External Tools
External Tools (also known as “applications,” “apps,” and/or “LTIs”) are developed by third party vendors to integrate with the Canvas LMS. These tools must be vetted and approved to be supported by system administration. Certain external tools may not be supported due to security or functionality concerns.
WashU provides access to many educational technology tools that have the potential to increase student engagement, foster deeper connections to content, and save you time on teaching and learning tasks.
To learn more about educational technologies, please email edtechtools@wustl.eduor artscicanvas@wustl.edu.
Annoto
Annoto Insights: Annoto Insights provides a chat and comment layer on top of Kaltura videos. Add Annoto Insights to Kaltura within Canvas to see analytics on video engagement.
Box
Box is a powerful tool for sharing files, allowing students to turn files in to you, and tracking updates to shared files.
Canvas
WashU MyCanvas is the primary instance of Canvas, the learning management system for Washington University in St. Louis.
Canvas offers technical support 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to all faculty, staff, and students. Click the Help button from the Global Navigation Menu to access 24/7 Canvas Support via chat or phone. Help is customized for faculty, staff, and students. You can also review Canvas Guides or report a problem.
Crowdmark
Crowdmark is an online collaborative grading and analytics platform that helps educators, working alone or in teams, to more effectively evaluate student work. The platform allows for easy distribution and collection of student work, offers tools for the assembly and management of grading teams, and provides an online workflow that streamlines grading and the delivery of rich feedback to students.
Extempore
Extempore allows instructors to obtain and assess authentic speech without having to schedule face to-face time with each student. Instructors can now create an activity on the Extempore website, selecting a set of parameters for each question, depending on the learning objectives. When configuring a final exam or any other form of summative assessment, for example, the teacher may limit the time the student has between reviewing the prompt and answering the question. The Extempore app also allows the instructor to decide whether students can re-record their answers. For practice assignments or for any other form of formative assessment, on the other hand, timing restrictions can be more flexible.
Get Started with Extempore in Canvas
Gradescope
Gradescope (restricted by license to participating schools): Save time grading your existing paper-based assignments.
Hypothes.is
Hypothes.is (or Hypothesis) is a social annotation tool that places a conversational layer on top of texts to support collaboration, interactive reading, and engagement. Adding Hypothesis to readings in Canvas can increase active discussion right on top of PDFs and webpages, enabling students and instructors to add comments and start conversations in the margins of a course reading.
Using Hypothesis With Assignments in Canvas
Integrating the Library
Kaltura
Use Kaltura for recording lectures and delivering videos to students in Canvas. Kaltura is a video tool available for teaching. It offers the ability for faculty to easily record and upload video in their courses. Using this tool, faculty can access analytics on student use of video resources and engage students in video content by incorporating comments, questions, and even quizzes.
Integrated within Canvas, Kaltura is a video hosting, sharing and recording service provided for all WashU faculty, staff and students.
Guide to using the Kaltura video platform
Microsoft Immersive Reader
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams provides a collaborative platform for working together toward common goals through tools such as Conversations, Shared Files, Online Meetings, and Private Chat.
Use Microsoft Teams for quick online meetings, text-based messaging, and video conferencing with an invited list of students or colleagues. While not integrated into Canvas, you may wish to use Microsoft Teams to quickly speak with students or colleagues online. Teams links can be easily added with a single click when you send an Outlook meeting invitation.
Office 365
Office 365: Subscription services offered by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft Office product line.
Open Educational Resources (OER) / University Libraries
- OER are broadly defined — textbooks, course materials, modules, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge, in any medium
- OER are free to use and modify — released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions
- View OER LibGuide
- Learn more about OER at WashU
Padlet
Padlet is a web-based pinboard that supports class discussions, projects, and more. Use Padlet to post, move, and connect ideas in a digital “wall” space. See below for an overview and tutorials on how to use it for your class.
Piazza
A question and answer discussion board designed to facilitate collaborative interaction among students.
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere is a web-based student response system. It provides powerful tools for live polling and works well with all mobile devices (laptops, tablets, phones). See below for an overview and tutorials on how to use it for your class.
Guide to using Poll Everywhere
Request a Poll Everywhere Account
Poll Everywhere and Canvas Integration Instructions
Poll Everywhere Instructions for Students
PowerNotes
The PowerNotes Extension is a research and note-taking tool that allows students to go to any website or pdf, highlight content with personal notes, and organize it in shareable outlines.
Qualtrics
Qualtrics is a research survey suite available for Washington University faculty and staff through a university-wide site license. This tool will make it easier for members of the campus community to build, share, distribute and collect results from online surveys.
Respondus LockDown Browser
Custom browser that locks down the testing environment within a learning management system.
