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Considerations for self-selecting external tools
At times, an external or third party tool which has not been vetted by Toronto Metropolitan University’s assessment process is needed for the continuity of the course, providing engaging means for students, or for the delivery of exams.
When considering which external tool or app to select, there are two important things to keep in mind when integrating it into your teaching:
- Transparency, i.e. letting students know what they are getting into, and
- Consent, i.e. letting students decide whether they want to share their information
These two considerations can be applied to different considerations that impact the tool, or your students. A checklist has been prepared to guide student transparency and consent considerations when self-selecting an external learning tool that the university has not vetted.
Steps to ensure transparency and consent
- Review the terms of use or end-user license agreement (EULA). Some things to look out for:
- Is the app allowed to share personal information and with whom?
- What is the privacy policy?
- Where is data stored?
- For apps that can be accessed via a Google account, determine what data from the students’ Google accounts will be shared with the app, i.e. personal information/profile, contacts, Google Drive files, calendar, etc.
- For assistance with any of these questions, we recommend contacting the Privacy Office (fippa@torontomu.ca).
- Include in the course outline that the course will use an external, third party app and whether it will require students to register or create an account. If the student needs to create an account on the external system, let students know to use a unique password; it should not be the same as their my.torontomu.ca password
- Before their use, share details with your students of the kind of information they will have to provide to the app in order to use it. Keep the information provided to the app to a minimum (only what’s absolutely needed).
- Provide students with the context for what they are expected to do in the third party app. For example, are students using the app to complete ungraded quiz exercises, create some form of work to submit as an assignment (visualizations, infographics, concept maps, etc.), or will they be expected to participate in a discussion where sensitive topics or opinions are discussed?
- Provide an alternative for students who, for any valid reason, may choose/have to opt out from using the third party app. If the use of the app contributes to a graded component of the course, students who opt out should be provided with an alternative way to earn the same grade.
| Learning outcomes | Is the tool aligned with the learning outcomes of your course or for a specific assignment? |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Is the tool easy to use? Will students be familiar with the tool from use in other classes? Will you provide students with additional time and training to familiarize themselves with the tool? |
| Support | Are there support materials available for students, TAs, and instructors? E.g. online documentation, contact information for technical support |
| Cost | Is the tool free for students? If not, what is the cost? How much will the course cost them overall taking into account this tool and textbooks and other materials? |
| Accessibility | Is the tool accessible? e.g. AODA compliant |
| Opt-out | If, for any valid reason, a student cannot participate in the assignment using this tool, is there an alternative assignment or work around for the student to meet the same learning outcome and achieve the full grade? |
| Sharing student names, email address, or other personal information | Does the tool require students to disclose their name or email address? Will their contributions and name be publicly visible? Do they have the option to choose an anonymous user name or set their contributions to be viewable only to the instructor or members of the course? |
| Consent for non-TMU system | If the tool requires students to sign up with an external system, have you conveyed this in the course outline? Have you asked students to acknowledge that they understand the Terms of Use for that system? Have you considered what you would do should you receive objections from a student(s) to use this tool? |
| Protection of private information | If you are using a tool that is hosted outside of TMU, do you understand the risks of having students’ personal and private information stored outside of TMU and have you discussed the risks with your students? |
| Security | Are you confident that any student data that is uploaded to the tool is secure? |
| Copyright | Have you discussed with students what material they may share on the tool, ensuring that they don’t upload any material that they don’t have permission to post? |
| Intellectual property | Do you and your students understand the way that the Terms of Use govern the intellectual property of the materials that you and your student post to the tool? |
| Academic integrity | If contributions using this tool will be part of a graded component of your course, have you considered how you will ensure academic integrity? |
| Non-academic misconduct | Are your students aware of the student code of non-academic conduct and the university’s policy on discrimination and harassment, as well as your expectations for what constitutes civil and professional communication? |