Developing an Online Course

3rd Party Tools

By: Ngoc Vo, Ph. D.
USG eCampus

Third Party Integrations

The instructions for D2L provided here are general instructions. The settings made by the D2L administrators at your institution may be different from the settings of the author, thus there may be some small differences. Similarly, not all tools mentioned by the author may be available at your institution. Any tools that are added on to the D2L platform, such as publisher add-ons, multimedia, communication tools, etc., are called third-party integrations. A full list of approved integrations for USG can be found here. Third-party integrations need to be approved at the system level before they can be requested at your institution. D2L administrators limit third-party integrations because of their possible dangers to the stability of the D2L platform, their cost, their accessibility, time-constraints and available staffing at individual institutions, and other factors. Please check with your D2L Administrator on your campus to learn more about any tools you would like to use in your courses.

If you use an external learning tool, be sure to provide a link to that tool’s privacy policies (Privacy Policies for many LTIs) for your learners’ benefit in safeguarding their personal information.

Add a 3rd Party Integration

To add a 3rd party integration to your course, please use the following method:

NOTE: This method does not work for Readspeaker, Smarthinking, or Turnitin.

Navigate to your Content page, using the top navigation. Once in your course's Table of Contents, select the module you would like to add your integration into.
Below the title of your module, select the Add Existing Activities drop-down and choose External Learning Tools
The Add Activity pop-up will appear with a list of available 3rd party integrations. Select the integration you would like to add. In this example, I have chosen Curriculum Builder:
Your integration will now be available in your module.

In the following accordion files are some of the popular integrations approved by the USG system.

Enable Turnitin and Check Feedback to Improve Academic Honesty

This video discusses how to turn the Turnitin integration on in a Dropbox assignment and the steps students need to take in order to view their feedback. Please note that since 2017, D2L changed the term "Dropbox" into "Assignments". The location of the tool is still the same.

Watch: Enable Turnitin and Checking Feedback

Use VoiceThread for Video Discussions and Assignments

This tutorial explains how to add VoiceThread links and assignments in your D2L learning management system.

Watch: How to: Using VoiceThread LTIOne with D2L

Create a Virtual Meeting Room with Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a useful tool for holding virtual office hours, study sessions, meetings with individual students, etc. Knowing how to integrate BB Collaborate Ultra and start, record, and use sessions is helpful to you as a professor. This information can be helpful as you guide students on how to use it as an online learning tool.

After you add Collaborate Ultra (refer to the Add a 3rd Party Integration above), you will see an interface called a "room", as pictured below.

Now, it is time to create a session and set up a meeting. Click on Create a New Session.

Give the meeting a name and set up the time for your class meeting. You can also find a Guest Link, which you can share with your students and they will be able to enter the virtual room without logging into GoView (by simply clicking the link).

NOTE: For you to moderate the meeting as the instructor, you must log in to your course, and enter the room inside the system.

Please watch the video below from Blackboard Inc. to learn more features about Collaborate Ultra, such as assigning moderators and loading slides.

Watch: Blackboard Collaborate with the Ultra Experience User Interface Tour