Tools & Technology

This resource is a summary of recent updates to tools that you may be using in your courses. You do not have to make any changes to what you are doing; but if these tools look helpful, feel free to explore them.

The document contains both current and past recent updates indicated by the date in the topic titles.

This resource includes:

• A “Getting Started” guide, showing how to set up various applications on your computer, tablet, or phone;

• A Moodle guide, with short videos walking students through how to do several common tasks;

• A G Suite (Google apps) guide, with help documentation for all of the major Google tools available to you;

• A Google Meet and RingCentral Meetings guide, with video tutorials on how to join meetings in various ways, view participants, and record a meeting.

How to use this resource:

• As a quick-start guide: You may want to review relevant portions of this resource for use in your daily activities and projects.

• As a troubleshooting tool: If your are having a problems with how to do something, check here first . The G Suite section, in particular, can be your gateway to more detailed tutorials and help for Google applications.

On July 16, 2021, an online session was offered for our faculty introducing them to SU's core educational technology tools for teaching and learning. These tools include:

• Google Meet and RingCentral Meetings - two video/audio live interactive products - videoconferencing - with recording feature

• Google Workspace - collection of individual and collaborative documents and services - Documents [word processor], Sheets [spreadsheet], Slides [presentation and text & graphic design/layout], Drawings [text & graphic design/layout], Forms [surveys/data collection], Sites [web site], and Jamboard [whiteboard/chalkboard] provided by Google Workspace for Education

• Moodle - SU's learning management system [LMS] similar to Canvas, Blackboard and other LMS's

The recording of the session is available at:

Introduction to Essential Educational Technology Tools

Index of the video of the topics, the start time locations, and links to go directly to a topic is available at:

Introduction to Essential Educational Technology Tools - Topics Index

We have provided instructions for the most basic set-up as well as several other possible configurations for teaching with Model 4, Simultaneous In-Class and Remote Instruction (our version of Hyflex).

Model 4 Basic Set-up Guide

• Moodle Assignments Quick Guide

• How to collect assignments using Google Drive

Taking Capstones Online Resource

• Moodle Announcements: The fastest way to communicate with your entire class is from Moodle. Post in the Announcements item located by default at the top of each Moodle page. Your message will be emailed to your students and saved in the Announcements item. Require students to use this tool, and consistently use it yourself, if you want to keep all course-related communications gathered in one place, separate from emails about other topics. It can be much easier to keep up with messages in Moodle than in your already overburdened email inbox. Of course, you must remember to check the messages for each course regularly, but Moodle provides a helpful summary on your dashboard.

• Moodle Contact Info: Use Moodle's Label and/or Content block for the information on how to contact you (email, online office hours, etc.)

• The Forums tool in Moodle provides a digital space for asynchronous discussions.

• You can also set up discussion prompts in a Google Document, and let students add their responses as bullet points beneath each question - synchronously or asynchronously

• The Chat function in Google Meet and RingCentral Meetings also provides an option for synchronous discussions.

• If you are a Hypothesis user, you can place discussion prompts directly in the margins of online readings and have students respond to them -- in a whole group, or by creating small discussion groups.

• Many publishers, museums, education companies, and software companies have made materials free to students and faculty/teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are some places where these resources are being collected.

  • Free Access to eTextbooks, eBooks, eVideos & More - vetted by our librarians and updated as new resources become available

  • Software normally only available in SU labs, but now available for students to use at home:

    • Mathematica - setup instruction to activate and use Mathematica in the Wolfram Cloud [SU access only]

    • SPSS (free trial extended through June 15)

    • Adobe Creative Suite

• Grade Calculator Examples:

  • Julie Sievers examples - (includes total points and weighted versions - see the 3 tabs at the bottom of the page)

  • Melanie Hoag example

• How to use the appointments booking feature in Google Calendar.

  • Tip - to add a Hangouts Meet link to your Appointment Slots, place the link in the Description area of your Appointment Slots

• How to share articles, videos, audio, etc. from SU’s licensed resources and databases

• How to share course materials using Google Drive • includes how to add the links to Google Drive folders on Moodle

Pre-term Student Access & Needs Survey

• • This survey is available for you to copy and use with your own students [SU access only]. You are also welcome to create your own or to add questions to this one. (To copy the sample survey, go to the top right-hand corner of your screen after you have clicked on the link. Then click on the three vertical dots. Then select “Make a Copy.” With your own copy, you can add or delete questions before querying your students. A good way to send surveys is by creating a link to the survey and embedding that link in an announcement in Moodle or in an email. To make a link, click the “Send” button. Then click the hyperlink / paperclip icon. Then click “Shorten URL.” Then click “Copy.” Then paste it where you want it.) If you do use this survey, you probably want to make it anonymous or at least set the name question as optional, not required, as it is in the sample.

Mid-Term Feedback

End-of-Term (Informal) Feedback

Sample End-of-Term Feedback: Transition to Remote Learning*

*This feedback form is set up as a Google Form. You will need to make your own copy. To copy the sample form, click on the link above and then follow the directions that are listed at the top of the form.

A few notes:

• Having your students submit feedback in this way is not at all required.

• The original form was developed at Rice University. If you don’t like the questions, feel free to modify them or re-organize them or cut some of them (but only after you’ve made your own copy, please!).

• If you use a form like this, please allow students to respond anonymously. (The sample form is already set to collect anonymous responses.)

• You are the only person who will see this feedback. (That is, as long as you make your own copy.) It’s just for your purposes.

• Some other faculty have created their own versions. Traci Giuliano, for example, has generously shared with us a version she created and has said that she is willing for us to share it with others. Reach out if you would like to see it.

Digital White Boarding and Handwritten Annotations - Kendall Richards, Associate Dean and Professor of Mathematics

In this July 30, 2020 session, Kendall Richards demonstrated the basics of using digital white boarding in a remote or in-person/blended course. The session focused on the white boarding applications Google Jamboard and Explain Everything, and Kendall showed how to use these applications with a touch screen (such as an iPad) or with a Wacom Intuos (a device that enables stylus writing for a computer that does not have a touch screen.) The session discussed using these tools during live classes and demonstrated how you can use these applications to grade student work with handwritten annotations.

Recording of session: Digital White Boarding and Handwritten Annotations [1:04:37]

Chat transcript: Digital White Boarding and Handwritten Annotations CHAT

Jamboard • interactive, single-use or collaborative multi "page" whiteboard/chalkboard. Jamboard uses the Chrome browser on laptops/desktops and the Jamboard app on phones and tablet. Documents can be shared and linked to from Moodle the same was as other Google document types.

• access Jamboard from the 9 small squares at the upper right of your Chrome browser window or go to jamboard.google.com [note: Jamboard also refers to a large touchscreen device that works with Jamboard the app. The large touchscreen device is NOT needed to use Jamboard the app.

Explain Everything • "Teach, present, sketchnote, create videos, and work together, all in Explain Everything – the complete online and mobile whiteboard app."

For guidance on pre-recording content for lectures, flipped content, discussion/assignment prompts, tutorials, and more

• • adding voice narration to a slide show can be done in Google Slides, Powerpoint or in Keynote. (Note: For PowerPoint documents with audio, the audio will not play when placed on Google Drive. To use audio, convert the PowerPoint documents to Google Slides and add the audio to the Google Slides document.

  • record your screen or an area of your screen - navigating a slide show or drawing/equations/formula or navigating/using an application and more - with or without your voice

    • Mac

      • Screenshot - present on all Macs and can do both screen shots and screen recordings. Screenshot is found in the Utilities folder and how to use Screenshot may be found at: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac

      • QuickTime Player - present on all Macs and you can create Screen Recording, Audio Recordings and Video Recordings with or without your voice. How to use QuickTime player to create content may be found at: Record your screen in QuickTime Player on Mac [the bottom of the document includes how to create audio and movie recordings]

    • Windows and Mac - Loom is a popular option for screen and video recording

      • OBS - a more advanced option for video recording

To share access to your videos and audios, store them on Google Drive in a shared folder and add the links to the shared media documents on your course's Moodle site.

• • YouTube - you can also use your SU YouTube channels to post videos and organize with playlists.

Basic editing of videos from recorded Google Meet and RingCentral Meetings recordings and other videos:

• Editing Recorded Sessions and Videos