Teaching in-person, online, and in hybrid classrooms requires creativity and new approaches. There are many interesting educational technology tools that you could add to a class, but where should you start? Annually, faculty and staff from across Northwestern come together to share overviews of and instructional ideas for a variety of educational technology tools. The tools listed below are not a comprehensive list of available tools, but should help you begin to explore solutions that work for your teaching needs.

Please note that these videos were created during live events in July 2020 and October 2021. During the presentations and Q&As, presenters and moderators may reference additional tools or resources. We have provided additional links when possible. Browse by individual tool or by event year (2020),(2021) below.

Advanced Canvas (2020)
Advanced Canvas (2021)
Canvas Dashboard
Chat & Polling In-Person
Crowdmark
Discussion Hero
Flipgrid
Google Docs in Sync Sessions
Handwriting Online
Hypothesis
Lightboards
Markdown & Google Docs
Miro
Padlet
Panopto
Perusall
Polling
PowerPoint in Zoom
VoiceThread

Tools Fair 2021

Advanced Canvas

Presenter: Bea Jimenez, Learning Engineer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

This presentation covers using Canvas features in creative ways for group projects, assessments, and more.

How do I get it?

All the features discussed in this presentation are currently available in Canvas. See additional Canvas resources in the Canvas Learning Center.

Where do I get help?

To discuss advanced Canvas cases with a member of the Teaching & Learning Technologies team, request a consultation.

Chat & Polling In-Person

Presenters: Erin Leddon, Associate Director of English Language Programs and Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics and Abby Rosensweig, Learning Technologist, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

Microsoft Teams is a secure, Cloud-based chat and group collaborative workspace that integrates with other Microsoft 365 applications, including Exchange, OneDrive, and SharePoint.

How do I get it?

Microsoft Teams is available to all faculty, staff, and students at Northwestern. (Download the Teams desktop client.) Instructors can request a class teams channel from Collaboration Services via their request form.

Where do I get help?

TLT has some resources on using Teams with Canvas at Northwestern. Other support resources are available from Northwestern IT and Microsoft.

Lightboards

Presenter: Sasha Tchekhovskoy, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

What is it?

A Lightboard is a transparent whiteboard that can be written on it using glow-in-the-dark markers while looking directly through it into the camera.

How do I get it?

Test out using a Lightboard by reserving time in the Video Production Studio in Mudd Library. Build your own Lightboard with information provided by Sasha Tchekhovskoy's presentation or with online resources.

Where do I get help?

The Video Production Studio, online communities, and Northwestern faculty such as Sasha Tchekhovskoy provide a community of resources around Lightboards.

Markdown & Google Docs

Presenter: Andrew Rivers, Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

What is it?

Markdown is a markup language for creating formatted text using a plain-text editor. It can be used in tandem with Canvas and Google Docs.

How do I get it?

Markdown can be used in a variety of plain-text editors. There are many free resources online to learn about Markdown, including this Markdown Cheatsheet.

Where do I get help?

There is no official support for Markdown, but online resources like GitHub include many helpful resources and communities.

VoiceThread

Presenter: Rana Raddawi, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Middle East and North African Languages Program, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences

What is it?

VoiceThread is a multi-media presentation program with video, voice, and text commenting.

How do I get it?

Go to the VoiceThread website for either a limited free trial or to purchase a license.

Where do I get help?

For technical issues, or to contact VoiceThread support, visit the VoiceThread support website.

Tools Fair 2020

Advanced Canvas

Presenter: Alyssa Dyar, Senior Learning Engineer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

This presentation covers using Canvas features in creative ways for group projects, assessments, and more.

How do I get it?

All the features discussed in this presentation are currently available in Canvas. See additional Canvas resources in the Canvas Learning Center.

Where do I get help?

To discuss advanced Canvas cases with a member of the Teaching & Learning Technologies team, request a consultation.

Canvas Dashboard

Presenter: Patricia Goldweic, Senior Developer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

Developed by the TLT team, the Canvas Dashboard allows you to see information about student activity for file access and downloads. It also provides visibility into the quantity and date of assignments due to the students in your courses.

How do I get it?

Email canvas@northwestern.edu to discuss using the Beta version of the Canvas Dashboard.

Where do I get help?

Email canvas@northwestern.edu for questions about the Canvas Dashboard.

Crowdmark

Presenter: Abby Rosensweig, Department of Chemistry Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Weinberg College

What is it?

Crowdmark is a collaborative online grading software optimal for large classes with paper exams and multiple graders. Read additional information about Crowdmark on the Canvas Learning Center.

How do I get it?

Crowdmark is available to all Northwestern faculty during the 2020-2021 academic year. Instructors can access Crowdmark with Canvas integration using this link: https://app.crowdmark.com/sign-in/northwestern

Where do I get help?

Advice on using Crowdmark with Canvas is available in Crowdmark’s online knowledge base (Links to an external site.). The Crowdmark team is available to answer any support questions via email support@crowdmark.com.

Discussion Hero

Presenter: Jacob Collins, Senior Developer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

Discussion Hero is a Canvas tool developed at Northwestern University that provides an entertaining and engaging game-style approach to participating in discussion boards. The philosophy behind Discussion Hero is that online discussion boards can be made more productive by leveraging game-style formats that encourage diverse points of view, questioning, and respectful debate and dialogue. It uses traditional awarding of points with a game-like progress meter that is generated by a customizable rating rubric. This progress meter allows students to see how they are performing on their discussion posts in real-time and provides an incentive to view participation as healthy competition.

