ARCHIVED: About DropThought

This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.
Important:
DropThought is no longer available at Indiana University. For alternatives, see ARCHIVED: Replace DropThought in Canvas courses.

DropThought is a real-time feedback tool instructors can add to their Canvas courses to gather timely, anonymous feedback from students. DropThought is an alternative to generalized midterm and end-of-term course surveys; instructors can use it to give students opportunities to candidly comment throughout the term on specific aspects of their course. Instructors can use student feedback to improve future course offerings or, if necessary, address ongoing issues before the term ends.

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Use DropThought in Canvas

DropThought is integrated into Canvas as an external tool and is available in all Canvas courses. It does not appear as a tool in the course navigation, but you can add it to your course as either an assignment or a module activity.

Setting up DropThought as a required assignment lets you give students credit for completing it and may help ensure higher response rates. Adding it as a module activity lets you receive feedback immediately following a course activity (for example, an assignment, discussion, or quiz).

Set up DropThought as an assignment

To set up DropThought as an assignment in Canvas:

  1. In the Assignments tool, click + (the plus sign) to add an assignment.
  2. Click More Options to edit the full assignment.
  3. Give the assignment a meaningful name; it will serve as the question or prompt for the feedback you wish to collect.
  4. Assign an appropriate number of points. Students who complete the assignment will receive all the points. Students who do not complete the assignment will receive no points. Alternatively, you may select Complete/Incomplete from the Display Grade as drop-down list.
  5. For "Submission Type", choose External Tool.
  6. Click inside the "External Tool URL" box, scroll down through the list that appears, and then select DropThought.
  7. Complete the settings for the assignment, and then save and publish it.
  8. On your assignment list, click your new assignment to open it. You should see a message confirming that the DropThought link was established. (This is a necessary part of setting up DropThought as an assignment.)

Set up DropThought as a module activity

To set up DropThought as a module activity in Canvas:

  1. In the Modules tool, access the appropriate module, and then click + (the plus sign) to add a new module element.
  2. From the "Add" drop-down list, select External Tool, scroll down through the list that appears, and then select DropThought.
  3. Click Add Item.
  4. On the Modules page, find the DropThought module element you just added, and then, on the right, click the gear icon.
  5. Choose Edit, and then change the title to a meaningful question or prompt for requesting feedback. (This is the only way to actually ask a question or give a prompt with DropThought.)
  6. Click Update, and then publish both the module element and the module itself.
  7. On your modules list, click your new module element to open it. You should see a message confirming that the DropThought link was established. (This is a necessary part of setting up DropThought in Modules.)

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View and respond to feedback

When you set up your first DropThought activity, you will receive a welcome email message from DropThought containing your DropThought username and password, and a link to the DropThought Dashboard. To view and respond to student feedback, log into the DropThought Dashboard using your DropThought username and password.

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Get help

Instructors can get help using technology in their teaching at the teaching and learning centers on each campus.

For help from a UITS Support Center consultant, fill out the "Ask for Help" form found in the Canvas Help menu. You can also contact your campus Support Center directly.

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This is document ablv in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2019-08-15 05:02:09.