Choose educational tools that you and your students are familiar with. Supported tools come with the benefit of security and privacy assessments and support from University groups.
If you need assistance with any of these tools please email learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca, unless specified otherwise.
Tools For Communicating with Students and Sharing Materials
| Announcements in LEARN | Communicate updates, changes and new information to all students listed in the Classlist in LEARN quickly and effectively. Announcements appear on the course homepage. Text, audio, video and links are all possible using Announcements. |
| Email in LEARN | Email one, multiple students or the entire Classlist within LEARN. After the initial email has been sent, all subsequent email correspondence takes place through your email client of choice. |
| Chat in LEARN | The Chat tool is a real-time, text-based collaboration tool. There are two types of Chats:
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| Discussions in LEARN | The Discussions tool is a collaboration area for you and your students. You can set up discussions to allow students to post, read and reply to messages on different topics, share thoughts about course materials, ask questions, share files, or work with their peers on assignments and homework. To access the discussions tool click the Connect menu on your course navbar and select Discussions. |
| Video Notes in LEARN | Record video with a webcam and embed in assignment feedback, discussions, etc.
File upload size limit 1 GB, and recording duration limit is 30 minutes. |
| Surveys in LEARN | Create surveys in your course to solicit feedback from students. A multitude of question types are possible including Likert question types. |
| Surveys in Qualtrics | Use Qualtrics to create questionnaires or surveys with a vast library of question types and response options, incorporate skip patterns and other types of logic, and generate reports to summarize data collected. |
| Office 365 Teams |
Create a virtual meeting space with up to 300 students. Recordings can be made of sessions to review later. Features include:
Please review the Privacy in Recordings page which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. |
| WebEx A/V conferencing (IST Knowledge Base) | Create a virtual meeting space with up to 1000 students. Recordings can be made of sessions to review later. Not sure which WebEx tool to use? See the WebEx comparison overview table on the IST Knowledge Base. Features include:
See the features and benefits of various meeting platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. |
| Bongo - Virtual Classroom | Create a virtual meeting space allowing you to engage with one student, a small group of students, or up to 150 students with live video. Note: only 7 webcams can be active.
Record sessions for later viewing on demand. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. Instructors can post lecture slides, create break-out rooms, and record meetings, among other features. Students can record their own Bongo meetings and submit them to the assignment. See the features and benefits of various platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. Additional Information:
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Piazza Support: email team@piazza.com |
Q&A platform in wiki-style format, to collaborate in a single space. Students can post questions and collaboratively edit responses. Instructors can answer questions and/or endorse student answers. Anonymous posting encourages every student to participate. For STEM, a LaTeX editor, highlighted syntax and code blocking. Detailed statistics track engagement. Centrally funded from Apr. 2021 – Apr. 2022 |
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Zoom provides videotelephony and online chat services through a cloud-based peer-to-peer software platform and is used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and social interactions. Zoom offers two types of virtual room services: meetings and webinars. |
Creating Content
| Adding Content to LEARN | Course Content is available from your course navbar. From this area you can create, add or edit content; and link to course tools such as Dropboxes, Discussion Forums, Quizzes and Surveys. |
| Audacity | Audacity is a free and easy-to-use tool that allows you to create audio recordings (like podcasts) to share with students in LEARN. |
| Narrated PowerPoint | With PowerPoint you can easily create a narrated presentation to share with your students so they can watch it (and listen to it) at their convenience. Each slide in the presentation has its own narrated audio. |
| WebEx IST Knowledge Base | Record live sessions with students or pre-record information. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course.
See the features and benefits of various meeting platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. |
| Office 365 Teams |
Create a virtual meeting space with up to 300 students. Recordings can be made of sessions to review later. Features include:
Please review the Privacy in Recordings page which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. |
| Bongo - Virtual Classroom | Create a virtual meeting space allowing you to engage with one student, a small group of students, or up to 150 students with live video. Note: only 7 webcams can be active.
Record sessions for later viewing on demand. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. Instructors can post lecture slides, create break-out rooms, and record meetings, among other features. Students can record their own Bongo meetings and submit them to the assignment.
See the features and benefits of various platforms in the the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. |
| Mobius | Möbius is a robust online authoring and delivery environment specifically designed for the needs of STEM classrooms. It includes a rich suite of tools and features for authors looking to design and develop digital assets for their students or peers, and a delivery environment that enables and promotes deep and active learning for users through the combination of instructional material with hands-on activities. |
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PebblePad supports students as they plan and prepare for learning, record and reflect on curricular and co-curricular learning experiences, and curate and showcase evidence of this learning for different audiences.
Instructors can use PebblePad to create and share a one-page template or multi-page workbook with embedded content (including multimedia), prompts, and questions to scaffold student learning. Students can use PebblePad to create eportfolios, blogs, collections of their work, and more. |
| Screen Recording | A screen recording or screencast is a narrated video recording of your computer screen that you can share with students in LEARN. |
Assessing Student Work
| Dropboxes in LEARN | Use for the submission, review and evaluation of student work. They can be linked with the Rubric tool for ease and consistency of grading. |
| Gradebook in LEARN | A configurable tool that can be linked to Dropbox, Quizzes and Discussions, allowing students to view their progress throughout the term. |
| Quizzes in LEARN | Create and manage online quizzes with various question types including multiple choice, multiple select, written response and fill in the blank. |
| Rubrics in LEARN | Create rubrics to evaluate an activity, or item, based on a predefined set of criteria. Rubrics can be used with Discussions, Dropboxes, long answer questions in Quizzes, and Gradebooks. |
| Video Notes in LEARN | Record video with a webcam and embed in assignment feedback, discussions, etc.
File upload size limit 1GB. Recording duration limit 30 minutes. |
| Bongo Video Assignment documentation | These are assignments in which the final product created by the students is a video or audio recording, such as student presentations, creative assignments, interviews, and role playing.
