In addition to the university-supported Learning Systems toolset and administrative tools, Ohio State provides you with access to numerous applications that can enhance teaching and learning. Below is an alphabetical list of various technology tools that are vetted, licensed, and (in some cases) supported by the university. These tools have been through a rigorous review process for accessibility and security compliance.
Unless otherwise noted, these tools are available to all faculty and staff at Ohio State. Some have been added at the request of colleges, departments, or instructors—support for these tools is provided by the vendor or the unit that purchased the product.
We know you want the best learning experience for your students, and you might be tempted to try out free online tools or networking sites. Many of these free tools involve a clickthrough agreement or other statement that requires you to agree to terms and conditions. Please be aware that you are not legally allowed to accept these types of agreements as an employee of Ohio State. You should only use supported and vetted tools available university-wide or through your college or department.
Learn more about the benefits of university-supported and vetted tools, and how to initiate the tool approval process, in Understanding Learning Technologies at Ohio State.
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Adobe
Adobe offers a range of software to support users with business and creative tasks, and many can be leveraged to enhance teaching and learning as well. All faculty, staff, and students at Ohio State have free access to Adobe Express, an all-in-one web app for photos, videos, documents, and graphic design. The full Adobe Creative Cloud suite requires a paid subscription—you can request a license for professional use or purchase the suite at a discounted rate for personal use.
Learn more about Adobe software and licenses at Ohio State.
Express
Adobe Express is free to all Ohio State faculty, staff and students. It’s an all-in-one web app with streamlined capabilities from the larger Creative Cloud suite of apps. Most of the common creative tasks – editing photos and video, creating flyers and social media posts, editing PDFs – can be done through Adobe Express.
Learn more about Adobe Express.
Creative Cloud Suite
Adobe Creative Cloud is a suite of professional-level apps for creative tasks such as photo editing, graphic design, video production, and more. The full Adobe Creative Cloud suite requires a paid subscription. However, Creative Cloud can be used for free in Digital Unions, public computer labs and in computer lab classrooms.
Explore individual Adobe apps in the dropdowns below, and check out the complete list of apps in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite.
Learn how to access or purchase Adobe Creative Cloud at Ohio State.
Audition
Adobe Audition is a program that allows you to record and edit audio content that can then be exported for use on its own, or incorporated into other projects, such as videos.
This app is part of the Creative Cloud suite, available only with a paid subscription. Discounted licenses are available through OTDI and this software is offered for free in Digital Unions, public campus computer labs and computer lab classrooms.
Learn more about Adobe Audition.
Firefly
Adobe Firefly is a generative AI engine that is focused specifically on supporting and augmenting your creative work. See the entry under AI Tools for more information.
Fresco
Adobe Fresco is a drawing and painting app built especially for iPad with Apple Pencil and iPhone. Although it's a drawing and painting app, creations in Fresco will enhance any photo that you've taken with a handmade flourish.
This app is part of the Creative Cloud suite, available only with a paid subscription. Discounted licenses are available through OTDI and this software is offered for free in Digital Unions, public campus computer labs and computer lab classrooms.
Learn more about Adobe Fresco.
Photoshop Express
Adobe Photoshop Express includes basic image editing features, but its main strength is in creating photo collages. The capabilities from this app are included in Adobe Express, which is free for the university community. The full app is available with a paid subscription to Creative Cloud.
Learn more about Adobe Photoshop Express.
Photoshop Sketch
Adobe Photoshop Sketch lets users create expressive drawings anywhere using natural drawing tools like pencils, pens, markers, and watercolor brushes to get all the textures and blending effects you'd get on paper.
This app is part of the Creative Cloud suite, available only with a paid subscription. Discounted licenses are available through OTDI and this software is offered for free in Digital Unions, public campus computer labs and computer lab classrooms.
Learn more about Photoshop Sketch.
Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a professional video editing program that allows you to edit video from a number of different sources and publish edited videos to many different formats.
This app is part of the Creative Cloud suite, available only with a paid subscription. Discounted licenses are available through OTDI and this software is offered for free in Digital Unions, public campus computer labs and computer lab classrooms.
Learn more about Adobe Premiere Pro.
Premiere Rush
Adobe Premiere Rush is a mobile and desktop video editing app allowing you to shoot, edit, and share high-quality videos from your phone to your computer. The capabilities from this app are included in Adobe Express, which is free for the university community. The full app is available with a paid subscription to Creative Cloud.
Learn more about Adobe Premiere Rush.
