Teaching Tools
Academic Technology offers a variety of teaching tools and services for faculty. Click on the title of the tool to learn more.
Learning Management System (LMS)
Learning Management Systems (LMS) are software applications that enable online access to course materials and supplements. Some of the LMS’s features includes tests and quizzes, gradebook, assignments, and enhanced communication options between the student and faculty.
Canvas
San Jose State University has a new learning management system (LMS), Canvas by Instructure. Canvas has a clean, intuitive user interface, featuring drag and drop usability; and a comprehensive grading tool. Canvas also allows faculty and students to configure their notification options to integrate with services such as Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and more.
Desire2Learn
Desire2Learn (D2L) is a learning management system which helps instructors offer or supplement courses online. Many instructors in face-to-face and web-enhanced courses use D2L to provide course materials to their students.
Video Capturing/Conferencing
There are numerous applications that enable faculty to interact with their students beyond the classroom. By utilizing video capturing tools, faculty can host online meetings and pre-record lectures for their students.
Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate) helps you create virtual classrooms, offices and meeting spaces that expand the possibilities for the students. It helps in building a better educational experience that will boost mass communication and networking. It offers a more collaborative, interactive web and mobile learning experience which evolves constantly and keeps everyone engaged.
WebEx
Webex enables faculty to interact with their students beyond the classroom. By utilizing video capturing tools, faculty can host online meetings and pre-record lectures for their students.
Elluminate
SJSU has licensed the Elluminate interactive learning tool for use by the campus. To set up an Elluminate session you will need a moderator account. Moderator accounts are available to faculty and staff.Elluminate is interactive, information sharing software that includes audio, web video and application sharing. Elluminate Live! is a real-time e-Learning and web collaboration environment accessed through a web browser. This enables instructors and students/participants to interact and collaborate in real time to add synchronous content to asynchronous distance learning or combine blended online/on-site learning activities.
Other Teaching Tools
Adobe CS6
San José State provides faculty, staff and administrators (MPPs) with Adobe software packages for both their campus computers and their home computers. Student Assistants are not included in the work-at-home component of the Adobe program. For additional information, see Adobe Software for Faculty & Staff.
Criterion
Criterion is an Online Writing Evaluation service offered by ETS. It presents the faculty, writing instructors and administrators at various collegiate institutions of higher education with a reliable writing assessment tool for their students. Students work on their essays and submit them to receive feedback in the form of an aggregate score and an analysis with annotations to aid in the instruction of writing.
iPads
The iPad initiative aims at enhancing teaching effectiveness through the use of digital technologies (in partnership with Center for Faculty Development). Learn more about these Faculty Learning Communities and the initiative.
Respondus
Respondus is a powerful tool for creating and managing exams that can be printed to paper or published directly to a learning system like Desire2Learn and Canvas. Exams can be created offline using a familiar Windows environment, or moved from one LMS to another. Whether you are a veteran of online testing or relatively new to it, Respondus will save you hours on each project. Available only for Windows.
iTunesU
iTunes U delivers easy, 24/7 access to educational content and is available to anyone with a Mac or Windows computer. Students can sync iTunes U content with any iPod or iPhone. In support of the California State University Coded Memorandum, AA-2007-04, Access to Electronic and Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities, content on iTunes U @ San Jose State University is designed to meet the needs of all, including those who have disabilities.