3rd Party Tools

[DrNufer]

Introduction:

There are some pretty interesting third party tools that we can use in Canvas to dress up our courses.

Details:

I attended the pre-conference Glamping Up Canvas session. We covered some pretty fun stuff.  Much of it was sort of beginner (i.e. don't be afraid of the html editor), but there was also a mix of more detailed interactions that we can incorporate.  Some things you might consider trying:

h5p

This source allows designers to create interactive content and embed it right in Canvas.  The interaction we saw was: Timeline | H5P​.  There are options to create drag and drops and various gamefication projects.  It is definitely worth exploring.

https://h5p.org/documentation/for-authors/h5p-for-canvas

Sway

Microsoft released a product called Sway.  Sway is a fascinating platform that lets you import documents, powerpoints, PDFs, etc. and incorporate web content to create interactive multimedia reports.  You can convert websites, such as wikipedia entries, into interactive html5 presentations.  And there is a full accessibility view.

Office Mix

Another product of Microsoft, Mix is a PowerPoint plugin that can help you make your presentation interactive or convert it to multimedia.  It can be stored on your Mix cloud or OneDrive (if you have Office for Business).  And the good news is that there is a fully functioning LTI tool that integrates right in Canvas. 

Padlet

If you are interested in a simple iteration of Pinterest without the distracting bells and whistles, the padlet allows you to create essentially a virtual bulletin board where you can post pictures and notes.  You can embed it in a Canvas content page and even have your class interact and contribute.  Here is the board I created during the session: My stellar padlet

Conclusion:

This is definitely not even close to a fully comprehensive list of third party tools (I mean, just look through the app center), but these were ones I had not heard of until InstructureCon and they might be worth exploring.  :smileygrin:

[GideonWilliams]

Great list Sean.

Here are some others I would also consider and have used to pretty good effect...

Coggle - mindmapping - although not fully embedded but students can share and contribute to a mindmap without username/password

AnswerGarden - simple feedback tool  that magnifies repeated responses - embeds fully

EtherPad - Awesome tool - collaborative writing - much better than TitanPad - embeds fully

ConnectFours - Superb game from Russel Tarr - visit his amazing website full of tools - Classtools.net - embeds fully

OpinionStage - Best opinion poll around - visual, easy to use and results on screen - embeds fully

Be great if others could share similar - have some examples of them in action and also video help guides!

[DrNufer]

Great list.  IIRC, I believe Etherpad used to integrate directly into Canvas.  It seems like the collaboration page had people choose between google docs and etherpad.  Now the default is the former. 

Have you ever compared OpinionStage to PollEverywhere?  I tend to only use the latter for polls. 

[GideonWilliams]

I like PollAnywhere too! Quite liked the visuals with OpinionStage (and multi polling opportunity and other features on site)

Titan Pad (another similar pad) had this integration as EduApp but wasn't keen. Etherpad seems bit more stable

Going to look at that page that Stefanie suggested...

[Stef_retired]

 @GideonWilliams ​, snufer​, and anyone else interested in sharing these ideas, please consider contributing to this collaborative document in the Instructional Designers​ group: Course Design Resource Index (Collaboration)

[GideonWilliams]

Great call – on it this afternoon!

[DrNufer]

Great idea, stefaniesanders​.  I don't recall if I have ever seen that document.  Fantastic resource.