Tools Overview

A tool is a type of activity Blocks can present inside a course. When an instructor uses Deep Linking, they pick one of these tool types and configure an instance of it.

Available tools

AI Tutor

A conversational tutor that helps learners work through a topic. See AI Tutor.

AI Expert Chat

A chat experience grounded in a knowledge base, answering from your own documents. See AI Expert Chat.

Multiple Choice

A graded multiple-choice question with automatic feedback and instructor-facing response statistics. See Multiple Choice.

Free Text

A graded open-response assignment with optional AI grading and AI submission-likelihood scoring. See Free Text.

HTML Editor

A simple authored HTML content block for presenting formatted instructional material.

What every tool shares

All tools build on the same Blocks foundation, so they share:

  • Secure LTI launches and Deep Linking authoring.

  • In-place editing with draft/publish and JSON import/export. See Editing Activities In Place.

  • Rich text and math authoring (TinyMCE + MathJax/MathLive).

  • Localization of learner-facing content by launch language.

  • A consistent instructor view that shows the learner experience plus instructor-only context.

AI-powered tools additionally consume credits and can be connected to Knowledge Bases.

Graded vs. non-graded

  • Graded tools (Multiple Choice, Free Text) record learner submissions and results, and surface review and statistics to instructors.

  • Non-graded tools (AI Tutor, AI Expert Chat, HTML Editor) provide interactive or informational experiences without scoring.

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