App ........................................................................................................................ 8
Ease of Use....................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Frequency of Use .......................................................................................................................................................... 9
Technical Issues ............................................................................................................................................................ 9
Recommendations by Pilot Participants Who Responded to the Survey .........................................13
Appendix A: Pilot Team Members .................................................................................................. 16
Appendix B: Applications and Features Summary ................................................................... 17
Appendix C: Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL .................................................................. 222
Appendix D: Faculty and Student Instructions ........................................................................ 255
Appendix E: Results of the General Survey ............................................................................... 277
Appendix F: Summary of Resident Instruction Pilot Participant Responses ............... 433
Appendix G: Summary of World Campus Pilot Participant Responses............................. 50
Executive Summary
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL is an application that enables instructors and
students to access their courses in ANGEL via their iPhone, iPad, Android phone or
tablet, or BlackBerry device. A pilot was conducted during the spring 2013 semester
to assess the potential of the application to improve the teaching and learning
experience at Penn State. Forty-four instructors from 13 residential campuses and
the World Campus participated in the pilot. The pilot was composed of 63 course
sections containing 1,399 students. Two surveys were conducted, a general survey
on mobile applications before the start of the pilot and a survey on the effectiveness
of the mobile application at the conclusion of the pilot. The general mobile survey
was delivered by Blackboard Learn and made available to the entire Penn State
community. All data collected were shared with the pilot team. The mobile
application survey was created by the pilot team and delivered to all participants in
the pilot. The key outcomes of the pilot are listed below.

One thousand one hundred and forty one individuals, approximately 7% of
the community, responded to the general mobile survey delivered by
Blackboard Learn. Respondents indicated that they would most likely want
to use a mobile application to access ANGEL, access interactive campus maps,
to view the bus/shuttle schedule in real time, and view the hours of
operation of campus services, such as dining halls and recreation facilities.

Seventy-two individuals (5%) responded to the end-of-pilot survey. The
majority of respondents indicated they felt the application was easy to use;
however, they also indicated that the functionality was limited. Instructors
could not create or grade assignments and students could not submit
assignments. The primary frustration expressed by the pilot participants was
that the app was a limited content consumption vehicle.
Based on these outcomes, it is recommended that the University not pursue
purchasing the app in its current format. Instead, the University should work with
the vendor to explore the possibility of expanding the kinds of mobile services the
app offers. Another possible solution, should Penn State move off of ANGEL to
another course management system, is to explore the possibility of incorporating
the vendor’s mobile application as part of a complete mobile application strategy.
1
About This Report
This report presents an analysis of the pilot of the Blackboard Mobile Learn for
ANGEL LMS, referred to as “Mobile Learn” or “the app” in this document. Mobile
Learn is an application designed to provide users with a better experience when
accessing ANGEL from a mobile device. The pilot took place during the spring 2013
semester. Forty-four instructors from 13 residential campuses and the World
Campus participated in the pilot. The pilot was composed of 63 course sections
containing 1,399 students. Two surveys were conducted, a general survey on mobile
applications before the start of the pilot and a survey on the effectiveness of the
mobile application at the conclusion of the pilot. The general mobile survey was
made available to the entire Penn State community and the mobile application
survey was delivered to all participants in the pilot. The report is broken out into
sections based on each of the criteria evaluated. Each section begins with the
findings and ends with a discussion of the results. The supporting documentation
for the pilot processes is located in the appendices at the end of the document.
2
About Blackboard Mobile Learn
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL is a mobile application that enables instructors
and students to access their courses in ANGEL via their iPhone or iPad, Android
phone or tablet, or BlackBerry device. The app was available for download at the
iTunes Store and the Android Marketplace. For the pilot, there was no charge for
downloading the app. Blackboard Learn waived the $2.99 fee they normally charge.
However, personal data plan charges still applied. Only course sections that were
part of the pilot appeared in the app dashboard. In its present version, Mobile Learn
is primarily a content consumption vehicle. A full listing of the applications and
features can be found in Appendix B and Appendix C.
Some of the key features of the application are:
 The ability to view lesson content and open attached files (instructors and
students).
 Instructors can post and students can read class announcements.
 Post and reply to discussion forums (instructors and students).
 View grades (students).
 View the roster (instructors and students).
 Play media files uploaded by the instructor (instructors and students).
Some of the critical limitations to the application are:
 The inability for the instructor to view grades.
 The inability for instructors to add content items.
 The inability for students to upload assignments to a drop box.
 The inability for students to take an assessment.
 The inability to send/read/reply to course mail (instructors and students).
3
Results of the General Mobile Survey
A survey designed to gauge the potential interest in mobile services was conducted
prior to the start of the pilot. The survey was emailed to a random set of individuals
from a sample size of 17,500 and took place November 7–30, 2012.
Table 1: General Mobile Survey
Sample size demographic
Faculty
Staff
Undergraduates
Number of random
participants selected
1,500
1,000
14,000
Graduates
1,000
Percentage of total
population
20% of faculty
10% of staff
20% of
undergraduates
20% of graduate
students
Blackboard Learn, as part of their mobile initiative, delivered the survey and
collected the data. All data was shared back with the pilot team (see Appendix A for
a list of the team members). The pilot team also worked with Blackboard Learn to
tailor the questions to the needs of the Penn State community. The response rate
was 7% (1,141 responses).
General Mobile Survey Demographic Information







75% of respondents were students.
83% of respondents have a smartphone and/or tablet device.
59% of respondents have an iPhone followed by 33% who have an Android
device.
90% of respondents use their device to access the Internet multiple times a
day.
98% of respondents have their mobile device with them more than 75% of
the time.
75% of respondents access mobile apps at least once per day.
55% of respondents would not be willing to pay for a mobile learning app.
The Top Four Apps/Services Respondents Were Most Likely to Use




Access the course management system (11%)
Access interactive campus maps and get directions (9%)
See campus shuttle schedules and real-time shuttle locations (9%)
View hours of operation for campus services, e.g., placement center, dining
hall, etc. (9%)
The Top Three Requested Capabilities Desired in a Mobile Learning App



Access class-related documents (19%)
View grades and assignments (19%)
View exam and course timetables (18%)
4
Respondent Awareness of Mobile Apps Offered by Penn State



