Which tools should I use?
- Jacqueline Kort Mascort (Deactivated)
The tables below describe how tools for teaching and assessing online can support student learning at McGill. Currently approved tools that comply with the McGill Cloud Directive can be found in the External learning tools table.
All third-party tools used for teaching and learning at McGill are subject to the McGill Cloud Directive. Student data contains private information. All tools need to be verified to ensure that companies providing these tools are keeping that data safe and complying with all Quebec laws and McGill regulations. Just because a software may be free to use does not mean that it is authorized for use at McGill. Below is a table of all currently approved tools that comply with the McGill Cloud Directive.
In this article:
General teaching tools
Instructional purpose | Tool(s) | Description | Resources & tips |
|---|---|---|---|
Communicate updates and other information to students | Announcements tool in myCourses | Post announcements, updates, materials, and learning activities. | Encourage your students to set up Notifications to receive text or email messages about activity in the course, such as when you post announcements and make quizzes available. |
Email Classlist in myCourses | Email your entire Classlist to contact students directly. | ||
Record audio in myCourses | The audio capture tool in myCourses allows you to record and post audio files in .wav format within the Announcement tool. | ||
Have students engage with course readings | Add library resources in myCourses | Use the library catalogue and database list to find online, accessible course materials. | Many publishers have temporarily increased access to online material, so content that was not previously available may now be accessible to students. |
The OneDrive for Business app will allow you to create a multi-page scan of a print document using the camera on your mobile device. The resulting PDF can be uploaded to myCourses. ALL uploaded scans must be reported: | Instructors may scan up to 15% of a print course textbook. | ||
Perusall is an external learning tool that facilitates collaborative reading and annotation. It can be integrated into your myCourses Content page. | |||
Liaison librarians are subject-specific research experts who will help you find the best option to maintain the continuity of your course material. | |||
Hold online office hours or drop-in sessions | Address students' questions. | Let students know when you will hold your office hours. | |
Chat tool in myCourses | |||
Give real-time lectures | Deliver lectures, share content, annotate content, and use a digital whiteboard. Allows students to ask questions, receive immediate feedback, and collaborate with each other in real-time. Be aware of cognitive load; you may wish to turn off the chat in Zoom during a presentation and open it when you want to take questions. See Zoom recommended settings depending on your class size. Real-time lectures can be recorded and made available in myCourses. | Consider ways to make students feel connected and cared about: acknowledge current challenges, as well as good work, and remind students about the class being a community. | |
Record lectures, tutorials, video for later viewing | Pre-record yourself giving a lecture, record a slide show with audio, or capture your screen for students to view on their own. | Record in 7-10 minute chunks. Create a separate video for each topic. | |
Pre-record yourself giving a lecture, record a slide show with audio, or capture your screen for students to view on their own. | Record in 7-10 minute chunks. Create a separate video for each topic. Using Zoom from inside myCourses will allow you to automatically post recordings for students | ||
Set up whole class discussions | Discussions tool in myCourses | Create, manage, moderate, and grade discussions in myCourses. | Communicate clear goals and outcomes for the discussions. |
Zoom for live sessions | Zoom can be used for live synchronous discussions with students, supports recordings and breakout rooms. Full group discussion may be difficult in live classes over 25. | Increase a sense of community and belonging by participating in the conversations and providing feedback. | |
Set up group work or small group discussions | Groups tool in myCourses | Students can do group assignments and group discussions in myCourses. Set your students up in groups. See Create groups in myCourses. You and your students can record and post audio files in .wav format within Discussions and Assignments. See Record audio in myCourses. Note that students are also able to use Zoom to record presentations. | |
External learning tools like Perusall allow students to be placed in groups for teamwork and assessment. | |||
Digital workspace for visual collaboration. Students can interact and collaborate in a visual way within a shared space using sticky notes, flowcharts and mapping, drawings, and much more. As instructors, you have facilitator functions that allow you to manage the workspace and monitor student work. | |||
Record podcasts | Smartphones and tablets generally offer excellent audio quality for recordings. iPhone: Try the built-in “Voice memos.” Android & Windows: Various built-in and third-party apps exist for voice recording. Learn more here. | Record your lecture with your smartphone or tablet and post to myCourses. | Consider providing content as an audio-only file/podcast if you don’t need visuals. |
Record audio in myCourses | The audio capture tool in myCourses allows students to record and submit audio files in the Assignments tool in myCourses. |
Assessment tools
Instructional purpose | Tool(s) | Descriptions | Resources & tips |
|---|---|---|---|
Allow students to give oral presentations | myCourses | Students can record themselves using a smartphone, tablet or laptop, and share the recording in myCourses with the instructor or the whole class.
| If oral communication is less of a core objective for the course, students can submit a written script of their presentation, which can be assessed for content knowledge and skills like persuasive thinking. For video assignments, timestamp your feedback comments. |
Students can use Zoom to give a live presentation to the whole class or they can create local recordings, which can be submitted as Assignments in myCourses. | |||
Collect assignments | Assignments tool in myCourses | Students can submit assignments as a file upload in myCourses. Any file can be used as part of an assignment (PDF, Word, video file, audio file, etc.) | Assignments can be individual or by group. Instructors can create and share a grading rubric for their assignments. Ability to set a start date, due date, and end date. Ability to set release conditions for an assignment |
Provide feedback | Grade assignments in myCourses | Provide students with written or audio recorded feedback comments. | Let students know what they did well, and what and how they can improve. Use the built-in assignment annotation feature to mark-up submissions using highlighting, free hand drawing and associated commenting. |
Record audio in myCourses | |||
Offer exams or quizzes | myCourses | Offer open-book exams with Assignments or timed assessments with Quizzes. Create different types of auto-gradable questions, such as multiple-choice, true or false, short answer, fill-in-the blank, and matching. Written response questions must be graded manually. See Overview of quizzes, surveys and self assessments in myCourses. | Set a date at which the quiz becomes available. Enforce a time limit on your quiz. Set "Automatically Publish Evaluation" if applicable. Give students one or multiple attempts. Randomize your quiz questions so that every each student receives a unique set of questions. The University of Newcastle, Australia has a helpful guide to designing open book exams. |
Test student knowledge through open-book type exam including long answer questions/illustrations/diagrams. Or, allow students to upload a completed assignment. | Best for large classes over 200. A Crowdmark "Assigned" assessment creates an assignment type that students can write anywhere and submit online. Instructors can set release dates and due dates to manage submissions. Students can write responses on paper, take a photo, and upload image or upload a word or pdf file. Ability to grade assessments in Crowdmark using annotation tools and comment library. Ability to send graded and annotated assessment to student. | ||
Proctor an online exam | Respondus Monitor | This option is not currently supported. Read more. | |
Secured online exams that prevent students from user their computer | LockDown Browser “locks down” the browser on a computer or tablet. Students are unable to copy, print, access other applications, or visit other websites during an online exam. This option is not recommended. | LockDown Browser prevents students from using other parts of their computer, but students can still use another machine or mobile device. | |
Share grades with students | Grades tool in myCourses | Create gradebook in myCourses and input students' grades for them to view. |