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System Status: 

Directory of Instructional Tools

A growing directory of third party web-based instructional tools, apps, and resources used by UC San Diego instructors to supplement and enhance their courses.

Important Note

An official contract or agreement between instructional tool vendors and UC San Diego is the most effective and accountable way to protect students, instructors, and the university. Anyone who wishes to use these tools should contact their departmental administration to secure a contract or license.

Directory of Tools

The directory below provides a summary of the tools that have been approved for use, not recommend, or under review. We recommend you read the full review for any tool you are interested in using. If the tool you have in mind has not been reviewed yet, help us prioritize our list by going to this page to fill out the LTI Request form.

Evaluated Tools

Canvas LMS: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Canvas is a Learning Management System. Instructors set up online courses that students join. Instructors can post announcements, calendar reminder, class discussions, assignments, assessments as well as post course content. Canvas is currently being implemented, and will be the primary campus LMS by Spring 2020.

What is it used for?

  • Student Collaboration
  • Educator to Student Communication
  • Formative & Summative Assessment
  • Access to Online Curriculum
  • Grading Solutions / Gradebook
  • Research
  • Flipped Learning
  • Group Polling
  • Gamification
  • Online Homework
  • Online Discussions
  • Integrates with many LTI tool
  • Integrates with many OERs

Carnap: Not Recommended

What is it?

Carnap is intended for use by educators, students, and researchers working on logic. Carnap makes it possible for educators to create interactive exercises and teaching materials, and for students to get quick and helpful feedback as they learn semantic and syntactic methods for determining what follows from what. Carnap also enables researchers interested in unorthodox formal systems to rapidly prototype proof-checking and semantic tools for computer-assisted logical investigation.

Why Is It Not Recommended?

This tool was created by Kansas State University, and there is no information to find about their privacy or data use policies. They have not responded to outreach for information.

CourseKata: Use Responsibly

What is it?

CourseKata is an innovative interactive online textbook for teaching introductory statistics and data science in colleges, universities, and high schools. What is it used for?
  • Course reading materials
  • Vetted and engaging course content
  • Seamlessly embed content into Canvas LMS

EdFinity: Use Responsibly

What is it?

EdFinity is a tool for ready-to-go, online homework

What is it used for?

  • Ready-made homework and practice for multiple Science and Mathematics courses
  • ADA compliant and aligned with a multitude of publishers
  • Seamlessly embed content into Canvas LMS
  • Designed for personalized homework, catered to each individual student

EdPuzzle: Use Responsibly

What is it?

EdPuzzle is a tool for adding interactive activities, questions, or accountability to pre-existing videos from sources such as TED, YouTube, or videos you have made.

What is it used for?

  • Compatible with most devices
  • Convenient YouTube Extension
  • LMS integration

Examity: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Examity is an online proctoring solution that gives students the flexibility to take exams remotely. It provides teachers, schools and students with the tools they need to prevent cheating and to preserve integrity.

What is it used for?

  • Live proctoring for online assessments
  • Immediate, ongoing support
  • LMS integration

FlipGrid: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Flipgrid is simple, free, and accessible video discussion experience for educators, learners and families.

What is it used for?

  • Creating simple videos for introducing topics
  • Creating simple videos for responding to other videos
  • Promotes social learning and engagement
  • Note: Currently incompatible with our UC San Diego Canvas instance

Gradescope: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Gradescope is a grading solution designed to accommodate a common grading workflow. Instructors create an account and optionally sync their course rosters with their Canvas courses. Students or instructors then scan and upload their homework or exams. Grading is stored for future analysis and students receive the immediate feedback.

What is it used for?

  • Educator to Student Communication
  • Formative & Summative Assessment
  • Grading Solutions / Gradebook

G-Suite for Education: Use Responsibly

What is it?

G Suite for Education is an agreement with Google that allows institutions greater control of student data.. It is a compilation of tools that allow for content creation, communication, collaboration and assessment. The "Core Services" include various types of document creation, email, Google Classroom and much more. There are also Additional Google Services, but these services do not fall under the G Suite "Core Services" agreement.

What is it used for?

  • Student Collaboration
  • Educator to Student Communication
  • Formative & Summative Assessment
  • Presentation Creation
  • Online Homework
  • Online Discussions
  • See Google Additional Services

iClicker Classic: Use Responsibly

What is it?