15% of respondents were aware of the bus tracker app.
14% of respondents were aware of the emergency information service.
11% of respondents were aware of the full Penn State website.
5
Pilot Demographics
Forty-four instructors from 13 residential campuses and the World Campus
participated in the pilot. The pilot was composed of 63 course sections containing
1,399 students.
Table 2: Campuses participating in pilot
Campuses participating in the pilot
Abington
Behrend
Berks
Brandywine
Fayette
Hazleton
New Kensington
Lehigh Valley
Shenango
University Park
Wilkes-Barre
World Campus
Worthington-Scranton
York
Number of Unique Logins by Month
Blackboard Learn tracked the number of times a course in the pilot was accessed via
the mobile app and shared that information with the pilot team. This data was
collected for the period January 1–May 29, 2013. Over the course of the semester,
3,087 unique logins were recorded. The majority of logins (1861/60%) occurred in
January.
Table 3: Number of Unique Logins
Month
January
February
March
April
May
Total
Number of unique logins
1,861
528
335
286
79
3,087
Number of Unique Logins by Platform
Blackboard Learn tracked the type of platform used to access the mobile app and
shared that information with the pilot team. This data was collected for the period
January 1–May 29, 2013. Over the course of the semester, 3,087 unique logins were
recorded.
6
Table 4: Number of unique logins by platform
Month
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
Total
Android
315
55
30
29
12
441
Blackberry
12
4
0
0
0
16
iOS
1,534
469
469
257
67
2,631
Devices Using the Mobile App
The majority of logins (85%) were from devices using the iOS platform (iPhone,
iPad). Fourteen percent were from devices using the Android platform and 1% from
Blackberry. The devices using the iOS system were iPads, iPhones, and the iPod
Touch. Sixty-three different types of devices used the Android platform. The most
popular were Acer tablets, Droids (Razr and X-series), Samsung Galaxy series, LG
phones, and Nexus tablets.
7
End-of-Pilot Survey Results
A survey was delivered to the pilot participants near the end of the semester. The
purpose of the survey was to collect data regarding the experience of faculty and
students as it specifically related to the Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL app.
The survey was available to the pilot participants March 25–April 19, 2013. Seventyfour pilot participants responded to the survey, approximately 5% of the total pilot
participants.
Reasons for Using the Mobile App
Responses
Number
Percent
View lesson content
56
25%
View grades
38
17%
Open files and attachments
Read announcements
View class roster
Read discussion forum posts
Post to a discussion forum
View media (images, videos, sound files)
View syllabus/course schedule
View lesson content
32
29
24
17
12
9
5
56
14%
13%
11%
8%
5%
4%
2%
1%
Total
224
100%
Table 5
Ease of Use
Responses
Number
Percent
Very Easy
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Very Difficult
48
15
8
2
1
65%
20%
11%
3%
1%
Total
74
100%
Table 6
8
Frequency of Use
Responses
Daily
Weekly
Occasionally
Never
Total
Number
Percent
1
9
58
6
74
1%
12%
79%
8%
100%
Table 7
Technical Issues
Issues with Installation
Issues Experienced When
Installing the App
Yes
No
Total
Number
Percent
8
66
74
11%
89%
100%
Table 8
Comments
The following comments were provided to the question: “If you answered yes to the
question above, please describe what happened.”
Issue 1: Unclear direction on how to find the app
“The only issue I had was finding it. Directions given to me to search for and
find the app were unclear.”
Issue 2: Failure to log in
“At first logging in at school but then it was figured out and everything
worked great the rest of the year.”
“Login issues. Would show ‘loading,’ then get ‘Web page not available at
https://cms.psu/api/v7.4/mobile.svr/REST.customAuthDevice might be
temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.’
EVENTUALLY, I figured out I had to go back a screen (sometimes that was
possible, other times not) to select ‘Pennsylvania State University-University
Park.’ Then I could get login screen.”
Issue 3: Failure to install
“It would not install on my device. Every time I went onto it, it said it was
having issues and forced closed.”
9
Issues with Use
Issues Experienced When
Using the App
Yes
No
Total
Number
Percent
29
44
73
60%
40%
100%
Table 9
Comments
The following comments were provided to the question: “If you answered yes to
the question above, please describe what happened.”
Issue 1: Failure to log in
“One day: I logged into PSU and got Penn instead!”
“Also it would not accept my password the first time I entered it.”
“Sometimes I have problems staying logged in that I end up having to relog in.”
“The app would often hang while authenticating during login. It was
often quicker to find a computer and log into ANGEL or use the
Android's built-in browser to log in to the ANGEL website like a
caveman.”
“I didn't have many apps installed on mine yet, so I needed to find an app
to read Word docs...discussions boards were not very efficient to read.”
“By using these apps with my iPhone login and passwords, it blocked me
out from being able to sign in to my VoiceThread when I used my psu.edu
login.”
Issue 2: Failure to access
“I felt that I did not have the access and control I was looking for.”
“I only use Wi-Fi on my phone so I would only access it when I had this
option. “
“I had to reinstall it each time I connected to a wireless network, even
networks that I use daily. If I installed it while connected to Penn State's
wireless network, I would have to reinstall it to get it to load when I went
home.”
“The functionality of the app has a long way to go before it becomes a
viable method of accessing ANGEL.”
10
Issue 3: Failure to use easily
“A couple of times I had to reboot the app but this was not annoying. I
just did not find it helpful to me. It was just as easy to use my computer.”
“My students didn't use it. They said for IST 421, it is much easier to be on
a computer.”
“IST 420 has a lot of programming exercises, which is hard to do via the
app. Also, I was not able to rotate the documents into landscape,
especially with an iPhone 5 where the screen is longer and narrow.”
“I was very unhappy with this app and would not use it as it stands now.“
Issue 4: Gradebook issues
“When viewing the gradebook, there is not an overall grade average given
like on ANGEL.”
“The design felt out-of-date, and some important information isn't
translated to the app. For example, the grades section would display my
grades, points earned, but the instructor's comments and the file I
uploaded was unavailable.”
Issue 5: Failure to use links
“Links that were added would not open.”
Issue 6: Speed issues
“I personally felt the app was slow;, I used it on my Nexus 7 device and
felt that it took longer to get around the app then just using a web
interface.”
“Slow, and often crashed.”
Issue 7: Failure to load/download
“The app after the initial use would fail to load any course data and
would crash.”
“Slow to load. Sometimes would not load when I was in classroom where
class was taught.”
“Yes, I had three courses in the pilot. MIS204 material loaded properly;
however, some documents would stall while uploading. IST210 and
IST220 would never load properly for me but they did for my students.”
“When downloading this app on my iPhone I had to use my iTunes
account and password for my iPhone and not my Penn State ID. I also
downloaded the VoiceThread app having to use my iTunes account and
password (this is the only way to download an app on an iPhone).”
11
Issue 8: Failure to use discussion forum
“I could not use the discussion board, I could not do the assessments. All I
could do was look at PowerPoints and documents. I was very unhappy
with this app and would not use it as it stands now.”
“I had issues with discussion postings. Could not post a discussion if
somebody did not already post.”
“The discussion forum posts did not display the correct formatting when
reading through them, so I was apprehensive to use the app to post.”
Issue 9: Failure to use email
“Once, I got in I would use the limited services available. Without email
services it was nearly useless to me as an instructor.“
“I could read the email from students which was forwarded to my
personal email account, but had no way to respond via ANGEL email. In
desperation I a few times had to post on the discussion forum to let the
student know I would be in touch.“
“Could not view email for class.”
Issue 10: Failure to install/reinstall
“Sometimes it requires me to reinstall the app after use in order for it to
work right.“
“On multiple occasions, I had to uninstall and reinstall the app on my
HTC One X.”
Issue 11: Other failures
“Often in the documents equations or other data was missing, probably a
format issue. Occasionally the app would close suddenly.”
“You should be able to write notes on the ‘blackboard’ (draw.js with local
storage would be able to accomplish this task).”
“Announcements weren't showing up at first. Just needed to stop and
restart.”
“Sometimes the app would not open certain files.”
“Some files could not be viewed on the app.”
“Every time I went onto it, it said it was having issues and forced closed.”
“I had to go to manage applications and clear data each time I wanted to
reopen the app.”
“The app only showed two of my classes instead of all of them that are in
ANGEL. I also frequently had an error that prevented me from using the
app in which it displays a web page loading error that refreshing doesn't
12
seem to resolve. I could access ANGEL with Chrome on my phone, so
there isn't an issue with my connection, but the app itself.”
Recommendations by Pilot Participants Who Responded to the Survey
Recommended App Features
Number
Percent
60
28%
49
23%
Ability to take assessments (students)
38
18%
Ability to add content items (instructors only)
Ability to grade student submissions (instructors only)
Ability to create assessments (instructors only)
Other
Total
23
21
17
5
213
11%
10%
8%
2%
100%
Ability to send/receive course mail (instructors and
students)
Ability to submit items to a drop box (instructors and
students)
Table 10
The most desired features are ability to send/receive course mail (28%), submit
items to a drop box (23%), and take assessments (18%).
Comments
The following comments were provided to the question: “Anything else you
would like to add about the app?”
Recommendation 1: Interface
“The app was too plain and simple. After getting on my tablet I always
found myself wanting to go to a desktop to get something done.”
“The app is a nice feature to add to an again ANGEL interface.”
“The color scheme is not good to me.”
“The look of the app is very plain.”
Recommendation 2: Logging in
“Also seems like it keeps having login problems. I have to stop the app
and clear data. Then try the login and it works.”
“I would recommend fixing issues with the logon.”
“Show password when entering it.”
13
Recommendation 3: App use
“This app is ugly. It looks like it was coded 5 years ago for iOS and
terribly ported to Android. It follows none of the Android design
guidelines, including a software menu button for phones without
hardware keys.”
“Slightly laggy throughout app because it obviously wasn't coded in
Java.”
Recommendation 4: Formatting
“Unable to copy/paste information in app, such as links.
“As an instructor I felt like I had a student view since I could not edit
anything.”
Recommendation 5: Downloading
“The notification for downloaded attachments is unreadable.”
Recommendation 6: Loading
“It was very useful to be able to access the Blackboard app with Penn State
wherever I was since it would load much quicker than ANGEL would.
Aside from the page loading error, the app seems useful.”
Recommendation 7: Accessibility
“I also wanted to grade these short assessments on the go and did not
have access.”
Recommendation 8: Browser issues
“The course communicate feature would be excellent since using
ANGEL's communicate feature (e.g., email) on my HTC One X (using
Chrome or Firefox) is very difficult.”
Recommendation 9: Grading
“Grading in ANGEL has become very challenging. I can’t see the overall
grade on the app, so that is a con and it would be helpful to have course
mail on the app as well, but overall really good idea.”
“Gradebook integration would make it much more functional. The ability
to change assessment settings is a must!“
“Access additional reading assignments posted in library resource.”
14
Recommendation 10: Communication features
Discussion forum participation
“Allowed me to answer questions posted to a discussion forum without
needing to log on to a computer.”
Emailing
“As an instructor, 90% of what I want to do on a mobile device is ANGEL
email with my students. Without that feature, the mobile tools hold little
value to me.”
“Mobile access to ANGEL emails would decrease the average response
time I have with students significantly. Right now, the whole ANGEL
email process is painful and fairly broken (i.e., students replying outside
of ANGEL when the message gets forwarded to them, terrible client UI,
no easy way to see what I've responded to and what I haven't, no
threaded discussions, poor search capabilities). If I could at least respond
to the messages on my mobile devices, this would be good first step.”
“I'm not likely to prepare assignments or grade assignments from my iPad
or iPhone, but the ability to respond in a timely fashion to student emails
would be a big hit, especially when the response is quick and easy.”
“The course communicate feature would be excellent since using
ANGEL's communicate feature (e.g., email) on my HTC One X (using
Chrome or Firefox) is very difficult.”
“I can’t see the overall grade on the app, so that is a con and it would be
helpful to have course mail on the app as well, but overall really good
idea.”
Recommendation 11: Course Roster
“Course roster is both on the course map page and on course info.”
Recommendation 12: Installing
“I think it would be helpful to have a link from the Blackboard app to
install the VoiceThread app and Blackboard app together at the same
time.”
Recommendation 13: Other features
“Also, possibility for rotating feature to see in landscape. I used an iPhone
so adding things I can do on the phone isn't that appealing to me—the
computer functions more easily.”
“There should be an added option to make the screens bigger. When I
would open files they would show up very, very small, and it would be
helpful if there was a full screen option mode.”
15
Appendix A: Pilot Team Members
The following list includes the names of the people who helped organize, support,
and analyze the pilot of the mobile application.
Andy Fisher, AIS
Brian Beiswenger, AIS
Greg Sheehan, Help Desk Support, World Campus
Jeff Swain, Manager, Campus Learning Design, TLT
John Buckwalter, World Campus
John Carnicella, Manager, IT Service Desk, CSS
Larry Kolbe, AIS
Nick Yingling, Product Tester, CSS
Philip Schratweiser, Product Tester, CSS
Terry O’Heron, Director, Operations, TLT
16
Appendix B: Applications and Features Summary
Blackboard MobileTM Learn for ANGEL
This document describes which features are Generally Available (GA) in Blackboard
Mobile Learn for ANGEL 7.4 and 8.0. The features highlighted here are intended to
take interactive teaching and learning to mobile devices, giving students and
teachers instant access to their courses, content, and organizations virtually
anywhere.
Feature List
The following applications are generally available in the Blackboard Mobile Learn
for ANGEL application:
Table 11
Feature
Dashboard
Lessons
Announcements
Discussion Forms
My Grades
Roster
Groups
Personal Tasks
Media
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch








