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Supported Software & Devices
Below is a comprehensive and up-to-date listing of the software and devices we support. Sign up for our no-cost, hands-on face-to-face and online training or browse our various ITS Help resources to learn how to best integrate instructional technology into your teaching.Jump to:
eLearning (Blackboard Vista)
Audacity
Blogs @ TAMU
Calibrated Peer Review
Camtasia & Snagit
Centra Webconferencing System
Impatica for PowerPoint
iTunes U
MediaMatrix Audio/Visual Internet Streaming System
Respondus, StudyMate & LockDown Browser
Second Life 3D Virtual World
SMART Boards, Sympodiums & AirLiner Wireless Tablets
Student Response Systems ("Clickers")
Turnitin Plagiarism-Detection & Citation Service
Wikis @ TAMU
eLearning (Blackboard Vista)
The Texas A&M eLearning System, powered by Blackboard Vista (formerly WebCT Vista), is the university-wide learning management system for uploading syllabi, managing grades, and teaching courses in either a hybrid format or completely online. eLearning is a secure, enterprise-level system and features:- grade books
- assignments
- quizzes and surveys
- chat rooms
- discussion forums
- blogs and journals
- content management tools
Sign in to eLearning.
Audacity
Audacity is a free, cross-platform audio recorder and sound editor. Use Audacity to record lessons, lectures, review sessions, or guest speakers and distribute them as MP3 podcasts. We also provide information, support, and training for MediaMatrix and iTunes U, which are online campus resources for distributing educational audio/visual content.Learn more about Audacity.
Blogs @ TAMU
Blogs @ TAMU is a WordPress-powered system that provides no-cost blogs (short for "weblogs") to Texas A&M students, faculty, and staff. Blogs are online journals for posting regularly updated reflective writing and various types of multimedia. Blogs also feature commenting options and basic tools for authoring a small website.Set up a blog at Blogs @ TAMU.
Learn more about WordPress blogs.
Calibrated Peer Review
Calibrated Peer Review (CPR) is an online peer review system in which students submit writing assignments, learn to review their peers’ submissions, and then view their own peer-critiqued assignment results based on a rubric the instructor provides. The CPR system “calibrates” student grades as students iteratively turn in refined versions. CPR is an innovative process for students to critique their own work and determine if their writing is ready to submit.Learn more about Calibrated Peer Review.
Camtasia & Snagit
TechSmith Camtasia records onscreen actions and enables you to add audio annotations and various types of visual callouts. You can save the resulting screencast (video) in various formats and sizes for online delivery to students.Snagit takes screenshots of anything you see on your computer screen—your entire desktop, windows, regions, and even long, scrolling pages. You can edit, label, and export the screen captures to use in other applications.
The Texas A&M Software Evaluation and Licensing Library (SELL) offers both Camtasia and Snagit as a downloadable software package for Texas A&M students, faculty, and staff for $10. Get the bundled installation files for Camtasia and Snagit.
Learn more about Camtasia and Snagit on the TechSmith website.
Centra Webconferencing System
Saba Centra allows you to share presentations, websites, and applications; present quizzes and surveys; and use breakout rooms in a real-time webconferencing system. Use Centra to present to small or large classes and interact with students with voice over IP, video, and text. Also record and archive your presentations for later viewing.Contact TTVN at (979) 862-2241 or ttvn.tamu.edu to set up a domain for your department.
Learn more about Centra on the Saba website.
Impatica for PowerPoint
Impatica converts PowerPoint files into a compressed format that is optimized for online viewing. You can retain original PowerPoint text, graphics, transitions, and narrations in your exported slideshows, all while protecting your intellectual content. Impatica files are typically 95% smaller than native PowerPoint files and can be easily uploaded to a website or to eLearning.We provide a university-wide site license for Impatica, which is available at no cost for Texas A&M instructors. Get the installation files and Texas A&M group registration code and password for Impatica for PowerPoint.
