WordPress Shared Hosting

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Overview and Key Features:

This resource is available for academic and administrative use. This website design service is offered by ARC for all academic and administrative units and departments. Cost depends on the size and scope of the website. Design and development work is provided on a case-by-case basis.

Getting Started:

The creation process is relatively simple:

Decide on a domain name, one that ends with ‘utoronto.ca’
Request approval of the domain name by reaching out to

webservices@utoronto.ca

We’ll create a temporary website for you (we call these “staging” sites), so you can get started on content right away
Login, add content, change theme and design

When everything looks good, we’ll finalize the launch.

Get Help:

Please feel free to contact us at webservices@utoronto.ca

Microsoft Application Review (mARC)

Overview and Key Features:

University of Toronto staff and faculty can request access to third-party applications that integrate with their U of T Microsoft 365 accounts. When the request is approved by the requester’s divisional IT administrator, it will be subject to review by the University’s Application Review Committee (ARC).

To maintain a secure integration of third-party applications and add-ins with Microsoft 365 products, we have implemented a comprehensive review process which includes the following steps:

Approval by Divisional IT Administrators: Your requested third-party application or add-in will be subject to approval by your divisional IT administrator(s). They will assess its compatibility with our existing systems and evaluate its potential benefits for the division.
Evaluation by the Application Review Committee (ARC): Our dedicated Application Review Committee (ARC) will carefully evaluate the suitability of the requested application or add-in.
Risk Assessment by Information Security: As part of our commitment to security, our Information Security team will conduct a thorough risk assessment of the proposed application or add-in to identify and mitigate potential security risks.

Getting Started:

Request a new application integration with Microsoft 365

M365 Application Review Committee members

Get Help:

Considering the volume of requests received, the resolution of each request may require several weeks to months, depending on factors such as priority and resource availability.

We understand the importance of a timely review process. While your request is being processed, we recommend exploring approved third-party alternatives that are secure and cater to various user needs. To explore approved integrations, please visit this webpage.

CoPilot

AI - Free technology icons

Overview and Key Features:

With Microsoft Copilot Chat, you can ask the AI chatbot questions and get detailed responses with footnotes that link back to original sources. Because it is connected to Microsoft’s search engine, it can provide users with up-to-date information and real links, which may make it a better research and teaching tool than ChatGPT.

The Microsoft Copilot service is currently available to the public, but the public version does not have full privacy and data protections; instead, the University has access to an enterprise edition, which does conform to the University’s usual privacy and data protections. This document describes how Faculty, students and staff (with access to the Microsoft toolkit) can access this protected version of Copilot.

Key Features:

Uses web search and will provide links to the sources of information it quotes/finds.
Your chat data is not used to train models. The data is not available to Microsoft.
Copilot cannot access your other Microsoft 365 data. It does not work on Outlook email, Teams messages, SharePoint files, etc.
You can upload a local pdf file or document file and ask contextual questions, for example, “Make 10 quiz questions based on chapter 3 of this pdf”.

Getting Started:

You can access Microsoft Copilot Chat by navigating to m365.cloud.microsoft/chat and follow the prompts to login to your University of Toronto Microsoft 365 account.

Your interactions with the AI-powered chat tool will not be in the protected environment if you do not sign in with your University of Toronto account.

REDCap

REDCap features – Health, innovation and research institute

Overview and Key Features:

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a free and secure data-management web application for building and managing online surveys and databases. While REDCap can be used to collect virtually any type of data, it is specifically geared to support online or offline data capture for research studies and operations.

For a comprehensive list of REDCap features, visit: https://projectredcap.org/software/

Getting Started:

To be eligible for a REDCap user account at the University of Toronto individuals must have:

A valid University of Toronto UTORid
Receive approval through their division/department
UTORmfa

Divisional Approval

The University of Toronto is rolling REDCap on a per-division/department basis. The criteria for eligibility are determined by appointed divisional and/or departmental leadership. Persons wishing to request a REDCap account should complete the onboarding form.

Get Help:

REDCap Start-up Guide

This REDCap resource webpage contains the relevant training and resources that will help you get started with the REDCap. Faculty members, staff, and students can access this webpage using the link https://cris.utoronto.ca/redcap-resources/

Support Contact: redcap@utoronto.ca

Quercus

Quercus to replace Portal as U of T's new teaching and learning toolbox | University of Toronto Scarborough News

Overview and Key Features:

The University of Toronto’s academic technology toolbox is powered by Quercus.