iPad









BlackBerry









Android









17
Table 12
Discussion Forums
View Discussion Topics:
Students view all of the
discussion topics by class
Create Discussion Topics:
Teachers can create new
discussion topics by class
View Thread Posts: View
threaded discussion posts made
by students and professors by
date
Create Discussion Threads:
Create discussion threads from
anywhere
Reply to Discussion Threads:
Add posts to discussion threads
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch




















iPad
BlackBerry
Android
Table 13
My Grades
View Grades: Displays grades
an instructor has published and
not hidden. Note: An instructor
cannot view or edit grades from
the Mobile Application
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch

iPad

BlackBerry

Android

Table 14
Roster
Roster: View roster by class
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch

iPad

BlackBerry

Android

18
Table 15
Groups
View Groups: See a list of teams
and team members in which one
is a member
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch

iPad

BlackBerry

Android

Table 16
Dashboard
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch
iPad

View Home Dashboard: See
tasks, assignments,
announcements, etc. that are due
Customize Dashboard: Sort
dashboard by Type, Class, or
Date
BlackBerry


Android


Table 17
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch
Lessons
iPad
BlackBerry
Android
Lesson plans: See lesson plans
that support mobile content.
Note: the instructor-only Lesson
Plan View is not accessible via
the Mobile Application
Links: View links that will take
you to offsite content (external
websites)
Folders: Browse folders of
supported mobile content












Files: View assignments by course
including documents such as DOC, XLS,
PPT, KEY, PAGES, PDF, RTF, and more.
Note: devices may require 3rd party
software to open certain kinds of files
(i.e., all devices won’t be able to open
an AutoCAD document without having
some additional software installed on
the device




19
Table 18
Announcements
Post Announcements:
Professors can post
announcements on-the-go
View Announcements:
Students can get the latest news
from their professor
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch








iPad
BlackBerry
Android
Table 19
Personal Tasks
View Task: See tasks by class
Task Status: Students can view
tasks that teachers have
assigned. Mark to Start,
Complete, and Reset Tasks
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch


iPad


BlackBerry


Android


Table 20
Organizations
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch

View Organizations: Browse
information pertaining to the
organizations you are
participating in

Announcements: See the most
recent announcements for your
organizations
Roster: View organization roster 

Discussions: Post discussion
threads and comments for your
organization
iPad
BlackBerry
Android












20
Table 21
Media
View Media: View media types
like MOV, MP4, MPEG, 3GPP, and
more (depending on the device
capabilities)
Play Audio: Play audio like MP3,
WAV, and more (depending on
the device capabilities)
iPhone
and
iPod
Touch
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


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iPad
BlackBerry
Android
21
Appendix C: Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL takes interactive teaching and learning mobile,
giving students and teachers access to their courses, content, and organizations on a
variety of mobile devices, including AndroidTM and BlackBerryTM phones and iOSTM
powered devices. Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL extends your existing
Blackboard LearnTM ANGEL Edition implementation by making much of the core
ANGEL content available in an engaging and intuitive way on mobile devices.
Students and instructors can view course content, access documents in multiple
formats, post announcements (instructors), view discussion threads, see the course
roster and check grades, all on the mobile devices they love.
Features
Lessons
Students can view their lesson content and open attached files.
Announcements
Assignment due? Class canceled? This is the place where instructors go to post the
news students need to know. Students have instant, on-the-go access to the latest
announcements, and instructors can post announcements anywhere, anytime.
Discussion Forums
Discussion forums are a key course communication tool for engaging students and
promoting learning. It’s the place students ask and answer questions, and where
instructors can respond to one student for the benefit of all. With Blackboard Mobile
Learn for ANGEL, instructors and students can view and post to discussions, as well
as create new threads, all while on the go.
My Grades
Want to know how you did on the exam or your last homework assignment?
Students can view their grades right here.
Roster
Wondering who’s in your class? With the class roster, students can quickly see their
course roster, making organizing study groups a whole lot easier.
22
Media
Students can access music, videos, and images uploaded by their instructors and
experience it directly from their mobile devices using the appropriate mediaspecific software.
Personal Tasks
Personal tasks allow students to mark when they’ve started a project as well as
when they have completed a project.
Is Every School Supported?
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL is available at no cost to North American
Higher Education Blackboard Learn—ANGEL Edition clients running Release 7.4
SP10 and later or ANGEL 8.0 on Sprint Network Android and BlackBerry phones and
on iPhone OS-powered devices over a Wi-Fi connection. There’s also an annual
license option, which builds on the no cost offering by providing the same native
mobile apps regardless of carrier or type of access.
Some institutions may also be interested in taking their full campus living and
learning experience mobile with a branded application all their own. For these
clients, there is a more tailored annual license solution, the Blackboard Mobile
Central/Blackboard Mobile Learn bundle, which brings together multiple elements
of the campus experience, including teaching and learning, in a standalone mobile
app under your institution’s brand.
ANGEL Edition
Blackboard Mobile Learn is available to clients running Blackboard Learn—ANGEL
Edition 7.4 SP10 and later or ANGEL 8.0. If you are on a version of ANGEL 7.4 prior
to 7.4 SP9, please follow the designated upgrade path to install 7.4 SP10.
Service Pack 10 Installation
To power Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL, simply download and install Service
Pack 10. The new Mobile functionality is built into Service Pack 10. The following
steps should be performed to complete the ANGEL update:

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From the Administrator’s Menu—ANGEL Update Manager, click the Download
Now link for this update package.
After clicking the Download Now link for this package, the ANGEL update will be
downloaded to your server in the parent folder of AngelRoot.
You will then be prompted to run the 2010 ANGEL LMS 7.4 SP10.bat file, which
will extract and copy all files, run all database procedures and scripts, and copy
and register .dlls.
23
Configuration is done via a new option called Mobile ANGEL Settings on the Tool
configuration nugget, which is found on the application tab of the Administrator
Console.
If you have a test environment, we recommend installing and configuring
Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL in a test environment first, and then installing
and activating it on your production platform. With this simple step, you’re set up
for Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL. Students and faculty can then download the
Blackboard Mobile Learn app from the appropriate app store, choose your school
from the list of enabled institutions, and they’re ready to go.
24
Appendix D: Faculty and Student Instructions
Blackboard Mobile Learn App for ANGEL Pilot
Faculty and Student Instructions
Spring 2013
Thank you for participating in the spring 2013 pilot of the Blackboard Mobile Learn App
for ANGEL. The purpose of the pilot is to evaluate the potential of Blackboard Mobile
Learn to positively impact the teaching and learning experience at Penn State. The pilot is
scheduled to begin January 7 and end March 31, 2013. However, instructors and
students will be able to continue using Blackboard Mobile Learn through the end of the
semester. Participating in the pilot does require completion of a pre- and post-pilot survey
as well as a focus group after the pilot is completed. We will evaluate Blackboard Mobile
Learn for functionality and performance.
Please note this is a pilot so expect some bumps along the way. There may be times
when Blackboard Mobile Learn is not available or may not work the way we expect. That
is why we are piloting Blackboard Mobile Learn, to find out these things so we can
determine how to proceed. Regardless of the availability of the app, faculty and
students can always access ANGEL via a web browser.
Here are some things you need to know for the pilot:

The app is available to use with Android, BlackBerry, and iOS (iPad, iPhone, iTouch)
operating systems.

The app is available for download at iTunes Store and the Android Marketplace.

The download is free (even if a charge is indicated, you will not incur a cost).

Personal Data plan charges do apply.