Stock
Adobe Stock gives faculty, staff, and students access to royalty free assets (stock photography, music clips, etc.) that can be used to enhance lectures, presentations, course materials, assignments, group projects and more. The capabilities from this app are included in Adobe Express, which is free for the university community. The full app is available with a paid subscription to Creative Cloud.
Learn more Adobe Stock.
AI Tools
To support the university-wide AI Fluency initiative, Ohio State has approved the use of several artificial intelligence (AI) tools by faculty, staff, and students. Learn how you can use these tools to support instruction by exploring our Teaching Topics on AI in the classroom—you might start with AI Considerations for Teaching and Learning. Bookmark Approved AI Tools on Ohio State’s ai.osu.edu site to see all tool options and stay up-to-date on new additions.
If you have trouble accessing or using the AI tools below, contact the IT Service Desk 24/7 at 614-688-4357 (HELP), Self Service, or servicedesk@osu.edu.
Adobe Firefly
Adobe Firefly is a generative AI engine that is focused specifically on supporting and augmenting your creative work. Use Firefly to generate and enhance images, edit objects, and transform text.
Firefly is included in Adobe Express, which is free for the university community. The full app is available with a paid subscription to Creative Cloud, or by accessing the cloud suite for free at a Digital Union, public computer lab, or computer lab classroom.
Learn more about Adobe Firefly.
Google Gemini
Googe Gemini is an AI-powered chatbot assistant that can support your productivity, creativity, and curiosity and that has versatile uses for teaching, learning, and research. For example, you can use Gemini to brainstorm ideas, write and revise text, solve coding problems, study and learn difficult concepts, and create images and video from prompts.
Ohio State students, staff, and faculty can sign in to Gemini using their Ohio State username (lastname.#@osu.edu) and password. Explore Google Productivity Services resources and job aids in Ohio State’s Administrative Resource Center.
Google NotebookLM
NotebookLM is an AI-powered research assistant that can help you generate ideas, study topics, and organize thoughts and information. NotebookLM will transform the documents, PDFs, and other sources you upload to develop summaries, make connections between ideas, answer complex questions, and generate audio overviews of topics.
Ohio State students, staff, and faculty can sign in to NotebookLM using their Ohio State username (lastname.#@osu.edu) and password. Explore Google Productivity Services resources and job aids in Ohio State’s Administrative Resource Center.
Google CoLaboratory
Google CoLaboratory, or CoLab, is a cloud-based platform that helps you write and run Python code through your web browser. It is helpful tool for beginners learning to write code and can be used for data analytics and visualization, automating tasks, experimenting with and training AI models, and more. Notebooks are stored in Google Drive and can easily be shared with other users.
Ohio State students, staff, and faculty can sign in to Google CoLaboratory using their Ohio State username (lastname.#@osu.edu) and password. Explore Google Productivity Services resources and job aids in Ohio State’s Administrative Resource Center.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot with data protection is an AI-powered chat that gives users access to better answers, greater efficiency, and new ways to be creative. You can ask the assistant questions and narrow down the results using follow-up questions more efficiently than a basic search engine.
- Copilot Chat is free to all faculty, staff, and students at Ohio State. With Copilot Chat, you can upload and analyze files, generate images, develop professional documents, create agents to automate tasks and processes, and collaborate in real time on Copilot Pages. You can ask your assistant questions and narrow down the results using follow up questions in a more efficient manner than a basic search engine.
- The Copilot Full License is available to faculty and staff for an additional fee—licenses must be approved and ordered by your department. The complete license interacts with emails and other Microsoft 365 applications to offer a more personalized experience, supporting advanced use cases for teaching, learning, and productivity. You can access Copilot chat from the menu of other Microsoft 365 apps, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Learn more about Copilot.
Apple
Clips
Apple Clips is a free app for making videos. With a few taps, you can create vertical and horizontal videos with immersive camera effects, artistic filters, dynamic music, animated text, emoji, stickers, and more.
Learn more about Clips.
GarageBand
Apple GarageBand turns your iPad and iPhone into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can record audio, podcasts, or music anywhere you go.
Learn more about GarageBand.
iMovie
Apple iMovie is a powerful video editing solution. It's the most robust video editing software on this list. You can use the iPad app to edit video or edit video on a Mac laptop or desktop computer. Learn more about iMovie.
iPad
As part of the Digital Flagship initiative, undergraduate students who began at Ohio State between fall 2018 and spring 2022 were issued an iPad, smart keyboard, Apple Pencil, and case. Many students in higher-level courses may use their iPads in class and to complete assignments, while students who enrolled after spring 2022 may be using other devices. OTDI does recommend that students bring a portable device with a touchscreen and stylus, but it is not a requirement. Students with financial needs can request to loan a device for the semester through the Student Technology Loan Program.
