Distance Learning Tools and Resources

Owned by Athena Tate (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 17, 2023 by Shannon Nordgren
3 min read

The following tools and resources are available to all faculty and staff to use while on site or remotely, from personal and/or college owned equipment.

 

 

Learning Management Systems

  • Moodle - Our primary LMS; ideal for sharing links to course materials, linking students to external content such as videos or recorded lectures stored on Google Drive, discussion forums, and working with existing course content. 

  • Google Classroom - Google’s LMS designed for simple course layouts, social media style discussions, and native integration with YouTube, Google Drive, and other G-Suite content. Integrates with Google Forms for tests and quizzes.

 

Creative Applications

  • Adobe Express - A mobile and web-based social content creation platform that offers the ability to collaborate on and create web pages, slide shows, short videos, and graphics.

  • GIMP - Free and open source image manipulation app similar to and compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop documents.

  • Inkscape - Free and open source vector format drawing and image creation tool similar to and compatible with Adobe Illustrator and Illustrator documents.

  • Draw.io - Cloud-based drawing tool that allows you to create sketches, diagrams, and basic drawings.

  • Diagrams.net - Cloud-based software that allows creation of drawings and diagrams.

  • Jing - Free cross-platform screenshot/screencast recording and annotation software.

 

Accessing Library Resources from Off-site

 

Office and Productivity

  • Google Docs - Online tool for word processing, working with spreadsheets, and creating slideshows. Integrates with Google Drive.

  • Office 365 - Online and offline version of Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) that can be accessed from a variety of devices including mobile devices.

  • LibreOffice - Free and open source software that is both compatible with and comparable to Microsoft Office. 

 

Communication and Collaboration

  • Zoom - Video and audio conferencing, recording, chat, and desktop screen sharing tool that allows groups to meet for up to 40 minutes with a free license or unlimited meetings with a license (can be requested via SchoolDude). Allows recording and sharing of sessions.

  • Google Hangouts Meet - Video and audio conferencing, chat, and desktop screen sharing tool available to all Beloit College users. Supports meetings with up to 250 users on desktop or mobile devices using your existing college account. Allows recording and sharing of sessions.

  • OBS Studio - Free, open-source, cross-platform software for video recording and live streaming.

  • Screencast-O-Matic - Web-based, low cost, easy-to-use screencast and video recording software.

 

Organization

  • Google Calendar - Offers time-management, meeting/event tracking, and room booking functionality that integrates with many of the other G-Suite apps.

  • Google Contacts - Useful for creating group contact lists and managing contact information for other Beloit College users.

  • Google Tasks - Productivity tool integrated into Gmail and Google Calendar

  • Google Groups - Facilitates collaboration through email and discussion groups.

 

File Storage and Sharing

  • Google Drive - Our primary file storage and sharing solution. All Beloit College users have unlimited storage space and can share any file types with one another, with a group, or with students. Google Drive content can be shared through tools like Moodle or other G-Suite apps.

 

Math and Statistics

  • R and R Studio - Free statistical analysis applications that can be used on both Mac and PC.