You will be able to access courses in the pilot via the app. Courses not in the pilot will
not be available. Continue accessing them via the web.
To download the app via the App Store or Google Play:
1. Search for Blackboard Mobile Learn, and download.
2. Launch Blackboard Mobile Learn and search for your school.
3. Log in using your school credentials.
Help & Support:
Contact ANGEL support (angelsupport@psu.edu) with any questions/issues and do
reference the Blackboard Mobile Learn for ANGEL Pilot each time. Please do not use
the Blackboard Help function located within the app to ask a question or report a
problem.
25
Privacy Notice (Instructors, please also provide the notice below to your students participating
in the mobile pilot via ANGEL course mail):
Be aware that you are responsible for ensuring the security and protection of your data on
your personal device while you are connecting to Penn State's ANGEL system. All Penn
State policies related to data protection, security, and privacy still apply.
26
Appendix E: Results of the General Survey
Are you faculty, staff or student?
Faculty
Staff
Student
Total
173
121
905
1199
14%
10%
75%
Table 22
Do you have a smartphone (Android, Apple iPhone, BlackBerry)
and/or tablet (ex. Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy)?
Yes, I have a smartphone.
Yes, I have a tablet.
Yes, I have a smartphone and tablet.
No, I don’t have a smartphone or tablet
Total
635
57
313
194
1199
53%
5%
26%
16%
Table 23
Which wireless carrier do you use?
AT&T
Sprint (or Nextel)
T-Mobile
Verizon Wireless
Other/Don't Know
Total
361
55
51
469
55
991
36%
6%
5%
47%
6%
Table 24
What type of device is your smartphone? (Only consider your
primary device if you have multiple)
Android
BlackBerry
iPhone
Palm
Windows Mobile
Don't Know/Other
Total
327
20
586
0
16
42
991
33%
2%
59%
0%
2%
4%
Table 25
27
On average, how often do you use your mobile device(s) to access
the Internet?
Multiple times per day
Maybe once per day
A few times a week
Very infrequently
Never at all
Total
892
37
30
19
13
991
90%
4%
3%
2%
1%
Table 26
How often do you utilize Wi-Fi on your smartphone to access the
Internet?
I never look for a Wi-Fi signal on my smartphone
Sometimes I prefer a Wi-Fi signal to my wireless carrier network
Where possible, I always seek to be connected to a Wi-Fi network with
my smartphone
Total
136
232
623
14%
23%
63%
991
Table 27
Of the time you spend on your mobile phone, what
percentage is spent accessing social networking apps or
websites like Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare?
Less than 25%
25–50%
50–75%
More than 75%
Total
375
269
261
74
979
38%
27%
27%
8%
Table 28
What percent of the time do you have your mobile
phone with you?
Less than 25%
26–50%
51–75%
75%–98%
98% or more. My mobile phone is just about
always with me.
Total
13
9
34
124
802
1%
1%
3%
13%
82%
982
Table 29
28
How often do you use your phone to access
mobile apps that have been downloaded from an
app store (i.e., iTunes, the Android Market, or
BlackBerry App World)?
Multiple times per day
Maybe once per day
A few times a week
Very infrequently
Never at all
Total
600
135
101
108
34
978
61%
14%
10%
11%
3%
Table 30
Which of the following best describes your preference:
I always prefer to use my smartphone when trying to access
information
I use a mix of my smartphone for quick/easy tasks when I’m on
the go, but prefer my laptop or desktop computer for more
complex information intensive activities
I don’t like to use my smartphone to access information and
usually prefer to use a laptop or desktop computer
Total
93
9%
835
85%
54
5%
982
Table 31
Do you plan to get a smartphone in the next:
1–3 months
3–6 months
6–12 months
More than 12 months
I have very little interest in getting a smartphone so
I'm not really thinking about it
Total
16
21
37
25
91
8%
11%
19%
13%
48%
190
Table 32
Which of the following best describes whether you own or are
interested in getting a mobile tablet device (ex. Apple iPad,
Samsung Galaxy Tab)?
I have a mobile tablet device right now
I am likely to get a mobile tablet device within the next year
I am unlikely to get a mobile tablet device within the next year
Total
4
58
128
190
2%
31%
67%
Table 33
29
Which of the following applications/services are you likely to use via
your smartphone and/or mobile tablet device (select all that apply)?
Browse and search the course catalog
Add and drop classes
Access the course management system (ANGEL)
Access interactive campus maps and get directions
See campus shuttle schedules and real-time shuttle locations
Search the public directory and contact anyone directly via phone or email
View and search all library resources
View Athletics schedules, scores and news
Access the latest campus news, including the school newspaper
View and search the on- and off-campus calendar of events and add events
directly to your smartphone’s calendar
View images and videos from campus events, activities, lectures, the
University’s digital collection and more
View hours of operation for campus services (e.g., placement center, dining
hall, etc.)
View menus for campus dining facilities
If your school offered a mobile campus application, what other things
(besides what’s listed above) would you want to be able to do?
Total
557
439
814
630
610
552
367
558
502
484
8%
6%
11%
9%
9%
8%
5%
8%
7%
7%
369
5%
652
9%
416
177
6%
2%
7127
Table 34
What other things would you want it to be able to do?
 Share everything through Tweet, Evernote, mail
 WebMail
 A more user friendly way to access course info than ANGEL
 I would like to have access to eLion
 Add money to LionCash
 Email
 A mobile device would make doing my inventory much faster if I had access
to the actual files while in the stockroom rather than writing everything on
paper and taking it back to my office. I could probably do several a year
rather than 1 per summer. Better records would improve productivity.
 Degree audits
 Communicate with students via social media.
 A mobile application for eLion and WebMail.
 m.psu.edu has a great feature with displaying computer labs available on
campus over a map. It shows what type of computer it is and how many
computers are available. However, it is sometimes pretty inaccurate with
computer availability and lacks directions on how to get to these labs. I
would love to see this kind of thing more!
 Use phone for class quizzes
30
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Search for, download, and read full-text books and journals from University
Libraries. Interface with popular citation capabilities (e.g., Zotero) directly.
Save links to materials and searches in a portal-like environment.
I generally use my PSCOM laptop to access information when on campus.
ANGEL, maps, schedules, I already use if for Zimbra etc.
Professor Schedules/Office hours and locations.
Exam dates and locations.
As a World Campus student I would really just love for ANEL to be more user
friendly. The PDA version is inconsistent on my iPad and the non-PDA
doesn't even allow me to scroll through the page. I use Dropbox for all of my
work and could upload project data and take quizzes if I had an app to do so.
Classroom Availability
Track student participation and assignment submission for courses; use my
iPad to grade assignments; use my iPad to have virtual meetings with
students.
Quick notes "I'm on the way, I'm away" from a messaging-type interface but
using UCS to autofill email or smartphone addresses.
An app to tell me where I can get a robust Wi-Fi connection—I encounter SO
many holes in Wi-Fi, in major academic buildings. Access is very, very spotty.
I would look for printing locations, labs that are open, gym capacities, gyms
that are open, gym schedules, and other timing items (hours of operations for
different eateries, office hours, etc.)
LionCash, for adding funds, for paying at cashier
Check the availability of a room in a widely used building, i.e., check room
reservations.
Networking with students with similar interests.
Safety alerts and closings with more in depth information than the text
systems
Check student schedule (especially the first few weeks of the semester), an
improved WebMail account for mobile devices.
I would like to be able to answer emails through ANGEL on my smartphone,
as well as my tablet. I would also like to be able to post to discussion boards
via my tablet and phone. Check on grades.
Teacher office hours and rooms
Course announcements and some access to eLion
Read manuscripts: correct PowerPoints
Windows phone isn't supported with the Wi-Fi so I can't do anything. FIX
THIS.
Computer labs hours of operation
Access data/files in the cloud. If we had a cloud. Which we do not.
Access my desktop through the portal
CATA bus schedules, closings around campus, breaking news around campus
Use my Nook on campus—can't currently connect with it, though I can
connect via my daughter's Kindle
31
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check email, open and read attachments, wireless printing is very important
to me and this is a major limitation when your lab is in one building and your
office is 15 min walk away.
I would like to be able to use my phone instead of my ID wherever possible,
i.e., building access, campus meal plan, LionCash etc. Can we get an app for
that?
I use iPad and iPhone to deliver my PowerPoint slides and video clips in all
courses. I also use the iPad for my course lecture notes. Currently I use an
iPad/iPhone to VGA jack to access the overhead projectors.
Have an interactive mobile application for teamwork as a part of ANGEL.
More collaboration mobile apps. View course calendar/task list for course
work.
Interface with a good course management system (not ANGEL)
It sounds like a bad idea to build one Penn State app that tries to do all of the
above. A library search app, a campus bus app, a registration/course
schedule app, etc. are all individually good ideas.
Access World Campus class message boards and lessons
Penn State Live. Weather
Have access to the virtual lounge. Get tickets for sporting or other events.
An eLion or ANGEL app in general for my smartphone.
Tell me the dining schedule. Have a day planner that automatically interacts
with my personal school schedule. Connect automatically to WebMail. keep
track of homework
Have an app for WebMail.
Mainly, I'd like to see access to eLion and ANGEL. Furthermore, Apple devices
have the ability to print over Wi-Fi, and it'd be awesome to be able to get the
paperwork I need for class, clubs/orgs/work/advisor appointments all from
a smartphone app designed by Penn State.
Download citations from the library catalog into my smartphone, so that I
can use it as a finding list in the library. Also, perhaps to read and annotate
ebooks or articles.
Schedules, adding and dropping classes, checking emails, completing ANGEL
assignments, etc.
Print from mobile device to campus printers
Easy access in order to communicate with professors and classmates; the
ability to submit assignments; and full access to all that ANGEL offers.
Traffic reports...especially during the summer months when there is a lot of
construction.
Schedules of when rooms in buildings are in use or are currently open in case
students want to use a classroom to get team projects done.
WebMail
Manage financial accounts (Bursar, LionCash, and Meal Plan)
GPA Manager (GPA Prediction, Target GPA, etc.)
Have profiles for professors (bio, classes taught, involvement, research) or a
listing of office hours for all faculty
32
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Check our WebMail
I think there should be an app for ANGEL and eLion because it would make it
so much more convenient for us students
I want to have a better idea of concerts/readings/events/etc. around
campus. I always seem to miss the call for tickets and whatnot.
Having the ability to check out e-books from the library and access from a
mobile device would be incredibly useful.
Give a comprehensive schedule of events taking place on campus. While they