Regardless of what devices you and your students have, you can explore approaches to leveraging technology in your course.
Learn more about approaches to integrating technology in your course.
Keynote
Apple Keynote offers a simple and intuitive interface for building engaging lecture presentations. Available on iOS and Mac, so it works on iPhones, iPads. But it also works on PC via iWork for iCloud.
Learn more about Keynote.
Notes
Apple Notes can be used for typed note-taking, digital handwriting or drawing, typing, math formulas, and more. Sync notes across all of your Mac devices.
Learn more about Notes.
Pages
Apple Pages, exclusively for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, allow you to use templates to create reports, digital books, resumes, posters, or create your own design. Easily add images, movies, audio, charts, and shapes. You can even draw and annotate using Apple Pencil on supported devices or your finger.
Learn more about Pages.
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CarmenBooks
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
CarmenBooks is a program that offers digital copies of selected textbooks as well as access to publisher homework systems for a fraction of the retail cost.
Learn more about CarmenBooks.
Canvas Mobile Apps
Canvas provides several mobile apps, one for students and one for instructors, both are available on iOS and Android devices. Depending on your device and intended purpose, mobile applications may be more useful than the web interface.
Learn more about Canvas Mobile Apps.
Cengage MindTap
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
MindTap is a Cengage Learning service, enabled through an integration of Cengage Learning's digital suite (MindLink) into CarmenCanvas. MindTap connects students from their Carmen course to assignments and homework related to their Cengage textbook.
Learn more about MindTap.
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Digital Union audio recording studio
The Digital Union (DU) audio recording studio is a sound-insulated, quiet room equipped with tools that facilitate the recording and editing of audio files. Each space features unique tools, but builds on the basic setup of a microphone(s), software for audio capture and editing, and playback capabilities.
Learn more about the DU audio recording studio.
Digital Union lightboard
The Digital Union (DU) lightboard located inside the DU video recording studio allows instructors to draw whatever they would on a whiteboard while still facing the camera. It's recorded on a plain black background, so your writing stands out. Lecturers or their support staff can also superimpose graphics onto the screen in post-production, maximizing student engagement.
Learn more about the DU Lightboard.
Digital Union video recording studio
The Digital Union (DU) video recording studio allows you to make high-quality video recordings with minimal setup or prior experience. Simply enter the studio, plug in your flash drive and touch one button to start shooting. DU student staff are on hand to assist with orientation and troubleshooting.
Learn more about the DU video recording studio.
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Echo360
This is a CarmenCanvas integration in place for faculty and staff at the following colleges: College of Medicine, College of Optometry, and the College of Pharmacy.
Echo360 is a cloud-based lecture capture tool for hosting, editing, and transcribing videos and has a CarmenCanvas integration.
Learn more about Echo360.
ExamSoft
Examsoft is being used in the Colleges of Pharmacy, Optometry, Veterinary Medicine, and some departments in the College of Medicine. Please contact the instructional technology staff in your unit if you expect to use ExamSoft.
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Flip (formerly Flipgrid)
Flip (formerly Flipgrid) was a simple video discussion experience that created visual discussions and reflections to build community and engagement. Flip could also be used for office hours, student study groups, brainstorming sessions, and more.
Flip is no longer a separate application; it has been integrated into Microsoft Teams for Education. As of September 30, 2024, the Flip website and application will be retired. Learn more about this change and how it might affect your use cases.
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Gradescope
This is a CarmenCanvas integration in place for faculty and staff in the Department of Mathematics.
Gradescope is an online system for students to present homework problems and for instructors to provide feedback on assignments. The Gradescope Carmen integration can be used for grading, course management, and assignment workflow.
Learn more about Gradescope.
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H5P Authoring Tool
This is a CarmenCanvas integration. Several colleges and units have purchased H5P licenses to be used in Carmen. Due to security and digital accessibility constraints, access to this tool is being managed at a college or unit level.
The H5P Authoring Tool enables instructional designers to create dynamic and interactive HTML 5 content using a large toolkit of learning objects in the courses they develop.
Learn more about the H5P Authoring Tool.
Honorlock
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
Honorlock is an online proctoring solution that is fully integrated into CarmenCanvas. Like other automated remote proctoring tools, it works by recording a student’s screen and webcam marking indicators of possible breaches of exam integrity.
Learn more about whether Honorlock is the right solution for your course.
