In January we asked QMUL staff and students to submit names for our new online teaching and learning space which will replace Blackboard, the University’s current Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

This new online environment will be a lot more than Blackboard – it will be a place to:

• Learn – course information, lecture recordings, readings, learning materials…
• Share – new tools for group work, communicating, online CVs….
• Network – create your own profile, start your own groups, make new contacts

We received almost 400 entries and wish to thank everyone who suggested a name. We have shortlisted six names and now invite QMUL staff and students to help us to choose a name from our shortlist. Remember that we are looking for a name that reflects what we stand for at Queen Mary. The winning name will be awarded a £100 Amazon voucher.

Each QM staff or student is allowed only one vote, let your vote be counted.

Vote at: https://surveys.qmul.ac.uk/olename

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Image credit: alancleaver_2000 on flickr

Last year Professor Hinson used the Q-Review lecture capture service for the first time to record her live lectures in the Drapers and Perrin Lecture Theatres. She received twenty minutes of training, from the E-Learning Unit, on how to edit her recordings and has since recorded over twenty of her lectures and made them available via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Blackboard. Professor Hinson commented that she was already being recorded by her students own devices, but with Q-Review she now has more control over the recordings as she “can choose what is included in the recordings and what is not”.

Professor Hinson decided to record her lectures because she feels it is important to support students’ learning as much as possible. She emphasised that students should not be penalised by not having the ability to review a lecture that they were unable to attend for circumstances beyond their control. The technology exists at Queen Mary to facilitate this type of review, and staff should be willing to engage with it.

When asked if her recordings have had an effect on students’ attendance, Professor Hinson emphatically professed that “recording her lectures has not made a scrap of difference to students’ attendance”. She explained that students used recordings to revise and fill in any missed concepts, not to skip class.

You can listen to Professor Hinson’s interview as she shares her experience of getting her lectures recorded and offers tips of what she has found works best for her, including what she does to encourage students to continue to attend.

To learn more about Q-Review lecture capture at Queen Mary – please visit our support pages here: http://www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/elearning/support/qreview/getting-started/ or get in touch.

Professor Hinson is also available to answer any questions. Please contact us via our online helpdesk if you have any questions or would like to view a sample of a Q-Review recording.

In this section, Mike explains that students already record using their own personal devices, so he thought it would be best to provide them with a good quality recording rather than making them struggle.

Mike also tells us how he distributed his recordings via the Virtual Learning Environment, and how he was able to edit his recordings to remove parts that he was not happy with.

You may also be interested in:

• Part 1 – Why everyone should give Q-Review a try
• How to edit a Q-Review Recording

The new online learning environment will be an integration of Moodle (for VLE) and Mahara (for student-led learning and group tools for informal learning).

The new platform will be available for previews and training from March, and people will be able to move and enhance (or start afresh) their course areas from April until September 2012).  It will then be available for teaching over the 2012-13 academic year.

Moodle (and Mahara) is a very different beast to Blackboard.  Though it also functions as a traditional VLE, it also offers the scope to think in new ways and encourage student learning within and beyond teaching and learning on modules.

The E-Learning Unit will be running a comprehensive training programme, both to support you in the practicalities of getting used to the new software, and to help you think about how you might use it to enhance student learning over the coming years.

We will also work closely with Faculties and Schools to ensure that we move at a pace that is right for you, and fit in with your strategies and educational priorities.

Some Schools (in Science and Engineering) do not currently use the centrally supported VLE, and they may want to use the new platform in the first year to explore and trial the possibilities to see what educational advantages it offers to support the ways they teach and support their students’ learning.  There may also be courses where the timescales run over the traditional academic year.  In these instances, we want to be flexible, so do get in touch (s.brenton@qmul.ac.uk) to arrange to meet.

Some of the more advanced functions of Moodle/Mahara will be phased in over time, and the platform will grow as it is integrated with other new technologies that QMUL is adopting.   But it will be available for the core business of effective learning and teaching ready for the next academic year, and offers significant improvements on the old platform.

Timescales

The project will run to a detailed project plan with the various technical and support elements, but academic colleagues the most pertinent timescales are:

January 2012: Implementation project starts.  Discussions with Faculty groups.

February:   Discussions with schools and heavy users of the current VLE about how they want to use it to support their teaching next year.

March:  Previews of the platform, access for staff to start playing/building.  Training and development sessions.

April: Small scale pioneer uses (if you’re interested in being a pioneer, please get in touch with Stella Ekebuisi (s.ekebuisi@qmul.ac.uk).  No new courses built in Blackboard.