An iClicker is a radio frequency device that allows a student to anonymously respond to questions your instructor poses in class. This lets you and your instructor quickly know how well you understand the lesson material.

What is it for?

  • Learner Response System
  • Checks for understanding
  • Polling
  • Assessments

Hypothesis: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Hypothesis is a web annotation tool that adds sentence-level note taking or critique on top of classroom reading, news, blogs, scientific articles, books, terms of service, ballot initiatives, legislation and more.

What is it used for?

  • Annotate over any web content from all over the world
  • Take notes to guide research
  • Collaborate with multiple people publicly or privately
  • Use tags to share or find information and other annotations
  • LMS integration

Kaltura: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Kaltura is a system for creating, publishing, and managing all of your video. Students can view the presentation in real-time and/or can access the presentation for viewing at a later date through their learning management system.

What is it for?

  • Seamlessly embed video content and media galleries into Canvas LMS
  • Create video content for course materials
  • Organize and manage multiple video playlists
  • Flipped learning
  • Illustrating challenging concepts

Kudu: Not Recommended

Reason it is not recommended: Kudu may inadvertently expose student and course data publicly.

What is it?

Kudu creates course content designed to full replace paper textbooks. 

What is it for?

  • Course reading materials
  • Vetted and engaging course content
  • Homework sets and discussion questions

Macmillan Learning: Use Responsibly

What is it?

MacMillan Learning develops books and learning resources principally for Social Sciences, Humanities, Business, and Study Skills.

What is it for?

  • Course reading materials
  • Vetted and engaging course content
  • Seamlessly embed content into Canvas LMS

McGraw Hill Connect: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Connect is a web-based assignment and assessment platform that helps students connect to their coursework and to success beyond.

What is it for?

  • Assign, score, and manage assignments
  • Connect to study resources
  • Seamlessly embed content into Canvas LMS
  • Formative and Summative assessment capabilities 

McGraw Hill SIMNet: Use Responsibly

What is it?

SIMnet is an easy-to-use online training and assessment solution for Microsoft Office. It provides students with life-long access and unlimited practice on Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint in addition to file management, and operating systems content.

What is it for?

  • File Management
  • Training and Assessment for MS Office
  • Seamlessly integrate with Canvas LMS

Mentimeter: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Mentimeter is an interactive presentation platform that enables you to prepare, present and analyze presentations.

What is it used for?

  • Live proctoring for online assessments
  • Immediate, ongoing support
  • LMS integration

MobLab: Use Responsibly

What is it?

MobLab offers games and experiments to help students explore and understand the inner workings of economics, management & the behavioral sciences.

What is it for?

  •  Gamified tools for experimenting with economic models 

Padlet: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Padlet is an application to create an online bulletin board and virtual "sticky notes" that you can use to display information for any topic.

What is it for?

  • Student Collaboration
  • Brainstorming
  • Making connections amongst various topics or ideas
  • Reflection
  • Flow chart planning
  • LMS integration

Perusall: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Perusall is a social annotation tool. Perusall allows students and their instructors to collaboratively markup .pdf documents. Instead of reading a document and discussing it, Perusall brings the discussion to the text.

What is it for?

  • Student Collaboration
  • Educator to Student Communication
  • Seamlessly integrate with Canvas LMS
  • e-reader

Piazza: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Note: This recommendation covers the full version of Piazza covered by our campus contract. The free version of Piazza is not recommended for use. 

Piazza is a collaborative Q & A platform that allows students to collaborate on answers to content. Users ask questions of others studying the same course, and in a Wiki style format, other users collectively answer the question. Users can ask and answer questions anonymously. Instructors can create courses, for free, to connect course work with TAs and students.

What is it for?

  • Student Collaboration
  • Educator to Student Communication
  • Course content Q & A platform

Poll Everywhere: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Poll Everywhere offers live online polling, surveys, Q&As, quizzes, word clouds, and more.

What is it used for?

  • Live engagement of remote or in-person presentations
  • Quick checks for understanding through quizzes and polls
  • Results of polls, quizzes immediately available in a variety of graphs and clouds
  • LMS integration

Portfolium: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Portfolium creates digital portfolios of student work.

