Overview

Students can submit a PDF scan of their handwritten work through your school’s learning management system, using a mobile phone. PDFs can be created a variety of ways, for instance Android users have the Google Drive app while iPhone users have the Notes app. Detailed instructions follow.

Using an Android phone to generate PDFs:

  1. Open Google Drive app and tap the New (+) button.
  2. Tap the Scan button in the Create new screen.
  3. Position the phone over your work and take the photo. You’ll get better results if the work is evenly lit.
  4. Tap the Add pages button (+) if needed. Tap Save when done.
  5. Tap the PDF to open it then the More (…) button and choose Send a copy. 
  6. The directions diverge from here, depending on your LMS and submission method.

Sample scan from my Google Drive. Note that this page was side-lit to prevent shadows from the overhead lights.

Using an iPhone or iPad (any iOS device) to generate PDFs:

  1. Open the Notes app. 
  2. Tap New Note
  3. Tap the Camera Button, then Scan Documents.
  4. Adjust the cropping of the page by dragging the corner handles if needed.
  5. Tap Keep Scan. You can add additional scans to the document or tap Save.
  6. Tap the Share Button.
  7. The directions diverge from here, depending on your LMS and submission method.

Using a MacBook Air:

  1. Open the Photo Booth app.
  2. From the Edit menu, confirm that the “Auto flip new items” item is checked.
  3. Hold your paper to the camera and snap a picture.
  4. Select all the photos you want to submit then choose Print from the File menu.
  5. Click the PDF drop down and choose Save as PDF.
  6. The directions diverge from here, depending on your LMS and submission method.