attempt to do so via email with "What's going on this Week," I believe it can
be done more successfully. I also believe that a text-message alert system for
events should also be instated. Like the text-message alert system you can
sign up for all emergency information, this comprehensive system could send
students who sign up for it information and time schedules for activities
happening on campus. I would use that type of system, as would many other
students.
Be able to connect course syllabus to my Google calendar on my phone just
by entering the course
Pay bills, access grades
Contact colleagues via a chat app.
I would want to be able to see what computers were open in the libraries
across campus.
Check grades/professors’ office hours
access to email, Google news, weather forecasts, Internet research and
retrieval for course work instructional activities and instructional
enhancements
An easier way to view class schedules.
Use for interaction during class (like the i<clicker, or for student polling)
I would like WebMail to be a feature, as well as a weather alerts/closing
system (like PSUTXT).
Check Onward State.
WebMail
A fitness app that would list all the workout facilities and display how many
people are there at the time.
payroll information would be nice
search and send snippets of maps with address and bldg. descriptions.
Interactive walking. Hold up smartphone to landmarks or building and get a
rundown of class schedules in them, computer labs, history, special labs, etc.
I would like to be able to have an app for ANGEL and WebMail; it would make
it easier for me to use and I also check my eLion cash amount
I would want to be able to see something similar to a board in the HUB with
advertisements from different clubs but in electronic form.
better downloading of paders/PDF from ANGEL or web
A way to import your course schedule and exam schedule from eLion to your
calendar
33
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A lunch menu something that shows what the different soups are @ different
locations like Hawthorne, Port sky &, Aaron building, we should be able to do
homework online, a printing app would be cool so we can print from our
smartphones, Wi-Fi needs to be a lot stronger almost everyone has a
smartphone that runs apps and it's seriously frustrating when you get on
your phone and the app is not working properly because of a weak signal I
mean come on its 2012, teachers posting their class lectures online would be
awesome, but just get them to use ANGEL first, What about being able to set
up your WebMail to your smartphone or at least forward it to an acct. that
you access on your smartphone, Any good deals in the area for PSU students
would be good, also what about when we have our Speaker Series if we could
be able to access them online for later viewing...I mean we have great
speakers that come here and sometimes you can't get to an event being able
to see them online would great, Oh and the last thing I think we should have a
radio station. And since I know you guys are all about free advertising I think
the school should have a stronger social media presence both with PSU
students and the surrounding communities
Access IBIS, ISIS, EIS (Grad School) databases or programs through an app
Update on activities—clubs I subscribe to/the HUB (Latenight)/Office of
Global Programs.
Something related to eliving
Information about the businesses in downtown State College (hours, maps,
basic information).
Quickly and easily email/ contact professors.
WebMail
Search directory, access schedule, access calendar.
View traffic information such as road closings, view Wi-Fi bandwidth
availability
Zimbra compatibility. Push notification of campus
emergency/alerts/closings. Parking lot/pass hours and restrictions. Location
aware navigation.
Search email and web pages for keywords and collect information in a news
program.
One is for safety as I have none of the above for lack of funds being a single
parent without support. When someone asks you something, you have it
readily avail. to help students/faculty/staff at your fingertips in any area.
I would like to have an app for WebMail and ANGEL that is not just a mobile
version of the site.
Access WebMail
Check my mail
check my schedule
-Make it easier to use WebMail on mobile phones
-Emergency alerts
-Class cancellations
34
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-The Collegian
-i<clicker application (FREE)
WebMail, eLion
I'd use it to access courses quickly and view needed information from them,
check discussion boards, etc.
Voting polls, merchant list of stores that accept LionCash,
Real time notes in class? somehow allow me to draw diagrams on my phone
& integrate into a PDF, like a tablet computer PDF annotator. I know this is a
huge stretch but this would be wonderful.
I wish the WebMail was more smartphone friendly, and that I could have my
mail from my school account be directly connected to my phone.
Contact instructors
See gym availability/wait for White Building, IM Building volleyball and
racquetball courts, etc.
PSU app
- Google Indoor Maps for PSU buildings, which would make classes easier to
locate and (especially: Pattee Library!).
Search Internet just prior to class for info I might use during class
I would like it to be compatible with ANGEL.
Everything
Easily access WebMail.
if it was easier to do, I would do all of the above more often on my
phone...and app for Berks campus/ANGEL/eLion would be awesome!
Check WebMail
Check my email is definitely the biggest thing, both my Penn State and
personal account.
Manage/view LionCash and purchases
None
let you sign up for activities online instead of having to go to the HUB desk.
and let you pay electronically
Because I'm staff it's really about managing a student program. Mine is
primarily email, external website, calendars, intranet, ANGEL, Concur, and
other internal systems that are not currently mobile accessible such as IBIS
and ISIS.
Search Google
Check WebMail
Quick/easy way to view class and final exam schedules
View news that might affect traffic (i.e., events that may cause congestion in
certain areas), find parking locations/availability/hours/prices
Dining Hall menu app for Android.
use the WebMail system
Maybe have a quick order go out to Bruno's to have a sub or some other food
ready for pick-up and pay when down there. Maybe have a deal with Hungry
Howie's as well.
35
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More mobile friendly webmail access.
Less false alerts from PSU txt—not every box is suspicious.
Quick and easy access to WebMail without having to hook it into your phone.
Why can't we just have a WebMail app, sign in, and go? Would make so much
more sense and be so much easier.
WebMail
information about your major
Use a tablet to download, read, and annotate electronic journal articles in
PDF form.
WebMail
Email that is better linked to WebMail than it currently is. Available
computers in computer labs.
Just make ANGEL and eLion mobile friendly. WebMail should be affiliated
with Google like RIT's program rather than the 1990s-esque dinosaur we
have now.
If they did that, that would be absolutely fantastic. The app would have to
have an events and alerts notification system, to keep everyone up to date
about on-campus events, weather alerts, etc. It should (maybe, not as
important, but if the app was on a tablet, that would be very helpful) have a
very intuitive homework or task system where you can jot down notes, tasks,
maybe even sync them with an online service. It should definitely display
news, the campus home page, pictures, videos, all from different events etc.
There should be an option to display all instructors and their individual
information so we can email/call/text them directly from the phone. I
wouldn't recommend something so critical as adding and dropping classes
on a smartphone or tablet. The best option for all of this, mainly for tablets, is
e-books. It would greatly reduce paper usage, stress and burdens on
students, and can be more interactive with buttons and links that you
couldn't access on an ordinary textbook etc. Back to the app, it should have a
social network-type service, where one is connected with everyone on
campus and can create groups, send files, send alerts, instead of the current
system of only email communication. This would greatly increase
productivity. I have many apps on my iPhone I use for school such as iStudiez
(gives me a "today" schedule of all the events and classes I have recorded
down, also lists instructors and their info, holidays, etc.), ToDo (I write down
all my classes syllabuses in here, and I have the option of checking off tasks
(homework assignments) after they're done), iCalendar (ALL the school
events I have recorded on here, would be great if the school adopted
something like that, so once they make an event, everyone could have access
to it, everyone who takes pictures at that event could upload those photos to
that specific event on the calendar so everyone can see, etc.), iBooks (PDF
files, e-books, for portable viewing), Catch (quick, but very productive notetaking app, where I can also record lectures, add pictures, etc.), Google Drive
(I have all my classes papers and assignments that I have done on my laptop
stored on this online syncing service provided free from Google, that I think
36
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EVERY student should take advantage of, and thus I can always view these
files on the go (Box, DropBox, and SkyDrive, all similar types of apps, can all
do the same thing, for free)), Quizlet (flashcard app that also syncs online so I
have flashcards wherever I go, without the hassle of carrying actual
flashcards), Clear (beautiful app for lists), Contacts (built-in iOS app where I
can make groups of friends that I maybe have a class with or go to college
with for easy access). One of the most important features I would say is to
make sure email is very easy to check, in this app. WebMail is such a hassle
even on the desktop version, because it's not very easy to look at nor is it
very user-friendly. Thanks, and let the future of technology and education
come fast!
Restroom locations
World Campus Access to Classroom
Prefer to use smartphone for all types of info on the go.
Process email
Provide news stories and feeds like those in Penn State Live and the
Collegian, but targeted at alumni and parents, Have key campus offices listed
for easy to find contact info (not a directory of individuals, but rather a tool
that lets me know which office I need to talk to and provided a number to
call, be able to see how busy key areas across campus are—like how long is
that line in Starbucks right now? is it worth it to cut over or not, access eLion,
tie into FB pages so I can see what groups I like are doing and can access
their calendar of events in addition to the University's, make room
reservations for student orgs, etc.
Turn in assignments, have copy of notes learned
Computer availability at the library/all labs, ordering food at the cafes before
you arrive, checking how busy the gym is
Scroll down in ANGEL
SMS updates on subscribed events as reminders
WebMail, World Campus pages, world campus video lectures
Somehow improve the PSU email on mobile phones!
Faculty Senate news and information
school closings, events, be able to sync with eLion and WebMail.
P.S. sometimes the Internet in the library sucks, at some points I will be using
the Internet and it will randomly stop working and might lose some essential
data but this is not always happening.
Be able to access a better campus map
Subscribe to alerts of campus events (rather than just allowing me to search
on a calendar—let me subscribe to categories of events I'm interested in and
push notifications to me), weather/emergency alert info (on the app, not via
text message), integrate PSU UCS email into the app, let me create a common
PSU contacts list in the app for quick phone number retrieval on the go.
Integrate w/ANGEL to have a course schedule feature, possibly exportable to
the phone's calendar client
37
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I would want all of the essentials to be in one simple well-organized place.
(Unlike the PSU Libraries web page which is pathetically complicated and
bad in just about every way-content of book listings, organization, format,
cleanliness...)(also, unlike ANGEL which has too many layers which are not
easily accessed; you have to wait for so many pages to load just to get where
you want to go)
Have all of the info listed above in a simple app instead of having to go to
different websites being that we are at such a large school at Penn State
Emergency alerts
Maps of buildings with room numbers.
UCS email
PSU dining
Have my email come directly to my phone (instead of having to use Safari
and go to WebMail)
ANGEL doesn’t load all the way on my iPhone. It won’t scroll to bottom of
pages. Quick links to ANGEL, eLion and WebMail would help tremendously. A
app that can help keep track of grades and help with assignment reminders.
WebMail
Most of the f*ing networks on campus are locked and should be much more
easily accessible it's b*s*t, and p*s me off pretty much every day.
Mobile version of main PSU website
No interest, that’s what my computer is for
Email
Better ANGEL support. It cuts off grade reports sometimes.
PSU WebMail
If Penn State offered a mobile learning
application that worked on your smartphone
and/or mobile tablet device to access ANGEL,
which of the following capabilities would
interest you? (Select all that apply)
Access class-related documents (PDF, Word or
other formats)
Take notes in class
Listen to class-related podcasts
Listen to non-class podcasts or other music
View exam and course timetables
Post to class blogs or comment on a class
discussion
View grades and assignments
Other
Total
928
19%
490
617
313
860
559
10%
13%
7%
18%
12%
910
19%
82
2%
4759
Table 35
38
Other Options?
 Notifications
 Staff and employee related apps would be desirable for me.
 All of this pertains to students and I'm not a student.
 Class calendar
 I would do none of these things.
 send and reply to messages; upload documents; post announcements
 Email students.
 Post assignments
 Tutorials
Video chatting for second language learners
 Not a student and I do not teach.
 Communicate with students and staff
 N/A
 Upload assignments and take quizzes.
 In class polls/surveys
 Contribute to/read discussions
 Enable virtual meetings; grade student assignments and participation;
integrated social media for contacting students and contributing to
discussions.
 I'm an instructor—a good editing tool for material already on ANGEL—much
better than any of the iPad apps in terms of WYSIWYG
 Write on PowerPoint presentations while taking notes in class and teaching
courses.
 Pull info from other note taking apps—Evernote, Onenote, etc.
 Need to be able to do EVERYTHING in ANGEL on iOS and Android!!
 Easily access ANGEL. At this point the interface is quite bad.
 This is something that is long overdue and should have been in place years
ago
 See previous comment; I post PDFs of my slides on ANGEL from each class
for my students. No application (see following question) is necessary for any
of my uses, other than Apple's Keynote app.
 I'm not a student
 Submit grades
 This is all student oriented. I would want to be able to grade my students'
submissions.
 Keep up to date on class schedules(i.e., canceled classes)
 Contact course faculty and students from ANGEL mail or Penn State WebMail
 Access ANGEL email
 Use the cell phones for attendance/group participation rather than require
students to purchase the "clickers" used in places like Sparks, Thomas,
Eisenhower, and the Forum.
Students can preregister their phone numbers in a database and can use
their cell phones to text in a code to ANGEL for attendance. Also, it would be
39
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cool to use cell phones to poll answers to practice quizzes and assignments
done in class rather than use the "clickers."
ANGEL lesson pages
Assignment drop boxes
Read emails sent to ANGEL from professor
I love my phone; give me more things to do on it.
Unless it is made by Google, it will probably be pretty terrible at everything
listed.
Above checked as a lecturer—things I'd like to be able to provide to my
students, or have them be able to do. Also, would like to be able to integrate
my iPad into the classroom more easily, using interactive
blackboard/whiteboard apps, trivia apps etc.
I use another app (Notability) downloaded from the apple App Store on my
tablet. I find myself switching between Notability, NGEL, and eLion quite
often. An app to combine the purposes of note taking, ANGEL, and eLion
would streamline this process and make students more efficient.
Comments presented in the perspective of being an instructor.
Access to eLion for class lists, grade submissions, etc.
I do not like or use ANGEL, it is clumsy and inefficient. I would want wireless
access, but not for ANGEL.
I mostly just check email on my smartphone.
I do not use ANGEL.
Not applicable
Watch live lectures
Record lectures on audio
Ck emails and calendar events
Submit online assignments.
Use the ANGEL email function
WebMail
Submit assignments.
Take test.
NOT HOMEWORK. NO AntI-HOMEWORK
I would certainly access ANGEL more often. This is a great idea!
Basically, access ANGEL
Grade student work, interact with students
Interactive lectures
I would want to be able to do everything on my smartphone that I can on my
laptop.
Access ANGEL email
None
ANGEL mail
Better platform for writing emails through ANGEL,
Submit assignments, in-class feedback.
40
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I just saw the next question. If this is a mobile LEARNING application, then
there is no way you can charge students for it. Thank you.
Take tests in ANGEL
Emails from teachers
Help me prepare for test in my classes and video class to watch over to
review what I could have missed
Email others or instructors, get alerts. By the way, if I were to pay for such an
app, that better be a VERY user friendly app and pleasing-to-look at,
preferably designed by actual app developers (Penn State and user interface
do not really get along, as you can see from services such as Penn State's
homepage, ANGEL, WebMail, etc.)
I don't use ANGEL in my work, so wouldn't need these functions
see student submissions
I use my tablet for personal use only, not Penn State business.
submit assignments, chat with other students online in my course (could be
disabled if I'm taking a quiz or exam so you don't think I'm cheating) ,
email/txt my professor,
Interactivity with students in real time during class for responses to surveytype questions
Schedule, and assignment due dates
Consolidating everything into one page/place/document/whatever, just not
scattered in every random place!
View cancellations, emails from professors for easily, view all assignments
with a box to select by the individual to keep track of assignments that have
been turned in as a self-check app, and be able to calculate the grade for that
individual where PER assignment turned it what the grade could average to.
Access email
Access the Internet wherever there is a network available
Use for in-class exercises (tablets for students would be great)
If Penn State offered a mobile learning application
that worked on your smartphone or mobile tablet
device to access ANGEL, would you be willing to pay
to purchase the application?
I would be willing to pay a one-time fee of $5.99 to
access the application
I would be willing to pay an annual fee of $1.99 per year
for the application
I would not be willing to pay for the application
Total
257
23%
195
18%
656 59%
1108
Table 36
41
Which of the following mobile applications offered by
Penn State are you aware of? (Select all that apply)
Emergency Info
Events Calendar
Campus Map
People Directory
Bus Tracker
Library
Computer Labs
Schedule of Courses
Go PSU Sports
University News
PSU on YouTube
Links
About this Site
Full PSU Website
422
193
294
147
473
151
97
236
273
205
123
81
63
352
14%
6%
9%
5%
15%
5%
3%
8%
9%
7%
4%
3%
2%
11%
Table 37
42
Appendix F: Summary of Resident Instruction Pilot Participant Responses
66 responses
Please tell us the name of the class where you took part in the pilot.
Class
Number
Percent
ADTED 470
1
2%
ADTED 506
0
0%
ADTED 575
0
0%
AGBM 200
0
0%
CMPSC 475
5
8%
BA 100
1
2%
BIOL 110
3
5%
BIOL 141
0
0%
BIOL 142
1
2%
BIOL 200W
0
0%
CAS 100A
0
0%
CAS 100B
0
0%
CMPET 117
2
3%
CMPET 120
2
3%
COMM 100
1
2%
EARTH 520
0
0%
EET 275
7
11%
ENGL 015
5
8%
ENGL 200W
0
0%
ENGL 202C
0
0%
HDFS 29H
1
2%
IB 303
5
8%
IST 110
0
0%
IST 210
0
0%
IST 220
0
0%
43
IST 240
2
3%
IST 250
1
2%
IST 301
0
0%
IST 402
11
17%
IST 420
1
2%
KINES 072
1
2%
KINES 082
0
0%
LLED 005
1
2%
MIS 204
0
0%
MIS 297
0
0%
MLDT 101
0
0%
NURS 430
0
0%
NURS 431
0
0%
NURS 432
0
0%
NURS 433
0
0%
PHOTO 100
0
0%
SRA 211
1
2%
STAT 200
7
11%
STAT 250
6
9%
THEA 150
1
2%
Other
0
0%
Table 38
Please tell us what device you used the mobile app on (select all that apply)
Device
Number
Percent
Android
29
38%
0
0%
iPad
23
30%
iPhone
25
32%
Windows Phone
0
0%
Other
0
0%
Blackberry
Table 39
44
How easy/hard was it to download the app?
Rating
Number
Percent
1
42
64%
2
14
21%
3
7
11%
4
2
3%
5
1
2%
Table 40
How many times have you used the app?
Response
Number
Percent
Daily
1
2%
Weekly
8
12%
51
77%
6
9%
Occasionally
Never
Table 41
Did you experience any issues/problems installing the app?
Response
Number
Percent
Yes
8
12%
No
58
88%
Table 42
If you answered yes to the question above please describe what happened.
See review. It would not install on my device at first logging in at school but then it
was figured out and everything worked great the rest of the year. The only issue I
had was finding it. Directions given to me to search for and find the app were
unclear. Failed to install first time but then did on the second try. Every time I went
onto it, it said it was having issues and forced closed. Login issues. Would show
"loading," then get "Web page not available at
https://cms.psu/api/v7.4/mobile.svr/REST.customAuthDevice might be
temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address."
EVENTUALLY, I figured out I had to go back a screen (sometimes that was possible,
other times not) to select "Pennsylvania State University-University Park." Then I
could get login screen.
45
Did you experience any issues/problems using the app?
Response
Number
Percent
Yes
24
36%
No
42
64%
Table 43
If you answered yes to the question above please describe what happened.
Links that were added would not open. You should be able to write notes on the
"blackboard." (draw.js with local storage would be able to accomplish this task) The
app would often hang while authenticating during login. It was often quicker to find
a computer and log into ANGEL or use the Android's built in browser to log in to the
ANGEL website like a caveman. There were login issues. Slow to load. Sometimes
would not load when I was in classroom where class was taught. One day: I logged
into PSU and got Penn instead! I felt that I did not have the access and control I was
looking for. I only use Wi-Fi on my phone so I would only access it when I had this
option. I couple of times I had to reboot the app but this was not annoying. I just did
not find it helpful to me. It was just as easy to use my computer. I could not use the
discussion board, I could not do the assessments. All I could do was look at
PowerPoints and documents. I was very unhappy with this app and would not use it
as it stands now. Announcements weren't showing up at first. Just needed to stop
and restart. Sometimes it requires me to reinstall the app after use in order for it to
work right. Sometimes I have problems staying logged in that I end up having to relog in. Every time I went onto it, it said it was having issues and forced closed. Once,
I got in I would use the limited services available. Without email services it was
