Overview
UAA Core Tools documents the primary technology tools used at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) for teaching, learning, and productivity. These tools are support by UAA Information Technology Services (IT Services) Technical Support Center (TSC), as well as Faculty Development and Instructional Support. Many of the software can be used by UAA faculty, staff, and students at no cost.
In this article:
Core Tools
Learning Management System (LMS) (Blackboard Learn)
The UA Learning Management System currently uses Blackboard Learn (Login to UA LMS).
3rd party tools available for use inside LMS*
*supported through collaborative efforts of UAA and the vendor.
Productivity Tools
- Microsoft Office 365 @ UA: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Forms, Teams, OneDrive for Business, Sway, etc.
- Google Workspace @ UA: Mail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Hangouts Meet, YouTube, Google Earth, Blogger, Keep
- UAOnline: business aspects of UAA (registration, grades, pay, employment information, benefits, class rosters, etc.)
- Scheduling and Space Management System (SSMS) (25Live): room/event scheduling system for UAA
Other UAA Academic Tools
3rd Party Supported Tools
Accessibility and Privacy Policies for Tech Tools
Specialty Tools
The following tools are used by a subset of UAA faculty, staff, and/or students, and may have limited support from the UAA IT Technical Support Center.
UAA Specialty Software
| Speciality Tool |
What it is for |
Who can use it |
Where to get more information |
| Navigate360 |
Student success |
students, faculty, staff |
Academic Affairs |
| Helperbird |
Browser extension to make the web more accessible; install and connect to your alaska.edu account to access the Pro features |
students, faculty, staff |
|
| Canva |
Layouts to design, share and print flyers, logos, presentations, banners, etc. |
students, faculty, staff |
Canva KB Article |
| Online Bookstore |
Full-service online bookstore and course materials platform |
students, faculty |
Bookstore Help |
| Screenpal |
Creation of screencast videos (AI&e has limited pro licenses; free version is always an option) |
faculty, staff |
Faculty Development & Instructional Support |
| Adobe Creative Cloud |
Discounted pricing is available for this collection of 20+ apps for photography, design, video, etc. |
faculty, staff |
UAA Adobe Creative Cloud |
| IBM SPSS |
Statistical Analysis |
free for students in participating courses; departments purchase faculty/staff licenses |
UAA IBM SPSS Statistics |
| Global Protect |
Virtual Private Network (VPN) |
students, faculty, staff |
UAA Remote Connectivity (VPN) |
| Blackboard Learn add-ons |
Add functionality to Blackboard with third party tools |
faculty, staff |
UAA Blackboard Use Policy |
| UAA Licensed Applications |
UAA IT makes several UAA, and UA licensed applications for university owned, and managed computers, available via the Software Center for iOS/iPadOS, macOS, and Windows devices. |
UAA faculty, staff |
UAA Employee Software Support KB article |
| UA Licensed Applications |
The University of Alaska Office of Information Technology (OIT) makes several UA licensed applications available via an authenticated webpage. |
UAA, UAF, UAS, SW faculty, staff |
UA OIT |
Is there any additional information I should know about?
Faculty looking for additional learning technologies can contact an instructional designer and are encouraged to use the following resource to evaluate a new tool: Blackboard Tool Evaluation Survey.
Need additional help or have issues
For additional assistance contact the IT Services Technical Support Center via phone at (907) 786-4646, toll-free at (877) 633-3888, email us at uaa.techsupport@alaska.edu.