Use Respondus when you need to lock down and/or monitor the remote testing environment. LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor locks down the testing environment within Canvas and protects the integrity of both proctored and unproctored online quizzes and exams. LockDown Browser and Monitor are used in conjunction with the Quizzes tool in Canvas.
Instructor Training: LockDown Browser
Syllabi Central
Software Downloads
This is a list of software for which Arts & Sciences Computing provides support (on Washington University owned faculty & staff computers). If you need help installing any software, please contact your departmental representative.
Turnitin
TurnItIn: Manage the submission, tracking and evaluation of student papers online.
How do you use Turnitin in Canvas?
How do I contact Turnitin Support?
VPN
VPN allows you to connect to University resources requiring a secure Washington University network connection to access.
VoiceThread
VoiceThread is a media player with an interactive discussion space that allows students to create comments, upload files and media, and interact with one another.
WashU Course Evaluations
Course Evals (Blue): Allows users to view and complete their surveys and questionnaires.
WebFac
WebFAC (short for web faculty access) is a web-based application that allows:
- Instructors and teaching assistants platform for viewing course information, including class rosters (showing the numbers of enrolled, waitlisted and dropped students), course classroom location, and final exam dates and times. In addition, a built-in email tool allows instructors and teaching assistants to send emails to an entire class or selected students.Advisors to look at academic and registration information regarding assigned advisees. Advisee grades, class schedules, GPAs and unofficial transcripts for each advisee are available.
- Advisors can see student registration worksheets and authorize students to register from within WebFAC.
- WebFAC also acts as a starting point for access to other web applications, including A&S PlanIT, Blackboard, Course Evaluations, Course Listings, EGrades, Syllabi Central, WebAdvising and WebSTAC.
Zoom
Use Zoom for real-time video conferencing with students as well as break-out rooms.
Zoom is a simple and powerful video conferencing solution compatible with all major platforms that makes it a primary choice for web conferencing and recording.
Zoom can be used within Canvas (utilizing course roster information) or independent of Canvas.
Washington University in St. Louis has two versions of the Zoom-Canvas integration that appear in your Canvas course navigation menu: “Zoom” and “Zoom (HIPAA)“
Meeting hosts will only be able to launch Zoom from one link or the other, although attendees are free to attend meetings from either link. The “Zoom (HIPAA)” link is primarily intended for School of Medicine employees, but some others may also be required to use this link to host a meeting. If you’re unsure which link to try, please try the “Zoom” link first. If you get a “User not found” error, then shift to the “Zoom (HIPAA)” link.
How do I login to WUSTL Zoom?
Where can I learn more about Zoom?
Zoom Training Webinars
What if my course requires more than 300 users?
If your course requires more than 300 users, contact Ken Keller with the course number and details.
Do any countries block access to Zoom?
Yes, Zoom is blocked in the following countries: Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan and Darfur, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine (Crimea Region), United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
To ensure that all of your students have access to your content, plan to record your Zoom calls and make those available for students to watch later.
- If you want to use Zoom in China, download the Zoom Client for Meetings from the Zoom Download Center (China).
- Zoom also has an alternative Web Client; no download is necessary for this experience and only requires Meeting ID, Name and password, if applicable.
How can I improve the quality of my video and audio in Zoom?
Zoom works best with a strong internet signal, particularly when teaching. If you have a slow signal, your video or the other participants’ videos will freeze or buffer and it might be hard to hear.
- Use a wired, not a wireless connection. That is, attach your computer via an ethernet cord to the router if possible.
- If connecting from a laptop, plug in to wall power. Battery use can adversely affect video quality.
- If you don’t have an ethernet cord (and you are not able to get one now), you have to maximize the Wi-Fi signal. To do so:
- Locate your router and move it to the center of the house or apartment. Keep it off the floor and out of any closets.
- Download the app Wi-Fi SweetSpots (Apple or Android) to your phone. After opening the app, walk around your house with your phone and find the place with the strongest Wi-Fi signal. It is likely close to the router. Set up your work station there.
- If your Wi-Fi appears slow during a class or presentation, have other participants shut off their videos
- Always provide participants with PowerPoints or materials after a class or meeting.
Additional resources:
Textbook/Publisher Resources:
Cengage Learning MindLinks
Cengage Learning MindLinks™: Provides students with access to Cengage’s learning solutions (including MindTap, Aplia, SAM, CengageNOW, OWLv2, 4LTR Press Online and National Geographic Learning).
McGraw-Hill Connect
McGraw-Hill Connect: Provides access to McGraw Hill’s interactive resources tied to course content and textbooks.
Pearson MyLab and Mastering
Pearson MyLab and Mastering: Provides access to Pearson MyLab and Mastering platforms