Quercus is based on the Canvas Learning Management Engine by Instructure, which offers advanced content design, a variety of student communication tools, easy-to-use course administration features and a mobile application for access to key functions from a phone or tablet. Through a number of built-in tools and effective integration of other educational technologies, this powerful “app store” platform allows for greater pedagogical flexibility and engagement.

Getting Started:

Once you are signed into Quercus, you should be able to see a list of your courses on your Dashboard. If you are unable to see your course, verify the following:

You must have active status in HRIS to be added to a course via ROSI. Contact your Business Officer or divisional Human Resources Officer to confirm that your status in HRIS is active.
The Course must be created in ROSI, and you must be assigned as an instructor to the appropriate sections there. Contact your departmental ROSI coordinator to ensure that the course has been created and that you are properly assigned in ROSI.

Changes in ROSI or HRIS can result in a loss of access to your courses in Quercus. If you lose access to your courses at any point, reach out to the individuals listed above to verify your status in HRIS and ROSI.

All courses on Quercus follow the Course Life Cycle. Please review the timeline to confirm whether you should have access to your course.

NOTE: Any changes made in ROSI or HRIS will be reflected in Quercus within 24-48 hours.

Get Help:

Visit the Quercus Quick Guide for Information on:

Navigating Your Course
Accessibility and Quercus
Add Course Content
Add TAs and Course Staff
Announcements & Communication
Assignments & Grading
Build and Customize Your Course
Discussion Board

And many more…

TechSmith Snagit

TechSmith Snagit 2020 Brings New Content Creation Features | TechSmith

Overview and Key Features:

The University of Toronto has licensed TechSmith Snagit as the institutional lecture recording solution to provide screen and audio recording. Resulting videos are saved locally on the computer where they were recorded and can be shared via streaming services such as U of T Libraries’ MyMedia or Microsoft OneDrive).

TechSmith Snagit is available to Faculty, Staff and Students with a valid UTORid.

Getting Started:

Get TechSmith Snagit

Visit the Academic, Research & Collaborative Technologies Snagit License site here and log in with your UTORid and password.
Complete and submit the form.
Download and open the installer. Follow the steps as shown.
Copy the Snagit Software License Key shown on license site.
Note: This license key is private and owned by the University. Do not share or distribute this license key with others.

Get Help:

Please refer to the Snagit Tutorials site for more documentation and video walkthroughs on all Snagit features.
Record a video (Snagit Tutorials)
Take a screenshot

iClicker

Overview and Key Features:

iClicker (commonly called “clickers”) is a classroom response system currently supported at the University of Toronto. iClicker Cloud works in combination with presentation software like PowerPoint or Keynote. Instructors use the software to pose multiple-choice questions to students during class.

iClickers are a great way to increase student engagement, especially in large classes, and provide immediate feedback on student understanding of the course material.

Following the University’s open tendering process for audience response tools, iClicker Cloud (integrated with Quercus) is available for supported use. The iClicker solution has a fee associated with it, usually paid for directly by students (although some departments may purchase the solution for their students; the exact arrangements should be confirmed on a departmental basis with the local EdTech support team).

Getting Started:

Instructors, login to iClicker Cloud at: instructor.iclicker.com

(instructors and students must use their university email address when creating an account with iClicker)

Create your Courses in iClicker:

When creating your course in iClicker Cloud, select the Enrollment option “Students must be invited to this course“.
Once your iClicker course is created, in the settings area, select the “Integrations” tab and follow the Canvas integration prompts “Connect to Canvas” to select the Quercus course you wish to sync roster and grade information.
Add your students to your iClicker course through Roster Sync.

All iClicker assignment and quiz setup occurs in the iClicker Cloud interface, not in your Quercus course.

Get Help:

For additional guides and support articles, visit the iClicker tool page here.

Course Evaluations

Overview and Key Features:

The Course Evaluation System allows students to provide feedback on their learning experiences to faculty.

The University of Toronto is committed to ensuring the quality of its academic programs, its teaching, and the learning experiences of its students. An essential component of our commitment to teaching excellence is the regular evaluation of courses by students.

Our online course evaluations framework offers faculty, academic administrators, and students meaningful information about students’ learning experiences in U of T courses, both broadly speaking and within the context of each academic discipline.

Getting Started:

Instructors/Administrators