• Keeps a record of messages sent to students right within the course for all users to refer back to. 
• If users’ notification settings are set up accordingly, posting an Announcement will also prompt an email to the students. 
• If there are multiple sections in one course site, the Announcement can be posted for one or more of the sections. 

• Simple to use for both students and instructors. 
• Instructors can post in-line annotations and text comments on student submissions. 
• Comments posted in the Grading Panel’s Comments box can be saved and reused on other student submissions. 
• If using Rubrics, pre-generated comments / feedback can be shared with student with a single click.

• Instructors can post replies (visible to all) or can use SpeedGrader to provide private comments / feedback.

• Pre-defined auto-feedback can be set up for correct answers, incorrect answers, individual options, or general question feedback 
• Instructors can give custom feedback via the SpeedGrader for each question and for the quiz overall. 

• Provides ability to post private replies / feedback to students on specific posts. 
• Instructors can take public posts “offline."

• Can be used with online submissions (student submits file) or paper submissions (instructor-scanned). 
• Grading rubric promotes standardized grading with multiple graders 
• Flexible grading rubric allows for quick re-grades.

• Canvas Peer-Review Assignments allow the readers to annotated and leave comments inline for their classmate to read.   
• Multiple readers can be assigned to each submission, but readers cannot view each other’s comments. 
• Reviews can be blind so the reader's and writer's name is hidden. 

• Students can post as many original responses as they want. 
• Students can reply to as many of their classmates as they want. 
• Students can be prevented from reading classmates’ posts until they have posted their original response. 
• Discussions can be set up as peer review discussions where students can submit private comments to a classmate’s post. 

• Canvas Discussions and Canvas Assignments can be assigned to Groups so that all members of the group get one place to submit.
• Grades for group activities can be set equally (all members get the same grade, but instructor only has to enter it once) or each student can get a unique grade.
• Group sites are great for student collaboration outside of class because they provide members the ability to create discussion boards, share files, and collaborate on shared documents. 

Instructor posts a prompt in Ed Discussions that students must reply to and then also comment on classmates’ responses.   

Instructor provides an FAQ category in Ed Discussions where students can ask and reply to classmates’ questions, whcih Instructors / TAs then endorse correct student replies. 

• Extensive features for annotation. 
• More tolerance for non-OCRed files. 
• Annotation files are restricted to files that the instructor uploads or that students purchase from the Perusall library. 

• PlayPosit bulbs can be used with videos, text, images, etc.
• Allows for discussion board style interactions at specified points within the PlayPosit bulb.  

• Allows students to comment on text and other media using text, video, or audio comments. 
• Can be set up so that the assignment is for students to create and submit an original VoiceThread. 

•  Integrated with Canvas to control access to sites. 
• Looks more like a blog and has more visual customization options than Canvas Discussions. 
• No integration with Canvas Grades / Assignments.

• Integration with Canvas Grades and SpeedGrader allows Instructor to grade and provide feedback to individual students. 
• Can allow multiple formats for submission—audio, video, file, website URL, etc.

• Can be set up to allow grading to ensure participation. 
• Instructor can use SpeedGrader to reply to specific questions or provide overall feedback 

PlayPosit bulbs can be used with videos, text, images, etc.

Bulbs can be set up to be self-paced and self-contained with automated feedback.   

Instructors can set up “branching” scenarios based on student responses to create a customized experience. 

Provides the most robust survey question and reporting options. 

Is integrated with Canvas for restricting usage and to embed custom data fields. 

Surveys can be reused easily if you are repeating survey questions each time. 

• Feedback is truly anonymous. 
• Tool can be made always available so feedback can be submitted whenever students feel it is appropriate. 
• No ability to add question prompts. 

• Feedback is not anonymous. 
• Points can be awarded to students for completing the quiz.
• Instructor has full control over questions.

• Feedback is truly anonymous. 
• All questions are open-ended.   
• Four default questions are provided, but instructor can decide whether to include them. 
• Instructor can create up to 4 custom open-ended questions for each course. 
• Only available during pre-determined period of time at the middle of the semester. 

• Provides more question types than other polling software. 
• Can be embedding in PowerPoint slides for use during class. 
• Can be used integrated with Canvas to restrict users and to pass back grades for responses. 

During live in-person or remote class, instructor posts quick questions about the content presented to make sure that students are understanding the content covered.   

Instructor releases a poll prior to class that allows students to select topics they would like reviewed in the next class. 

• Instructors can send messages to one or more instructors and/or TAs at once. 
• If users’ notification settings are set up accordingly, sending an Inbox message will also prompt an email to the students.

• A good practice both within and outside of class.
• Keeps track of where you were and how you have grown. 

• Free to Yale faculty / staff / students. 
• Access to hundreds of courses and videos on a vast array of topics.

• Free program offered by Poorvu Center. 
• Chance to think about your course and collaborate with peers and Poorvu staff on ideas for modifying and improving your course. 

• Free program offered by Poorvu Center. 
• Chance to have objective evaluation of your course from a student who is not currently taking the course. 

• Free service offered by Poorvu Center. 
• Chance to have a Poorvu Faculty Teaching Initiatives staff member observe your class