Hypothesis
This is a CarmenCanvas integration. Several colleges and units have purchased Hypothesis licenses to be used in Carmen. Due to security and digital accessibility constraints, access to this tool is being managed at a departmental level.
Hypothesis is an online tool that allows for collaborative annotation of course content. The tool enables students and teachers to add comments and start conversations directly in the margins of instructional texts and other text-based resources and allows students to take notes and analyze classroom readings, news items, blogs, scientific articles, books, and more. Additionally, the annotation of documents and pages using Hypothesis can be completed publicly, privately, or among a select group.
Learn more about Hypothesis.
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LabArchives
LabArchives is a cloud-based electronic lab notebook (ELN) application that enables users to create, store, share, and securely manage data. University support for LabArchives is provided by the Office of Research.
Learn more about LabArchives.
LabRight
An all-in-one digital platform for STEM labs. With software tools designed specifically for labs, LabRight is ideal for pre-, in-, and post-labs. University support for LabRight is provided by The College of Arts & Sciences (The Arts and Humanities) - Office of Distance Education.
Learn more about LabRight.
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Macmillan Higher Education
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
The Macmillan Portal CarmenCanvas integration connects students from their Carmen course to assignments and homework related to their Macmillan Higher Ed textbook.
Learn more about the Macmillan Higher Education integration.
Matlab
MATLAB is a programming and numeric computing platform for engineering and scientific applications like data analysis, signal and image processing, control systems, wireless communications, and robotics. University support for Matlab is provided by The College of Engineering (Architecture)- Engineering Technology Services
Learn more about Matlab
McGraw-Hill Connect
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
The McGraw-Hill Campus CarmenCanvas integration automatically connects students from their Carmen course to assignments and homework related to their McGraw-Hill textbook.
Learn more about the McGraw-Hill Connect integration.
Microsoft 365 Copilot (formerly Office 365)
Ohio State provides faculty, staff, and students with access to both desktop and mobile applications in the Microsoft 365 Copilot suite. This suite enhances productivity, efficiency, and collaboration through tools like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, OneNote, and more. Check out the complete list of Microsoft 365 suite apps available.
If you have trouble accessing or using Microsoft tools, contact the IT Service Desk 24/7 at 614-688-4357 (HELP), Self Service, or servicedesk@osu.edu.
Learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Azure Dev Tools for Teaching
Microsoft Azure Dev Tools for Teaching puts professional developer tools, software, and services from Microsoft in the hands of faculty and students with plans that come as a part of various Academic Volume Licensing Agreements. Students receive developer tools at no cost--everything needed to create apps, games, and websites--so they can chase their dreams, create the next big breakthrough in technology, or get a head start on their career.
Learn more about Azure Dev Tools for Teaching.
Copilot Chat
Microsoft Copilot Chat with data protection is free to all faculty, staff, and students at Ohio State. Copilot Chat is an AI-powered assistant that gives users access to better answers, greater efficiency, and new ways to be creative. See the entry under AI Tools for more information.
Copilot Full License
Microsoft Copilot full license is available to faculty and staff for an additional fee—licenses must be approved and ordered by your department. With the full license, Copilot Chat interacts with other Microsoft 365 applications to offer a more personalized and robust experience. See the entry under AI Tools for more information.
OneDrive for Business
Microsoft OneDrive for Business is a cloud-based solution for storing, syncing, and sharing files. OneDrive makes it easy to collaborate with multiple people on files across different web browsers and operating systems. OneDrive can be used independently or with the CarmenCanvas integration.
Learn more about OneDrive and the OneDrive Carmen integration.
OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is a digital notebook allowing you to take notes, organize, tag, and share content in a mixed-media format.
Learn more about OneNote.
PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation application that allows you to create engaging content with animation, 3D modeling, and cinematic motion. Collaborate and share your presentation with others through OneDrive and Teams.
Learn more about PowerPoint.
Sway
Microsoft Sway helps you create and share interactive presentations, projects, portfolios, personal stories, and more. Similar in concept to PowerPoint, it is more geared to digital use than audience-based presentations.
Learn more about Microsoft Sway.
Teams for Education
Microsoft Teams for Education is a powerful collaboration and communication tool that enables the creation of virtual classrooms and assignments; live collaboration in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; 1-1 and group chats and discussions; audio and video calls; and more. Teams works in conjunction with other Microsoft 365 applications.
Learn more about Teams for Education.
Whiteboard
Microsoft Whiteboard gives the whole class a new space to engage, ideate, and create. Teachers and students can brainstorm and grow ideas on this limitless canvas, coming together on lessons, projects, and more.
Learn more about Whiteboard.