nearly useless to me as an instructor. I could read the email from students, which
was forwarded to my personal email account, but had no way to respond via ANGEL
email. In desperation I a few time had to post on the discussion forum to let the
student know I would be in touch. Sometimes the app would not open certain files. I
didn't have many apps installed on mine yet, so I needed to find an app to read word
docs...discussions boards were not very efficient to read. When viewing the
gradebook, there is not an overall grade average given like on ANGEL. I had to
reinstall it each time I connected to a wireless network, even networks that I use
daily. If I installed it while connected to Penn State's wireless network I would have
to reinstall it to get it to load when I went home. I personally felt the app was slow. I
used it on my Nexus 7 device and felt that it took longer to get around the app than
just using a web interface. The design felt out-of-date, and some important
information isn't translated to the app. For example, the grades section would
display my grades, points earned, but the instructor's comments and the file I
uploaded was unavailable. Login issues at times. On multiple occasions, I had to
uninstall and reinstall the app on my HTC One X. Often in the documents equations
or other data was missing, probably a format issue. Occasionally the app would
close suddenly. The functionality of the app has a long way to go before it becomes a
viable method of accessing ANGEL. I had to go to manage applications and clear data
46
each time I wanted to reopen the app. Also it would not accept my password the
first time I entered it. Some files could not be viewed on the app. IST 420 has a lot of
programming exercises, which is hard to do via the app. Also, I was not able to
rotate the documents into landscape, especially with an iPhone 5 where the screen
is longer and narrow. My students didn't use it. They said for IST 421, it is much
easier to be on a computer. Slow, and often crashed. The app after the initial use
would fail to load any course data and would crash.
What did you use the app for? Please check all that apply
Response
Number
Percent
View lesson content
49
27%
Open files
29
16%
Read announcements
24
13%
9
5%
Read discussion forum posts
11
6%
View grades
34
18%
View the roster
23
13%
5
3%
Post to a discussion forum
View media (images, movies, sound files)
Table 44
What feature would you like to see added to the app? Please check all that apply
Response
Number
Percent
Ability to grade student submissions (instructor only)
20
10%
Ability to submit items to a drop box (instructors and
students)
46
23%
Ability to send/receive course mail (instructors and
students)
54
27%
Ability to add content items (instructor only)
21
11%
Ability to create assessments (instructor only)
17
9%
Ability to take assessments (students)
36
18%
5
3%
Other
Table 45
47
Anything else you would like to add about the app?
I could not see announcements. This app is ugly. It looks like it was coded 5 years
ago for iOS and terribly ported to Android. It follows none of the Android design
guidelines, including a software menu button for phones without hardware keys.
Slightly laggy throughout app because it obviously wasn't coded in Java. Unable to
copy/paste information in app, such as links. The notification for downloaded
attachments is unreadable. I would never use this over the regular website on my
phone, because as bad as the website is, it's not as bad as the app. No Just update the
ANGEL web page to HTML5 and make mobile phone friendly, it would work better.
It was very useful to be able to access the Blackboard app with Penn State wherever
I was since it would load much quicker than ANGEL would. The app should not be of
lesser quality than the site, else there is little reason to use it. I used an iPhone so
adding things I can do on the phone isn't that appealing to me—the computer
functions more easily. I can imagine my response being quite different if I had an
iPad. The look of the app is very plain. Course roster is both on the course map page
and on course info. This was great, wish more students used it. Allowed me to
answer questions posted to a discussion forum without needing to log onto a
computer. In my case, I wanted the students to instantly have access from their
phone to assessments in class. It would have been user-friendly and they would not
have had to seek out a computer to complete a short assessment immediately after
class. I also wanted to grade these short assessments on the go and did not have
access. It should have all the functionality of ANGEL. I can’t see the overall grade on
the app, so that is a con. and it would be helpful to have course mail on the app as
well, but overall really good idea. The color scheme is not good to me. I would
recommend fixing issues with the logon. It feels like this app could be more than
what it is. It is a very good app I would hope all my classes start using it since I use
my iPhone and iPad frequently for school. Email capability. It was great for reading
the forums and posting announcements but otherwise it was very limited.
Gradebook integration would make it much more functional. The ability to change
assessment settings is a must! There should be an added option to make the screens
bigger. When I would open files they would show up very, very small, and it would
be helpful if there was a full screen option mode. The setup of the app was very
user-friendly, and I liked the way that it looked as well. As an instructor, 90% of
what I want to do on a mobile device is ANGEL email with my students. Without that
feature, the mobile tools hold little value to me. I'm not likely to prepare
assignments or grade assignments from my iPad or iPhone, but the ability to
respond in a timely fashion to student emails would be a big hit, especially when the
response is quick and easy. Mobile access to ANGEL emails would decrease the
average response time I have with students significantly. Right now, the whole
ANGEL email process is painful and fairly broken (i.e., students replying outside of
ANGEL when the message gets forwarded to them, terrible client UI, no easy way to
see what I've responded to and what I haven't, no threaded discussions, poor search
capabilities). If I could at least respond to the messages on my mobile devices, this
would be good first step. Feel free to contact me if you want more feedback. John
O'Hara (johara@psu.edu). I don't see a good reason to have an additional app to use
48
Angel—why can't we just have a mobile ANGEL site developed? Sure it would be an
extra click or two, but as is some parts of ANGEL work fine on mobile devices.
Without most of the noted items above, there really is no value in this app. As an
instructor I felt like I had a student view since I could not edit anything. The course
communicate feature would be excellent since using ANGEL's communicate feature
(e.g., email) on my HTC One X (using Chrome or Firefox) is very difficult. The app is a
nice feature to add to an again ANGEL interface. But I would hope Blackboard has
some UI updates planned in the very, very near future. Grading in ANGEL has
become very challenging. Feel free to contact me if you would like to know why.
fja100@psu.edu. I found the app to be frustrating and would often resort to printing
the material from a desktop so to avoid the use of this app. Show password when
entering it. Even though, I didn't use it much, I would like to use it in other courses,
like IST 110, and other IST courses without programming. Also, possibility for
rotating feature to see in landscape. The app was too plain and simple. After getting
on my tablet I always found myself wanting to go to a desktop to get something
done. I did like that when I went into lessons nothing was indented making things
hard to find. Also seems like it keeps having login problems. I have to stop the app
and clear data. Then try the login and it works. Viewing things that are due and
grades are really all that matters to me.
49
Appendix G: Summary of World Campus Pilot Participant Responses
8 responses
Please tell us the name of the class where you took part in the pilot.*
Response
Number Percent
ADTED 460
0
0%
ADTED 470
3
38%
NURS 430
0
0%
NURS 431
0
0%
NURS 432
0
0%
NURS 433
0
0%
MIS 204
3
38%
IST 210
1
13%
IST 220
1
13%
Table 46
Please tell us what device you used the mobile app on.*
Response
Number
Percent
iPhone
5
63%
iPad
1
13%
Android
2
25%
BlackBerry
0
0%
Windows Phone
0
0%
Other
0
0%
Table 47
How many times have you used the app?
Response
Number Percent
daily
0
0%
weekly
1
13%
occasionally
7
88%
never
0
0%
Table 48
50
How easy/hard was it to download the app?*
Response
Number
Percent
very easy
6
75%
easy
1
13%
moderate
1
13%
difficult
0
0%
very difficult
0
0%
Table 49
Did you experience any issues/problems installing the app?*
Response
Number
Percent
yes
0
0%
no
8
100%
Table 50
If you answered yes to the question above, please describe what happened.
What did you use the app for?*
Response
Number
Percent
view lesson content
7
18%
open files and attachments
3
8%
read announcements
5
13%
post to a discussion forum
3
8%
read discussion forum posts
6
15%
view grades
4
10%
view class roster
1
3%
view media (images, videos, sound files)
4
10%
view syllabus/course schedule
5
13%
view instructor information
2
5%
Table 51
51
Did you experience any issues/problems using the app?*
Response
Number
Percent
yes
5
71%
no
2
29%
Table 52
If you answered yes to the question above please describe what happened.
The discussion forum posts did not display the correct formatting when reading
through them, so I was apprehensive to use the app to post. When downloading this
app on my iPhone I had to use my iTunes account and password for my iPhone and
not my Penn State ID. I also downloaded the VoiceThread app having to use my
iTunes account and password (this is the only way to download an app on an
iPhone). By using these apps with my iPhone login and passwords, it blocked me out
from being able to sign-in to my VoiceThread when I used my psu.edu login. Thank
goodness for Lisa Bertin and her IT knowledge, she helped troubleshoot and figure
the mess out. I had to take the VoiceThread app off from my iPhone and then I did
not use the Blackboard app as much. The app only showed two of my classes instead
of all of them that are in ANGEL. I also frequently had an error that prevented me
from using the app in which it displays a web page loading error that refreshing
doesn't seem to resolve. I could access ANGEL with Chrome on my phone, so there
isn't an issue with my connection, but the app itself. Yes, I had three courses in the
pilot. MIS204 material loaded properly however, some documents would stall while
uploading. IST210 and IST220 would never load properly for me but they did for my
students. Had issues with discussion postings. Could not post a discussion if
somebody did not already post. Could not view email for class.
What feature would you like to see added to the app?*
Feature
Number
Percent
Ability to grade student submissions (instructor
only)
1
7%
Ability to submit items to a drop box (instructors
and students)
3
21%
Ability to send/receive course mail (instructors
and students)
6
43%
Ability to add content items (instructor only)
2
14%
Ability to create assessments (instructor only)
0
0%
Ability to take assessments (students)
2
14%
Other
0
0%
Table 53
52
Anything else you would like to add about the app?
Access additional reading assignments posted in library resource. I think it would be
helpful to have a link from the Blackboard app to install the VoiceThread app and
Blackboard app together at the same time. Aside from the page loading error, the
app seems useful. It would be nice to see it support all of my courses in ANGEL and
not just my two IST courses.
This publication is available in alternative media on request.
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.
U.Ed. ITS14-7002
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