How do I get it?

Install Discussion Hero directly into one of your Canvas courses by following the instructions on the Canvas Learning Apps website.

Where do I get help?

Check out the built in help guides or contact Jacob Collins at jacob.collins@northwestern.edu.

Flipgrid

Presenters: Julia Moore, Director of English Language Programs, The Graduate School and Nell Novara, Assistant Director of International Student Support, Pritzker School of Law

What is it?

Flipgrid is a free video discussion platform. In Flipgrid, instructors post discussion prompts and students respond and reply to each other with short (under 10 minute) videos.

How do I get it?

Create a Flipgrid educator account and sign in before adding Flipgrid to Canvas. Read more on the Canvas Learning Center on how to connect Flipgrid with your Canvas course.

Where do I get help?

For technical issues, or to contact Flipgrid support, visit the Account & tech issues page (Links to an external site.). Instructors can review Flipgrid's support guides for educators (Links to an external site.). Students can review Flipgrid's support guides for students (Links to an external site.).

Google Docs in Synchronous Sessions

Presenter: Anna Luce, Learning Engineer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

Google docs can be used during synchronous sessions as a collaborative space for your students to answer question and complete activities. This presentation specifically covers how Google Docs can be used in tandem with Zoom Breakout Rooms.

How do I get it?

Follow these instructions on connecting Google Drive to your Canvas Course via Collaborations.

Where do I get help?

Northwestern IT's website contains information on G Suite accounts at Northwestern.

Handwriting Online

Presenter: Matt Taylor, IT Director and general Director of the Media and Design Studio, Weinberg College

What is it?

Writing on a chalkboard or whiteboard is used extensively as part of the teaching process in the classroom. How can this practice best be moved online? This presentation shows some of the hardware and software needed for this problem.

How do I get it?

There are several hardware and software solutions demonstrated in this presentation, contact your school or unit for any local guidance.

Where do I get help?

Read in more detail about taking handwriting online in the Canvas Learning Center.

Hypothesis

Presenter: Suzen Moeller, Adjunct Lecturer, School of Professional Studies

What is it?

Hypothesis enables students to collaboratively comment on or annotate online texts, such as web pages, online PDFs, digital articles, or even specific course files in Canvas.

How do I get it?

Northwestern has a license with Hypothesis and it is integrated with Canvas. Additional information and steps to install Hypothesis in your course are available on this Hypothesis info page.

Where do I get help?

You can direct support questions to support@hypothes.is.

Miro

Presenter: Lowell Lindstrom, Adjunct Lecturer, Master of Science in Information Technology Program, McCormick School of Engineering

What is it?

Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform.

How do I get it?

Students, educators, or schools can apply for free a Miro education account.

Where do I get help?

You can direct support questions to Miro's help center.

Padlet

Presenter: Lauren Woods, Assistant Director of CIRTL at Northwestern, Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching

What is it?

Padlet lets you create an online digital wall where students can post notes. These notes can be images, links, videos and can turn into threaded conversations. This tool can be used synchronously or asynchronously.

How do I get it?

Free, limited accounts are available from Padlet's website. Padlet is not directly integrated with Canvas at Northwestern. You can share a Padlet board to your Canvas site by pasting the link to the board in your page, module, or other parts of your course. Because Padlet boards are outside of Canvas, please review Padlet's Privacy Settings to understand the various ways Padlets can be made private to your students.

Where do I get help?

Go to the Padlet website for support, as well as ideas on using Padlet in your courses.

Panopto

Presenter: Anna Luce, Learning Engineer, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

Panopto is a media recording and storage platform. You can use it to record live events, store media files in a cloud-based system, record screencast lectures, and accept media assignments from students

How do I get it?

You can enable Panopto in your Canvas site by editing the navigation links in Settings.

Where do I get help?

Read more about Panopto in the Canvas Learning Center or request a consultation.

Perusall

Presenter: Emily Kadens, Professor of Law, Pritzker School of Law

What is it?

Perusall is an annotation tool that integrates with Canvas. Perusall allows students and instructors to discuss, comment on, collaboratively mark up, and post questions on documents and textbooks. Students can take notes and answer each other's questions directly within the text, while instructors can create assignments and groups.

How do I get it?

Northwestern has a license with Perusall and it is integrated with Canvas. Additional information and steps to instsall Perussal in your course are available on this Perusall info page.

Where do I get help?

For Perusall support requests, submit a request or view the user guides available here: https://support.perusall.com/hc/en-us

Check out Professor Kaden's Perusall Scoring Cheatsheet.

Polling

Presenter: Rachel Goc, Learning Technologist, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

This presentation covers the basics of using polling, including using Zoom polling and Canvas quizzes in tandem for synchronous and asynchronous activities.

How do I get it?

Polling is currently available via Zoom and can be set up before a meeting or during a meeting that has started. Learn more about Canvas Quizzes in the Canvas Learning Center.

Where do I get help?

To discuss using Polling in your classes with a member of the Teaching & Learning Technologies team, request a consultation.

PowerPoint in Zoom

Presenter: Jonathan Diehl, Learning Engineer Lead, Teaching & Learning Technologies

What is it?

This presentation covers how to embed videos in your PowerPoint presentation to share in Zoom and how to manage PowerPoint windows when presenting in Zoom.

How do I get it?

Faculty and staff can download copies of the Microsoft Office Suite, including PowerPoint.

Where do I get help?

For additional Zoom resources, visit the Zoom Learning Center.