Tool Availability

Course Tools are used for communication and collaboration to enhance interaction. Instructors decide which tools will be active in the course, as well as who can access those tools.

On this page:

Course Tool Options

Below are some examples of the many tools that can be made active or inactive.

  • Announcements
  • Blogs
  • Collaboration
  • Contacts
  • Discussion Board
  • Email
  • Journals
  • Learning Module
  • SafeAssign
  • Self and Peer Assessment
  • Survey
  • Tasks
  • Wikis

Setting Course Tool Availability

  1. Go to Control Panel > Customization > Tool Availability for a list of available tools.

Available tools are listed alphabetically in the Tool Availability table. The table is divided into columns:

  • Available: The tool is available throughout the course and open to all users that have a role permitting the use of the tool.
  • Visible to Guests: The tool is visible (read-only), but not usable to guests when guests are permitted in the course.
  • Available in Content Areas: The instructor can place a link to a tool in one or more Content Areas of the course.

Additionally:

  • Tools with a check box in a column can be made available by selecting the check box and made unavailable by clearing the check box.
  • Tools with a grayed checkbox in a column have been turned off by the system administrator.
  • Tools with a circle with a slash icon in a column do not have availability settings in the system that can be changed.
  • Click Filter on the action bar to sort the table based on availability status for the tool or for the role users have in a course.
  • Email Settings are accessed by opening the drop-down menu next to it.

If tools are made unavailable after a period of being available, no content is deleted from the system. If the tools are made available again, the existing content remains and becomes accessible.

Need additional help?

Use our contact form to submit a help ticket (you may be asked for your UBITName and password). After the form is submitted, a member of the UB Learns support team will follow up with you within one business day.

Contact form