BU Supported Tools
Academic Partnerships (AP) supports several university-wide licensed tools and other open-source tools. BU-supported tools are those that the majority of the campus uses. AP provides support and training for these tools on top of the support provided by the vendor (listed below); faculty and academic staff can request one-on-one consultations or classroom instruction for students. Classroom instruction sessions will be led by our student employees in the Digital Transformation Ambassadors program.
Ideas for how to implement these tools in the classroom can be found on our Instructional Activities page.
BU-supported tools include:
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About
Canvas is a cloud-based vender learning management system (LMS) that Butler adopted in Spring 2019.
Getting Help
For Canvas training options, view AP’s Training page and upcoming workshop schedule. Faculty and students can live chat with a Canvas Support rep 24/7, and they can also find self-help resources in Ask.Butler and the Canvas Community:
Canvas help resources
Ask.Butler
Canvas Community
Faculty Resources
Canvas Help Index (Instructors)
Canvas Instructor Guide
Student Resources
Canvas Help Index (Students)
Canvas Student Guide
Requesting New Canvas Tools
Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is a standard set of specifications for allowing third-party learning applications to integrate with educational platforms. Third-party LTI integration allows the application to connect to Canvas. Before submitting your request, view the list of LTIs that have either been approved or requested.
All new tool requests for Canvas LTIs must go through the LTI approval process. The approval process for each tool will include reviews for Functionality, Accessibility, Security, FERPA, Legal, Cost, as well as other factors.
About
Academic Partnerships supports several Canvas integrations, tools added to the Canvas environment to enhance teaching and learning. Some of our tools (e.g. Zoom, Panopto, Infobase) can be used both in Canvas and by logging in directly to the tool website; other tools can only be used inside of Canvas.
Class Climate
Class Climate is used for course evaluations. During the evaluation period, faculty can use the Canvas integration to view student response rates to their evaluation. Outside of the evaluation period, faculty will not see any data. Evaluations will be distributed via colleges or departments, not through Canvas. To learn more about the Class Climate report, view the Faculty Guide to the Class Climate Report.
Follett Discover
Follett Discover is a tool for both faculty and students. Using the tool, faculty can adopt course materials, view previously adopted materials, and more. Students can use the tool to purchase or rent books through the bookstore.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis is a social annotation tool that allows users to highlight and make notes on websites and online articles. The tool is collaborative, giving users options to annotate in private groups or publicly on the web. If you would like to use this tool in your course, email APhelp@butler.edu. For help with Hypothesis, visit the Hypothesis help documentation.
Publisher Resources
AP integrated several publisher resources into Canvas, including Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Wiley, and more. Email APhelp@butler.edu if you need an additional tool added. Each publisher has a support representative who can help you set up your course materials and use their tool.
NameCoach
NameCoach is a tool where students and faculty can record the pronunciation of their names as well as choose preferred pronouns. After students and faculty complete the NameCoach setup from either a course or profile area, their pronunciation and pronouns are automatically made available in all of their courses. Recordings and preferred pronouns can be edited at any time. For help with NameCoach, view the NameCoach article in Ask.Butler.
Turnitin
Turnitin is an academic integrity tool that analyzes the originality of written student work by comparing a student’s work to websites, papers from other Butler students, and papers from other institutions. Turnitin can be used in two ways in Canvas: through the external tool or plagiarism framework. When using Turnitin through as an external tool, faculty can use Turnitin’s Feedback Studio to build rubrics, store quick comments, and more. View the Turnitin Support Center or the Canvas Integrations Help Index on Ask.Butler for additional Turnitin resources.
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About
Zoom was introduced at Butler in 2016 as a pilot solution for web conferencing on campus. It has been used for distance education, interviews, online meetings and eLearning. Zoom is the Butler supported technology for synchronous communication as of April 2017. Those who have the meeting URL can attend a Zoom meeting even if they aren’t affiliated with Butler. Any member of the Butler community (students, faculty, staff) can use their Butler username and password to create Zoom meetings. Zoom has integration tools for Outlook, Chrome and more. Zoom integrates into Canvas as an external tool.
Mediated Spaces
Review IT’s list of mediated spaces to find a room for your next Zoom meeting. Choose a room with a camera located in the front of the room for Zoom meetings with guest lectures where there will be student participation.
Getting Help
For Zoom training options, view AP’s Training page and upcoming workshop schedule. Faculty and students can live chat with a Zoom Support rep 24/7, and they can also find self-help resources in Ask.Butler and the Zoom Help Center.
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About
Panopto is a turnkey audio/video content capture and playback solution. Panopto is a software solution that includes a web-based editor, a comprehensive search engine, system and viewing analytics, and automatic transcodes that convert videos for optimal viewing on any device.
The same software can be used for content capture, “flipping” classrooms, or presentations; instructors don’t need to learn something new for each different application. Panopto integrates into Canvas so it’s easy to include custom, faculty-created video in courses.
Recording of content can be done on any computer, iOS or Android device. Recordings are automatically uploaded and viewable on any computer or mobile device. The best part is that the playback includes assessment features for academic use that include multiple searching capabilities, note taking, comments, bookmarks, variable speed playback and more.
Mediated Spaces
Review IT’s list of mediated spaces to find Panopto-ready room. Choose a room with a camera located in the back of the room for lecture capture.
Getting Help
For Panopto training options, view AP’s Training page and upcoming workshop schedule. Faculty and students can find self-help resources in Ask.Butler and the Panopto Support site.
