A Few Free Tools for Canvas (LMS) Users

Hi, folks! I have made available a few simple tools I originally created for myself to make working with my Canvas courses a little easier, and I wanted to let you know about them in case you found any of them useful. My website is [www.hacksforeducators.com](http://www.hacksforeducators.com) and all the resources there are free and require no login. Some of the tools you might find helpful are:

**Plain Text QTI Quiz Builder**: Lets you write quizzes and assessments using a simple plain-text format, then convert them into a QTI ZIP file that can be imported into Canvas. I built this because I find typing questions in a text editor to be much faster than creating them one at a time in Canvas. The same quiz file can also generate a printable DOCX version, which has been especially useful when I’m teaching both face-to-face and online sections of the same course.

**“Flashcards” (sort of!)**: Ok, so they aren't \*quite\* real flashcards but this tool does let you enter pairs of terms and definitions (or vocabulary terms and translations, etc.) and generates click-to-reveal study cards that can be pasted directly into a Canvas page (via the HTML editor). My Spanish students have told me the vocabulary study cards I make for them are helpful, and this tool is what I use.

**Self-Check Boxes:** This tool makes it easy to generate a little question-and-answer section that you can insert anywhere in a Canvas page. Students can stop, think about a question you've given them, and then reveal the answer themselves when they're ready. I like these for adding simple, ungraded comprehension checks at different points in the instructional articles I post on Canvas.

There are a few other tools on there as well (though the 3 I mention above are probably the most popular).

Full disclaimer: Yes, I did make these tools, but I am in no way affiliated with Canvas/Instructure. All the tools are all free, require no login, and nothing to subscribe to.

If any of these tools sound useful, check them out!