Technology Support: Choosing the Right Tools

With so many choices available, how does a faculty choose the right technology tool to support their classes? Along with the CourseInfo software currently available, ITD is introducing two new programs that offer course communication and web management abilities. Faculty should consider their objectives to help them choose the best tool for their needs:

PipelineMT
Campus Pipeline is the campus communication portal for members of the MTSU community. With it's dynamic interface to the SIS software, faculty and students can access information pertaining to their assigned / registered courses. From the "School Services" tab, faculty and students access course listings. Clicking on the "course name" provides access to several communication tools.

Faculty can email one or all class members, set up message/discussion boards accessible to the class members or use a virtual chat tool. The message board and virtual chat capabilities are limited but they offer a quick and easy method of communication for your class. Faculty can also place course links on this page that will connect student with faculty pages, CourseInfo or WebCT course pages.

Desire 2 Learn
Desire2Learn Learning Environment is a complete web-based suite of easy-to-use teaching and learning tools for course development, delivery and management. Desire2Learn's Learning Environment provides the flexibility to control the environment to match your own unique approach to teaching and learning, and provides tools to help facilitate communication, collaboration and community building. D2L has over four million users worldwide and is used by many Higher Education institutions across the United States. Select Desire2Learn Universities and Colleges Include: The University of Arizona, The University of Iowa, Minnesota State Colleges & Universities, The University of Wisconsin System, Ohio State University, and The University of Oklahoma.