COIL faculty and their partners have to choose at least one technology platform to use for virtual exchange activities. This overview of the various technology platforms, which CUNY faculty have previously used will help you understand what each offers and how they can be used for virtual exchange. To be considered open and accessible, the technology platforms highlighted offer free accounts and work on mobile devices as well.
Each of these tools has a free account or subscription. Some of these offer paid accounts or subscriptions with advanced features but the free level will be enough for the semester.
Each tool except where noted has a smartphone app (both Android via Google Play and Apple App Store) and all can be accessed via a smartphone’s web browser.
Each tool has their own “Getting Started” and/or “Help” videos to share with your students.
Summary of Technology Platforms
Name of the Technology Platform
Brief Description
Summary of Features
Guides and Help
Slack
Slack is a chat-based communication platform that is primarily used by businesses for internal communications. COIL faculty can create a Slack “workspace” for both classes and each faculty partner can be made administrator for the workspace. Slack is organized by “channels” that faculty can create by topic or by group.
Free account signup using an email address
Chat exchanges can include: text, images, videos, web links, attachments
Modality: Asynchronous and Synchronous
Smartphones: Android and iPhone Apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store
Padlet is a virtual bulletin board. With a free account, COIL faculty can create up to 5 Padlets. Once a user has created 5 padlets, they will need to delete one Padlet if they’d like to create a new Padlet.
Free account signup using an email address.
A paid account allows for unlimited Padlets.
Each Padlet can be used to post text, images, web links, and audio.
Modality: Asynchronous and Synchronous
Smartphones: Android and iPhone Apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store
Flip is a group-based video discussion and sharing app from Microsoft. COIL faculty provide a topic for students. Users can then post recorded videos from their devices (phone, tablet, or computer) or record from the app itself. Users are also able to comment on videos.
Free account signup using an email address
Faculty must start a group and invite students by providing a join code.
Interface is simple and minimal.
Modality: Asynchronous
Smartphones: Android and iPhone Apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store
Zoom is a video and telephone conferencing software program. All CUNY faculty have Zoom for Education licenses that allow for unlimited meeting duration, up to 300 participants, up to 49 video feeds, and up to 50 breakout rooms.
Free account signup using an email address
Meeting features include screen sharing, polling, whiteboard, annotation, recording meetings, chat, live transcript
Modality: Synchronous
Smartphones: Android and iPhone Apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store
Google Docs is an online word processor included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google, which also includes Google Slides, Google Sheets, and more. As a web-based app, Google Docs can be used collaboratively by many users with direct editing and commenting features.
Free with Gmail account signup
Modality: Asynchronous and Synchronous
Smartphones: Android and iPhone Apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store
Manifold is free digital publishing platform for the CUNY community. CUNY faculty can create and share projects that can include text, an essay, and/or a journal article. Users can also add resources like video, audio, images, downloads, data visualizations, PDFs, and external links,
Free account sign up using an email address
Manifold has built in annotation and reading group features that users can use to annotate texts and comment on resources.
Students and instructors can use reading groups, publicly or privately, to annotate collaboratively right in the margins of a text.
WordPress is an easy-to-use web publishing platform originally designed around blogging that has now become a content or learning management system. The CUNY Academic Commons is a WordPress teaching and learning platform based at the Graduate Center, which can be used by any CUNY faculty. Courses can be hosted on the Commons via a course website, a course group, or both.
Free account sign up using an email address
Faculty must start a site or a group and invite users to join the site or group.
WordPress can be used to create an online space for users to post reflections, research, and findings.
Users can also use WordPress to blog.
Faculty can create groups, where students can work collaboratively on projects using Docs feature.
Users can form smaller groups to facilitate private collaboration.
Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. This app can be used to create visuals for presentations, documents, websites, posters, and videos for both individual and collaborative projects.
Free account signup using an email address
Canva provides free templates and an easy to learn drag and drop editor
Email us at commonshelpsite@gmail.com so we can respond to your questions and requests. Please email from your CUNY email address if possible. Or visit our help site for more information:
