Information Services will be running a number of training workshops for staff in the coming months. To view the full calendar and book your place on any of the sessions, visit https://bit.ly/infoservicestraining
Workshops topics include:
Introduction to Collaborate Ultra
Stream – Managing your content
Teams – The latest updates
Video and podcast creation
An introduction to Padlet
An introduction to using Turning Point
SharePoint Hub administrator
We look forward to welcoming you to these sessions.
IS has also created a new SharePoint site which is packed with lots of useful guidance on Collaborate, Stream, E-books, Office 365 and much more. Click here to access the IS Training site
Collaborate Ultra has a limit of 250 attendees. Staff can increase this limit to 500 attendees by following these simple steps:
How to set up a large scale session:
1) Create the session as you normally would.
2) Click on the cog to enter the session settings menu. 3) Scroll down until the bottom of the page, where you will see the ‘Large scale session 250+’ option. Tick the box to enable 250+ attendees.
Please note: If a live session has more than 250 attendees in it, the option of breakout groups is unavailable.
For events larger than 500 attendees, Information Services recommends scheduling a Teams Live Event.
The clocks in the UK move forward by 1 hour on Sunday 28th March 2021, from GMT to BST (GMT+1). This is how the move to BST will affect Vision.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra The time is taken from the end user’s computer’s local time zone for session start and end times. So the times should not be affected by the change to BST.
Turnitin Assignments Turnitin will move to GMT+1 when the UK moves to BST so deadlines set in Turnitin in the UK should not be affected. Colleagues in Dubai and Malaysia may wish to check as Turnitin Assignments will use GMT+1 instead of GMT after Sunday.
Vision (Blackboard) Assignments, Tests, Adaptive Release Vision is set to GMT and remains so for the whole year, even when the UK moves to BST. This will affect Tests, Standard Vision (not Turnitin Assignments), and Adaptive Release settings. Therefore an assignment, test or adaptive release rule set for say 10:00am (BST) should be set on Vision for 9:00am (GMT).
Please remind students of the change to UK time from Sunday. If they are outwith the UK, their country of residence may not practice Daylight Saving Time (or the dates may vary from the UK).
Learning Teaching and Enhancement Services (LTES) staff will be running more training sessions on Vision, Turnitin and Collaborate Ultra to help staff prepare for teaching in Semester 2. These will be appropriate for all staff whether you are new to using these tools or require a refresher session. to book please go to the following link:
Information Services will provide online support globally for urgent Helpdesk tickets from 23rd December to 4th January throughout the Christmas break apart from 24th and 25th December and 1st January. Please submit issues to ISHelp@hw.ac.uk in the usual way.
Library Opening times
Edinburgh Campus Library and Helpdesk will close on 22nd December and re-open 5th January
Scottish Borders Campus Library will close on 18th December and re-open 5th January
Malaysia Campus Library and Helpdesk – open throughout except closed 24th and 25th December 2020 and 1st January
Dubai Campus Library and Helpdesk – open throughout except closed 24th 25th 26th December and 1st 2nd January
On-site library services are compliant with local Government regulations and as such opening times may be subject to change – please check the website for details and HWU_IS
Information Services are delighted to have been allocated additional budget to purchase more access to eBooks.
Responsive Blended Learning means more emphasis on access to electronic resources and in particular electronic copies of textbooks. In our libraries we are conscious that we cannot provide you with access to print textbooks as we have in the past. This welcome investment in our library collections allows us to buy more titles, and more copies, for more access to the eBooks which you need for your studies and take home exams.
We are working from semester one reading lists to buy the titles you will need for your exam revision and take-home exams right now. These will all be accessible through Discovery. We know that there are different platforms and permissions around using these eBooks, so will make as much information as we can available here to help you.
Please get in touch if you have any problems through ISHelp@hw.ac.uk
We are also looking ahead to semester two, working through all the reading lists we have received so far, to ensure the textbooks you need for your studies are available for you.
This blog was originally published on the Learning and Teaching Academy blog https://lta.hw.ac.uk/blog/ on 5th December 2020.
In this blog, Rosemarie McIlwhan, Assistant Professor in the Learning and Teaching Academy, reflects on the challenges and successes of the Supporting Student Learning Online team in supporting staff and students across the University to respond to the pandemic.
When we first started supporting colleagues teaching in China to move their learning online, little did we know that soon the whole University would have to follow. Nor could we have forecast that much of the 5-year plan for active learning and digital education would end up being implemented in a little over 5 months. There have been many challenges since the pandemic caused us to move to blended learning, but we have each risen to the occasion.
The Supporting Student Learning Online (SSLO) team was one way in which we rose to the challenge. It was led by the Heriot-Watt Learning and Teaching Academy, drawing Learning Technologists from across the University, staff from the VLE project, Learning and Teaching Enhancement Services and media services together into one team providing global support for staff and students. In the video below members of the SSLO team explain the project, and colleagues from across the University explain the impact of the work.
The calm delivery in the video belies the frantic nature of the first few weeks, where we could foresee campuses being closed and the team went all-out to produce support resources before that happened so that staff would have hard copies to take home, and to rapidly provide the training and support that would be needed to enable staff and students to continue to stay in touch and finish the semester. That pace has hardly changed as we have moved into Responsive Blended Learning for AY20/21 and beyond, yet the team have continued to successfully support staff and students through live sessions, 1:1 support and provision of resources. What is less visible is the support that isn’t about learning technology – the taking time just to listen, to hear people’s frustrations (whether with the pandemic or the technology), to try to understand others’ fears even where you can’t do anything to help, essentially the humanity with which the SSLO team have provided support across the University.
Recognising the work of the SSLO team
In recognition of their work, the SSLO team have been put forward for the ALT ‘Learning Technologist of the Year’ Awards in the category Team of the Year. The awards are presented annually by the Association for Learning Technology (the UK’s leading professional body for Learning Technology). The Awards celebrate and reward excellent practice and outstanding achievement in Learning Technology. They have established a benchmark for outstanding achievement in Learning Technology on a national scale.
The awards are based on a competitive application process decided by a panel of expert judges, drawn from different sectors and countries, bringing together a wealth of experience in Learning Technology. The judging panel reviews all entries and the highest scoring entries in each category are short-listed. Judging criteria:
Excellence in the work (as defined in the CMALT principles).
Strong evidence that your work has made a significant impact on practices within the your or your team’s organisation, community, or sphere of influence.
Clear explanation of how others may learn from your work and what have you done to enable others to do so.
SSLO team shortlisted for Learning Technologist of the Year
We are delighted to report that the team have been shortlisted for the Learning Technologist Team of the Year Award.
You can find out more about the awards, alongside descriptions of the other shortlisted entries on the ALT awards showcase website.
The awards will be formally announced and presented at the ALT winter conferenceon 16th December at 4.30pm GMT. Good luck to everyone who has been shortlisted – there are some fabulous projects, and this year every when learning technology has really come to the fore, every single person working in this area deserves recognition whether they’ve been nominated or not.
ALT membership – Associate membership of the Association for Learning Technology is available to all Heriot-Watt staff. If you have an interest in learning technology it is well worth joining. Apply for Associate Membership of ALT via their website.
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