Word
Microsfot Word is a word processing application. Use Word in collaborative note-taking and group assignments with Microsoft 365.
Learn more about Word.
Yammer
Microsoft Yammer is an alternative to Twitter, allowing only those with an @osu.edu email address to view your posts. Communicate with anyone in the university – faculty, staff, or student. You can also create private groups to narrow the conversation to even smaller audiences, such as a project team or workgroup.
Learn more about Yammer.
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Namecoach
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
Namecoach can be enabled in any Carmen course to allow students to record the pronunciation of their names.
Learn more about Namecoach.
Nearpod
This is a CarmenCanvas integration in place for instructors and students in The College of Nursing.
Nearpod is a classroom presentation tool used to create interactive presentations and engage audiences with questions that test knowledge, gauge viewpoints, or gather general information. It allows learners to interact with the instructor, with peers, and with content through activities such as polling, quizzing, drawing, fill-in-the-blank, and matching as well as embedded video, web content, and documents.
Learn more about Nearpod.
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Panopto
Panopto is being used by The College of Nursing. If you are looking for information or assistance, contact con-it@osu.edu or view resources at u.osu.edu/contech/panopto/.
Panopto is a cloud-hosted platform for creating, editing, sharing and watching media. It can create digital recordings of audio, video and screen content via a software application or a web browser application.
Pearson MyLab
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
The Pearson MyLab & Mastering integration automatically connects students from their Carmen course to assignments and homework related to their Pearson textbook.
Learn more about the Pearson MyLab integration.
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Qualtrics
Qualtrics is Ohio State's robust, easy-to-use online survey platform for provisioning surveys for classes and research at the university.
Learn more about Qualtrics.
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Respondus Lockdown Browser
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
Respondus LockDown Browser is a locked browser to create a more secure testing environment for taking quizzes in CarmenCanvas. The LockDown Browser can be used in a lab or classroom equipped with computers or by students using their own laptops. LockDown Browser is not intended to be used when they are taking online quizzes outside of a proctored situation.
Learn more about Respondus Lockdown Browser.
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SageVantage
SageVantage is a tool to get live and on-demand training, implementation guides, and other resources to help you get ready for your course. University support for SageVantage is provided by The College of Arts & Sciences (The Arts and Humanities) - Office of Distance Education and The College of Engineering (Architecture)- Engineering Technology Services respectively.
Learn more about SageVantage
Student Technology Loan Program
The Student Technology Loan Program provides iPad and Microsoft Surface loaner devices to students with limited technology access and identified financial needs. Loans can be short-term or long-term and must be renewed or returned at the end of each semester.
Learn more about the Student Technology Loan Program.
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ThingLink
This is a CarmenCanvas integration in place for instructors and students in the following colleges: College of Arts and Sciences (ascode@osu.edu), and College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE-distanceed@osu.edu). Contact your college directly for support.
ThingLink is in place through a cost-sharing arrangement between the College of Arts and Sciences and other units at Ohio State. Contact ascode@osu.edu for more details and information about joining the agreement.
ThingLink is an educational technology platform that allows instructors and students to create and explore interactive content through tagging images, videos, and 3D models. Tags can include text, links, videos, pdf files, polling questions, and a variety of other integrated content.
Learn more about ThingLink.
Turnitin
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
Turnitin is an academic anti-plagiarism tool used by instructors and students to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic integrity. It generates a report that identifies material in a student submission that is similar to content already in Turnitin databases.
Learn more about Turnitin.
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Virtual Desktop
The Virtual Desktop, available to all Ohio State faculty, staff, and students, allows users to virtually access a select set of software applications from any device with internet access. This cloud access will enable extended use of these applications for students outside of physical lab spaces and allows instructors to provide the same coursework for both in-person and remote learning.
Learn more about the Virtual Desktop.
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WileyPLUS
This is a CarmenCanvas integration.
The Wiley Plus integration automatically connects students from their Carmen course to assignments and homework related to their Wiley textbook.
Learn more about WileyPlus.
WIRIS
This is a CarmenCanvas integration in place for instructors and students in the Welding Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering departments.
WIRIS MathType and CalcMe CarmenCanvas integrations are equation editors that allows users to type and hand-write mathematical notations in Carmen.
Learn more about WIRIS.
W.W. Norton Tools
W.W. Norton Tools
University support for W.W. Norton Tools is provided by The College of Arts & Sciences (The Arts and Humanities) - Office of Distance Education and The College of Engineering (Architecture)- Engineering Technology Services respectively.
Learn More about W.W. Norton Tools