Question & Answer: present students with question prompts and give them a set amount of time to respond. Interactive video: provide students with a video and ask them to respond to related prompts at certain points within the video. Individual projects: students record or upload a video of themselves presenting on a topic or demonstrating a specific skill. Group projects: students collaborate synchronously and/or asynchronously to complete a group activity. The end product is often presented as one cohesive group presentation. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. See the features and benefits of various platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. |
| Akindi
For integration with LEARN: Other inquiries, contact IST help desk |
Akindi is a web-based assessment system that automates the creation and grading of multiple-choice exams. Exams can be printed using any sheet of paper and uploaded to the system using any scanner. Instructors can upload their test questions, control their test question display and opt to have Akindi randomize test questions.
Instructors have the option to email an Akindi bubble sheet to their class roster, no printing or scanning required. Each student receives a unique, secure email link that they'll use to access and complete the Akindi bubble sheet online. Instructors are required to post or email the assessment questions to students separately. |
| Crowdmark
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An online, collaborative marking system offering a paperless way to distribute, collect, grade and return feedback for assignments and tests.
Crowdmark is designed for page-at-a-time grading: pages in an assignment or test can be graded by markers and reviewed by instructors concurrently. Crowdmark integrates with LEARN, grades are pushed from Crowdmark to LEARN and rosters are pulled into Crowdmark from LEARN. Exams and other assessments can be written within the Crowdmark system, digitally and uploaded, or on paper and scanned or photographed and then uploaded. Used in cases where handwritten work is important: for example, when students need to give full written answers or solutions, draw graphs or other figures. |
| Mobius
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Möbius is a robust online authoring and delivery environment specifically designed for the needs of STEM classrooms. It includes a rich suite of tools and features for authors looking to design and develop digital assets for their students or peers, and a delivery environment that enables and promotes deep and active learning for users through the combination of instructional material with hands-on activities.
Mobius also allows the creation of algorithmically-designed free response and adaptive questions (quizzes) that can be used in conjunction with learning materials for self-assessment or as part of formal assessments. Grades recorded in Mobius can be automatically transferred to LEARN. |
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PebblePad supports students as they plan and prepare for learning, record and reflect on curricular and co-curricular learning experiences, and curate and showcase evidence of this learning for different audiences.
ATLAS, the assessment space in PebblePad, facilitates formative and summative assessment through self and peer review, qualitative feedback statements, rubrics, feedback templates, and grades. PebblePad also allows assessors to provide feedback on student work. |
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The Peer Evaluation, Assessment and Review (PEAR) is an online platform developed at the University of Guelph for the peer review of student work that follows a multi-stage assignment submission and review process. Individual or group assignments are possible. The tool also allows peer assessment of group member performance.
Limited licenses available at Waterloo. |
| Perusall is an interactive document tool that allows you and your students to discuss specific words, sentences, and passages in a written text by highlighting key portions of a document for comment and discussion. AI grading is available to score quality of responses. Dashboard allows instructors to see confusion reports, student activity etc. |
Student Collaboration
| Discussions in LEARN | The Discussions tool is a collaboration area for you and your students. You can set up discussions to allow students to post, read and reply to messages on different topics, share thoughts about course materials, ask questions, share files, or work with their peers on assignments and homework. To access the discussions tool click the Connect menu on your course navbar and select Discussions. |
| Groups In LEARN | Groups can be used to enable students within your class to work in teams. Each group can have its own discussion forum(s) and topics as well as dropbox folders for work submission. Members of groups can be graded as a team or individually. |
| Chat in LEARN | Chat tool is a real-time, text-based collaboration tool. |
| Office 365 Teams |
Create a virtual meeting space with up to 300 students. Students can create their own meeting space as well. Recordings can be made of sessions to review later. Features include:
Please review the Privacy in Recordings page which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. |
| Bongo - Virtual Classroom | Create a virtual meeting space allowing you to engage with one student, a small group of students, or up to 150 students with live video. Note: only 7 webcams can be active.
Record sessions for later viewing on demand. Please review the Privacy in Recordings page, which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. Instructors can post lecture slides, create break-out rooms, and record meetings, among other features. Students can record their own Bongo meetings and submit them to the assignment.
See the features and benefits of various platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. |
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Support: |
The Peer Evaluation, Assessment and Review (PEAR) is an online platform developed at the University of Guelph for the peer review of student work that follows a multi-stage assignment submission and review process. Individual or group assignments are possible. The tool also allows peer assessment of group member performance.
Limited licenses available. |
| Perusall is an interactive document tool that allows you and your students to discuss specific words, sentences, and passages in a written text by highlighting key portions of a document for comment and discussion. AI grading is available to score quality of responses. Dashboard allows instructors to see confusion reports, student activity etc. | |
| WebEx Virtual Meetings - IST Knowledge Base | Create a virtual meeting space with up to 1000 students. Recordings can be made of sessions to review later. Features include:
Please review the Privacy in Recordings page which includes a downloadable notification template to post in your course. See the features and benefits of various platforms in the Comparison of Tools for Synchronous Teaching table in the IST Knowledge Base. |
Polling Tools
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iClicker/ iClicker Cloud Support: iClicker Support Costs: Students pay via Waterloo’s site licence Contact Shawn Gilbertson to order |
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Microsoft Forms Suport: Microsoft's Forms Help & Learning pages Costs: Free through Waterloo’s Microsoft O365 site licence |
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Zoom Polling Support: Costs: Free through Waterloo’s Zoom site licence |
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WebEx Polling Support: Costs: Free through Waterloo’s WebEx site licence |
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Mentimeter Support: Costs: Instructors pay |
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Kahoot Support: Costs: Instructors pay |
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