Learn more about Impatica for PowerPoint on the Impatica website.
iTunes U
iTunes U is a no-cost content distribution system hosted by Apple that enables Texas A&M departments and student organizations to provide audio, video, and PDF files from lectures, interviews, performances, and other sources on the iTunes Store. iTunes U allows users to download publicly available multimedia content to their computers, iPods, or other portable devices.Along with hands-on training for developing podcasts, we provide iTunes U Administrative Access for you to upload, categorize, and add metadata to content in iTunes U.
View our ITS iTunes U page.
Learn more about iTunes U on the Apple website and the Texas A&M iTunes U initiative coordinated by the Division of Marketing & Communications.
MediaMatrix Audio/Visual Internet Streaming System
MediaMatrix allows you to upload audio and video files to create customized collections of educational media for students or other viewing audiences. You can limit access to a specific set of people based on NetIDs and even make non-copyright material available to the public. The system supports a variety of media formats and offers robust RSS (Really Simple Syndication) capabilities.Learn more about MediaMatrix on the Internet Media Services website.
Respondus, StudyMate & LockDown Browser
Respondus enables you to create and manage exams that you can print on paper or publish directly to eLearning. You can either create exams offline or import existing exams from word processor files.StudyMate lets you create ten Flash-based activities and games using three simple templates. Activities can be uploaded to a website or published directly to eLearning.
LockDown Browser significantly reduces the potential for students to find outside answers on the Internet or via instant messaging while taking a computer-based assessment. The browser is integrated with eLearning via a PowerLink; you can require that students use LockDown Browser when you create assessments in eLearning by simply selecting a checkbox in the Assessments tool.
We provide university-wide site licenses for these applications, which are available at no cost for Texas A&M instructors. Get the installation files and Texas A&M group licensing keys and passwords for Respondus, StudyMate, and LockDown Browser.
Learn more about these applications on the Respondus website.
Second Life 3D Virtual World
Second Life, a three-dimensional (3D) virtual world, is an emerging online teaching environment. It runs on a free application in which users interact with each other using avatars, or on-screen characters. Chat and multimedia features are also available to facilitate participation in individual and group activities. You can explore and build unique, "in-world" virtual properties and points of interest that are only limited to your imagination.Go to the Texas A&M Second Life Campus (requires free Second Life application and membership).
View our Second Life Campus page for more information about 3D virtual world experiences and projects at Texas A&M.
Learn more about virtual worlds on the Second Life website.
SMART Boards, Sympodiums & AirLiner Wireless Tablets
SMART Technologies SMART Boards, Sympodiums, and AirLiner Wireless Tablets are instructional devices installed in numerous technology-enhanced classrooms throughout campus. You can create presentations before class begins, virtually “write” on and enhance your presentations during class, and even record class sessions. We can demonstrate to you how to operate a customized touchscreen computer and control the classroom projector, DVD/VCR player, and wall-mounted video and document cameras to create dynamic and engaging presentations.View an up-to-date listing of registrar-controlled technology-enhanced classrooms throughout campus on the Instructional Media Services website.
Learn more about these devices on the SMART Technologies website.
Student Response Systems ("Clickers")
eInstruction Classroom Performance Systems, or “clickers,” are instructional devices that can assist you in engaging students in classroom topics and help you determine if they understand the subject matter you are teaching. eInstruction is the standardized vendor for Texas A&M and integrates with eLearning to record assessment results to a Grade Book.Get information about obtaining a no-cost eInstruction Clicker Test Kit.
Learn more about clickers on the eInstruction website.
Turnitin Plagiarism-Detection & Citation Service
Turnitin is an online database system designed to help instructors detect plagiarism in written assignments through word matching. Students can submit papers directly from eLearning via a PowerLink, or you have the option of using Turnitin.com Web-based services.We provide a university-wide site license for Turnitin, which is available at no cost for Texas A&M instructors. Get information about using Turnitin, either within eLearning or on the web.
Learn more about Turnitin on the iParadigms website.
Wikis @ TAMU
Wikis @ TAMU is an Atlassian Confluence-powered, multi-user website system in which registered users can contextually add content or edit existing items. Wikis introduce a collaborative and social method for developing up-to-date information and online file repositories. Wikis @ TAMU connects with eLearning via a PowerLink.Set up your own wiki space.
Sign in to Wikis @ TAMU.
Learn more about the Confluence Wiki on the Atlassian website.