What is it for?

  • Integrates with the Canvas LMS
  • Folio categories include school work, volunteer work, internships, and more
  • Networking capabilities with other Portfolium users

ProctorU: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Note: ProctorU is currently in transition to Meazure Learning. We will be updating this with a new evaluation soon. 

ProctorU provider of remote proctoring and integrity safeguards for online testing and assessment.

What is it used for?

  • Live proctoring for online assessments
  • Immediate, ongoing support
  • LMS integration

RedShelf: Use Responsibly

What is it?

RedShelf provides digital instructional resources, including titles from hundreds of publishers.

What is it for?

  • Provides a publisher portal via the Canvas LMS
  • Digital annotations tools for highlighting, notetaking, and discussion
  • Read-aloud function for text
  • Functions for quizzes, discussions, and questioning

Top Hat: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Top Hat is an online learning platform that includes a variety of teaching and learning components, including online textbooks, teaching tools, assessments, analytics, and more.

What is it used for?

  • A full class dashboard: attendance, live polling & quizzes, discussions, quizzes, online texts.
  • Digital labs
  • LMS integration

Vocareum: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Vocareum helps you upgrade on-campus computer labs and deliver on the promise of the cloud.

What is it used for?

  • Migrate your Windows Application to the cloud.
  • Deliver cloud budgets to departments, classes, or research groups.
  • Schedule and launch large HPC workloads.
  • Bring your own image.
  • Manage commercial licenses by running your solutions in your own VPC.
  • Find the perfect balance between managing cost and minimizing latencies for the user.

WebAssign: Use Responsibly

What is it?

WebAssign is a largely STEM-based online homework solution.

What is it used for?

  • Online homework and practice opportunities.
  • Immediate, ongoing support
  • LMS integration

WeBWork: Use Responsibly

What is it?

WeBWorK is an open-source online homework system for math and sciences courses. 

What is it for?

  • A pool of over 20,000 problems in a variety of college mathematics

WileyPlus: Use Responsibly

What is it?

WileyPlus provides allows instructors to integrate textbooks, learning modules, videos, and activities into their Canvas courses.

What is it for?

  • Course materials repository
  • Course design and organization
  • Assign, score, and manage assignments
  • Animations and simulations for course
  • Seamlessly integrate with Canvas LMS

WW Norton: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Norton Digital Learning Tools offer a seamless digital learning environment of WW Norton content for use in the LMS. They include an e-reader, assessment tool, and course content materials.

What is it for?

  • Course materials repository
  • Course design and organization
  • Assign, score, and manage assignments
  • Seamlessly integrate with Canvas LMS

YuJa: Use Responsibly

What is it?

A comprehensive Video Content Management System (Video CMS) to enable educational institutions to store, manage, distribute and stream media content.

What is it for?

  • Video storage and hosting
  • Livestreaming
  • Video distribution
  • Lecture Capture
  • Accessibility
  • Test proctoring
  • Learner response systems

Zoom: Use Responsibly

What is it?

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing tool. 

What is it for?

  • Schedule meetings
  • Keep calendar of meetings
  • Record and re-visit past meetings

ZipGrade: Use Responsibly

What is it?

ZipGrade is a grading app for your phone or tablet.

What is it for?

  • ZipGrade turns your phone or tablet into an optical grading machine similar to a Scantron. It reads free-to-download answer sheets in multiple sizes. Provide instant feedback to students by grading exit tickets, quizzes, and formative assessments as soon as they finish.

Acceptable Use Caveats:

  • Develop aliases for students to use on answer sheets
  • Avoid using student PIDs or emails on answer sheets
  • Please delete data from mobile devices or tablets following the conclusion of the term

Tools in Queue for Review

  • Discord

  • Crowdmark

  • GradeCam

  • Docuseek

  • GoReact

  • WeVideo

  • Campuswire

  • PaperPile

  • Kahoot

  • Vocareum

  • Prezi

  • Piktochart

  • Yellowdig

  • Quizlet

  • Reef

  • Remind

  • Socrative

  • Quizizz

  • Emaze

  • Tildee

  • Ted-Ed

  • Answer Garden

  • Gallery Walk

  • Nearpod

  • Tricider