EdTech At SIU
Educational Technology (EdTech) tools transform the teaching and learning experience and offer innovative ways to engage and interact with various media and through various delivery modes (e.g., face-to-face, online, or hybrid). EdTech tools can also streamline content to make content production more efficient and delivery more effective.
We have curated a list of the EdTech solutions that SIU supports or the CTE recommends to SIU faculty.
There are many tools available. If you have suggestions, please let us know at teach@siu.edu.
If you need training or would like to share how you use a tool through a workshop, please contact us at teach@siu.edu.
Funding Sources For Educational Technologies
SIU’s EdTech is funded by a combination of state accounts (i.e., Illinois taxpayers) and student fees (e.g., Distance Ed fees and tech fees), which are distributed each fiscal year to units’ budgets. We have accounted for the unit purchasing the technology from these funding sources by listing a number in brackets.
1 = Center for Teaching Excellence
2 = SIU Extended Campus/Distance Education
3 = Office of Information Technology (OIT)
No number? The tool is free or funded by other sources (e.g., schools, grants, or instructors).
Resources
Learning Management System
D2L/Brightspace [1,2,3]:
- Automated Messaging
- Announcements
- Gradebook
- Rubrics
- Discussions
- +More
Digital Course Materials
Exam & Proctoring
Multimedia Creation Software
Adobe Creative Cloud [New!]
(Virtual) Learning Spaces
Lecture Capture
Media Streaming
Virtual Collaboration
Document Management & Evaluation
Accessibility
Microsoft [3]
Microsoft partners with higher education institutions to provide the necessary skills, technology, and tools to equip all learners, including neurodiverse and uniquely enabled learners, with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century. As a Microsoft campus, we have access to a suite of useful tools for no additional cost to faculty.
- Bookings: great for office hours + advising
- Virtual Appointments: a web-based feature of Teams
- To-Do: useful for managing classroom or thesis projects
- Sway: fun multimedia activities and course outlines
- Flip: TikTok-style videos in the classroom
- Stream: interactive, accessible, and searchable videos
- Teams Classroom: an LMS for HyFlex Teaching
- OneNote: student notebook, instructor notes, or self-published text
- OneDrive: a secure way to share content
- Microsoft Forms: quick polls, quizzes, and surveys
- Microsoft365: Word, PowerPoint, Excel – always in the cloud!
- Whiteboard: handwrite notes and convert them to text
Video Engagement
Feedback & Evaluations
EdTech Support & Services
- Video Recording Studio [Provost]
- Material Conversion
- Multimedia Consultations
- Instructor Guided Training
- D2L Support/Help
- Classroom Tech Support
- Equipment Rental
Recommended EdTech
Here are excellent tools we do not directly support but believe could supercharge your teaching. Many use a "freemium" model with enough basic free features you may never need to upgrade.
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Standards
- Faculty should generally avoid using Google products (e.g., Drive Forms) or Dropbox to store documents with student data that could be considered private (e.g., grades); OIT ensures supported edtech meets enhanced security compliance.
- Always carefully review the terms and conditions of unsupported tech (including those we’ve recommended) before adopting it for classroom use.
- Provide a note in course registration about any edtech tools you will use, and their cost, so that students know of any upfront costs or expectations when they register for your course.
- Provide statements in your course syllabus regarding expectations and requirements—especially privacy and communication expectations—for the edtech you use in the classroom.
CTE's Role
The CTE supports SIU’s EdTech through salaries: systems administrators, instructional designers, and educational technologists. Our team maintains the technology and trains faculty and staff to use the technology efficiently and effectively.