Panopto Changes and Retention Policy
To manage costs, Butler is taking action to delete and archive older stored videos that meet certain criteria and to institute a new retention policy for stored and created videos going forward. Learn more about these actions.
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About
Butler subscribes to LinkedIn Learning, a web-based repository of online, on demand, tutorials covering a range of topics including software, soft skills, career readiness, accessibility, and more. Butler faculty, staff, and students can view courses and videos as well as earn certificates on this platform. For help getting started, view our LinkedIn Learning help article.
About
Ally is an accessibility tool that promotes inclusivity for all students. Ally integrates into Canvas and automatically converts course materials into a variety of different formats. Additionally, the tool integrates scans course materials and give each file, document, and image an accessibility score. Instructors can then see which content in their course needs improvement from an accessibility standpoint. View AP’s accessibility page for more information.
Getting Help
For help with Ally, visit Ally for LMS Help or view the Ally Help Index in Ask.Butler.
About
Proctorio is a secure testing tool that provides online proctoring with identity verification, test monitoring, lock-down browser components, and other features to support academic integrity. It is integrated into Canvas and works with Canvas’s Classic Quiz tool—compatibility with Canvas’s New Quizzes tool is on the horizon. Proctorio will not alter instructor content and only requires use of the Google Chrome browser and Proctorio Chrome browser extension.
Privacy
Depending on the settings selected by instructors, Proctorio may record students’ webcam, screen, room, or other behaviors during the exam session and share that information with the instructor. Proctorio has taken great measures to protect student privacy. Read more about Proctorio’s efforts to protect student data and privacy at the following articles:
Getting Help
For help with Proctorio, view Ask.Butler:
About
During the summer of 2019, the PA and Pharmacy Programs began transitioning the delivery of assessments from traditional paper-based exams to computer-based exams utilizing ExamSoft. ExamSoft is a secure testing platform that allows the ability to streamline the testing process and better track student performance. By adopting this software, COPHS is able to better assess student progress throughout their program and evaluate the success of their curriculum in meeting program and college outcomes.
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About
Audience response systems typically have involved use of proprietary devices that students buy at the local college bookstore and then register online for use in a particular class. Poll Everywhere is a classroom response system that uses the students’ own mobile phones or laptops instead of proprietary transmitters like clickers. Responses are displayed in real-time in slide presentations or online, making it an easy and engaging way of capturing student feedback in the classroom, especially with larger class sizes.
Request an Upgraded License
Poll Everywhere has a free tier that allows for up to 25 audience responses per poll. For courses with larger class sizes, AP has 100 Poll Everywhere upgraded licenses available to faculty; normally about 90 of these licenses are in use at any given time. To request a Poll Everywhere license, email APhelp@butler.edu. Licenses are granted on a first come, first served basis and an annual audit is conducted to free up unused licenses.
Getting Help
For help with Poll Everywhere, visit the Poll Everywhere Support Center or view Poll Everywhere’s live webinars or video tutorials.
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The Google Workspace for Education suite has several tools that Butler faculty, staff, and students can access by logging in with their Butler email and password. Common Google apps include:
- Google Drive: drive.google.com
- Google Docs: docs.google.com
- Google Slides: slides.google.com
Google Apps can also be accessed inside of Canvas courses.
About
Google Apps are a suite of online tools (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Hangouts, etc.) that can be used for sharing files and working together on documents in real time. All faculty, staff, and enrolled students have Google Apps accounts.
Google Drive lets you store and access your files anywhere—on the web, on your hard drive, or on the go. All Butler Google Apps accounts come with unlimited Drive storage.
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are tools that allow you to create different kinds of documents, work on them simultaneously with other people, and access them from anywhere you have a computer and an Internet connection. These apps do not replace Microsoft Office on campus (though you can use them to edit Office files), but serve as a complementary toolset for document collaboration.
Getting Help
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WordPress is an online blog and website creation platform. There is a free non-Butler version, www.wordpress.com; however Butler hosts multiple instances of WordPress on Butler servers. Hosting an instance of WordPress allows Butler to back up the sites and improve security. All Butler faculty, staff, and students have the ability to create a WordPress site by going to blogs.butler.edu.
Please note: All Butler blog users are expected to adhere to Butler’s blogging policy.
Get a Site
- Departments & Organizations: Individuals interested in starting a blog for a department or organization should contact the Marketing & Communications Account Manager for their college or department.
- Courses: To start a blog for a course, individuals should contact the Academic Partnerships at 317-940-8575 or APhelp@butler.edu.
- Research & Dossiers: Butler IT also hosts separate sites for faculty research projects and faculty dossiers. Submit a case at Ask.Butler for help setting up a research or dossier site.
Getting Help
Faculty and students can reference the WordPress Help Index in Ask.Butler.
Non-Supported Tools
Butler faculty and students may use additional academic technology tools in their teaching and coursework, respectively. Academic Partnership staff will do their best to accommodate non-supported tools; however, workshops and training over these tools is not guaranteed. If there is widespread use of a tool, AP will consider purchasing a university-wide license; otherwise, payment for tools will be left to the department or college using the tool. Faculty who are interested in one-on-one help with non-supported tools should email APhelp@butler.edu or view the self-help resources in LinkedIn Learning. Common tools include:
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Infographic Tools (e.g. Piktochart, Canva, Adobe Express)
- ePortfolio / Web Authoring Tools (e.g. Weebly, Wix)
- Digital Storytelling Tools (e.g. iMovie, Adobe Premiere Pro, MovieMaker, Adobe Express)
- Podcasting Tools (Audacity)
- MS Office Tools