Adding New Tools
Toronto Metropolitan University licences and supports a number of third-party (or external) tools to provide teaching and learning features that are beneficial to users at the university. The selection and addition of a new tool is a diligent process as these tools often require access to sensitive content, including personally identifiable information, assessments, and grades.
If a tool that connects to D2L Brightspace is not currently supported by the university, TMU Instructors and Staff can request its addition as an integration.
Centrally Supported Tools
Centrally supported tools are third party tools or systems that are available to the TMU community through procurement by the university. They may be used for teaching and learning, or have other features that are beneficial outside of learning environments. The costs associated with the use of these tools vary – they may be paid entirely by the university, by specific departments, or by the individual user.
Not all tools are directly supported by CCS. If you have questions about the implementation of a current tool, it is best to visit the tool page in our Toolbox, to confirm the tool's support information.
Requested additional tools (integrations with D2L Brightspace)
If a third party teaching tool is not currently centrally supported, but is designed to be used with D2L Brightspace, an integration into TMU’s D2L Brightspace can be requested by course instructors or staff. The tools that are available as a result of these requests are not directly supported by the university, but have been vetted based on the university’s standards.
Using tools that are not supported or integrated
Without an integration or assessment, individuals can opt to use third-party teaching tools that they decide are suitable. However, consideration is strongly encouraged for the guidance provided at our Third-party tool not supported checklist before initiating use.
For any questions about these methods, please email courses@torontomu.ca.
The Digital Media Projects Office (DMP) facilitates the procurement of centrally supported digital teaching tools, and provides ongoing operational support to the tools selected as a result. We are unable to facilitate the procurement process of tools for other parties at the university, and cannot provide support to tools brought in by others.
As TMU is a publicly-funded institution, all procurement activity for digital teaching tools provided by the university must meet standards set in the Purchasing Policy. This requires the tools provided to be selected in a fair, transparent, and efficient manner based on:
- Desired tool functionality
- Value for money
- Accessibility, Privacy, and Security standards
- Using TMU’s purchasing power to create social, sustainable, and economic value in diverse communities
Short “pilot” projects to test tools are possible, but still require formal evaluations for suitability. For tools that exceed the procurement value threshold for the Competitive Bid Process, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is initiated, which allows vendors to view the details of a desired tool, and respond with a proposal for TMU’s purchase and implementation of their product.
Community input is beneficial when determining the desired tool functionality, and if the possible options align with the best interests of our learning community. As part of the Competitive Bid Process, would-be users of the tool (instructors, students, and/or administrators, where appropriate) are consulted when determining requirements, and are included in the scoring and selection of options.
Evaluating new tools
If a tool is centrally supported, it has been formally evaluated by various specialized parties across the university for suitability. This includes the completion of required assessments to ensure that the tool provides the desired features while meeting university policy and provincial standards of information security, accessibility, and user privacy.
If it passes the assessments, the tool may exist as a standalone, or be integrated (or connected to) an existing TMU system, and supported by a relevant department at the university. The same assessments are required for individually requested additional tools that connect into existing TMU systems (like D2L Brightspace), as they can access and make use of TMU data.
If a tool does not pass any of TMU’s assessments, it cannot be centrally supported or connected to an existing TMU system.
Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA) assess and evaluate the tool’s functionality from a lens of user privacy, as well as the practices of the company that provides the tool.
This assessment evaluates if the user data (student, instructor, staff, etc.) available to the external company is appropriate, and if what they can access is handled in a manner that both respects the individual and aligns with provincial regulations.
Digital security experts at TMU complete Security Assessments to evaluate the security standards of the tool’s functionality, as well as the practices of the company that provides the tool.
This assessment considers the entire process of the tool’s use, identifying and evaluating possible sources of security risk. This includes the external company’s access to TMU’s systems, as well as methods of transmission, storage, and handling of data. It also assesses risks associated with the user’s use of the tool.
Accessibility Assessments are completed by Web Accessibility Specialists at TMU. They test tools to ensure that they do not present barriers to use, creating equal access to the tool for people with disabilities.
If the use of the tool at TMU requires a contract between the vendor and the institution, the university’s legal department is required to review it prior to being signed.
Instructional Technology Specialists at TMU evaluate the features of digital learning tools, to ensure that they are compatible with the standards, expectations, and use cases that benefit our instructors and learners.
Requesting a new tool in D2L Brightspace
Some tools are “integrated” with D2L Brightspace. This means that the tool can be launched from within your course shell, and make use of information in the course (such as the classlist) to provide users in the course with access to a tool. These tools add functionality that D2L Brightspace may not offer directly.
Tools that are centrally supported may include features that are integrated directly into D2L Brightspace. However, if an instructor or staff member would like to use an external tool that is not supported or already integrated, they can initiate a request to integrate the tool into TMU’s instance of D2L Brightspace.
Note: These requests do not initiate a procurement process, and will not result in university-wide licenses for tools. The individual department or instructor using the tool is also responsible for determining how learners access the features within the requested tool.
Gather Information
- Confirm that the tool is not currently part of the TMU Toolbox
- Make short notes about the tool and how it may benefit your course
- Identify a point of contact for the vendor of the tool (either an individual at the company, or generic email address)
Note: The integration will not be immediately available after being requested, as its addition is a multi-step process. Please review the approximate timeline below for more details.
The process to implement a new tool can take between 6 months and a year to complete, including the request process, assessments, functional testing, and integration with D2L Brightspace.
Please see the stages of the request process outlined below. The stages occur in sequence, as each builds upon the previous stage.
Integration Testing (2-4 weeks minimum)
After the request is submitted, the Digital Media Projects (DMP) team, in collaboration with the requester and the vendor, will conduct a number of functionality tests on the tool and its Brightspace integration.These initial tests are to identify what it does, how it works, and if is compatible with TMU’s instance of Brightspace.
Required Assessments (4-8 weeks minimum)
The required assessments for all tools used at the university include Security, Privacy, Accessibility, and Legal. Based on their recommendations, an agreement may be formed.
If a tool does not meet the requirements, it cannot move ahead in the request. If the vendor makes changes to their tool based recommendations provided in the assessments, the tool can be re-assessed. However, this process often extends the tool request timeline further, based on the speed of the vendor’s changes.
Integration Evaluation (2-4 weeks minimum)
Functionality testing, privacy and security are clarified with the third-party vendor. Based on testing and evaluation outcomes the tool may be approved for integration with D2L Brightspace.
Integration is applied to D2L (2-4 weeks minimum)
If approved, the integration will be applied to D2L Brightspace by the DMP and the vendor. University users will be notified that the tool is available and will be provided with documentation and support details.
For any questions please email courses@torontomu.ca.
If the timeline does not align with your planned use
If an integration is not feasible on your timeline, you may consider using the tool without a Brightspace integration. Before doing so, please visit the guide for using third-party tools for your course.
If you would like to request the addition of an external learning tool into TMU’s D2L Brightspace, please submit a request.