April – September: Support for all module convenors to move from Blackboard to the new platform (see transition support, below).

August/September:  Live for all students and staff

Over 2012-13: Courses which start later in the year go live; pioneer uses of Mahara for e-portfolio tools, informal learning networks.  Forums for colleagues to share ideas and examples of effective use.  Projects to look at more advanced tools for complex e-admin uses.  Courses with non-standard timescales can ‘teach out’ in Blackboard.

2013-14: Mature use developing as a tool for teaching and learning and e-admin, student-led learning, learning profiles and informal learning networks.

Transition Support

The approach we take to the transition is key to realising the benefits of the new platform over the old.

Simply moving old content to the new system wholesale will in most cases not make best use of the new functionality or interface, though of course colleagues will want to use it for a basic provision of materials, information and course communications.  Rather like moving house, you would not move your furniture and arrange it exactly the same way in your new, better house.  You might choose to arrange your existing furniture in new ways, or get new furniture entirely.  We’ll support you in both these choices, to either get you up and running quickly with a sensibly arranged and useful course area (which you might then enhance over time as you learn more about the tools it offers), or to realise the potential from the outset for using it as part of the fabric of how you teach.

Colleagues moving from Blackboard to the new platform will therefore be offered two approaches:

1. ‘Move and Enhance’. Module convenors/lecturers can attend one three-hour session from April 2012.  Here, you will learn about the new platform, go into your course area, and rearrange your core learning materials in a sensible fashion, so that you can start using it in your teaching and perhaps develop your use over the year. 
2. ‘Start Afresh and Innovate’. This is a chance to re-examine your use of e-learning and use the new tools to create a rich ‘blended’ learning environment for your students.  You’ll work closely with e-learning professionals, and be given an e-learning assistant to help you develop and build your course area.

The aim here is that people who want to start with basic use can do so with a minimum of disruption, while those who want to use it in more advanced ways are fully supported

Outside of these sessions, we will offer other opportunities (online and offline) about how you can use it in advanced ways, e.g. for student feedback, supporting group work, assessment, student-led learning, using open educational resources or adding more interactivity.  There will also be ways for you to share your ideas and experiences with other colleagues, and to see how others are using it.

There will be exceptions to the above: you may be running a programme which requires a more complex approach to ensure that complex processes are realized in the new environment, or a course which depends entirely on the platform (e.g. distance learning).  In these cases, please get in touch so we can plan your transition and the support you’ll need.

Those who already have mature, successful e-learning presences in Blackboard will be given close assistance to ensure their course functions successfully in Moodle without the need to rebuild it from scratch themselves.

Further details will appear on the E-Learning Unit’s website at www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/elearning.

Overview of the environment

This document gives a brief overview of the main advantages and functionality of the new environment.

Further Information

This website will be used to post more information about the platform as the project progresses.  Over the next few weeks, we will be announcing the training and support provision, and providing details of how to get involved, see previews, give feedback about design and configuration.

Get in Touch

If you have any questions, please email elearning@qmul.ac.uk in the first instance.  We’ll respond directly, and also build a bank of frequently asked questions which we’ll post on this website.  And if you would like to be a pioneer to get in early, or be involved in feedback for the name, we’d love to hear from you.

What will it be called?

‘Moodle and Mahara’ is a bit of a mouthful, and this is more than just a ‘VLE’ replacement, offering as it does more flexible tools for learning outside taught courses, so it needs a catchy, descriptive name.  We’re running a naming competition for students and staff – do suggest something!

Thanks…

… to everyone involved in the project to select and procure the new platform.  It has been chosen because it is much the best fit with the requirements that colleagues and students across QM contributed, and I’m really grateful for all your work and help.  We’re confident that, while this is only software and software by itself does nothing, colleagues and students will be able to use it to help themselves – and QM – realise our educational ambitions.

Sam Brenton, Head of E-Learning

January 2012

Photo Credit

Matt Brown on Flickr.

• Notes
• E-Learning – An Introduction.   This expands on the themes and examples. Chapter in H.Fry, S.Ketteridge and S.Marshall (eds.) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 3rd Ed. London, Kogan Page.
• E-Learning Services leaflet
• Some ideas for effective e-learning
• Join the email list

I will also post the materials from the other e-learning presentations here after the event.

- Sam

Mike stated that he feels everyone should give Q-Review a try. Apart from its ease of use, Mike explained that he feels Q-Review gives students extra support, and allows him to give a better quality lecture to his students.

This five minute video clip highlights some of the added benefits that Mike found while using the technology and includes Mike’s experience on students use of the recordings and its impact on their attendance.

If you are interested in using Q-Review Personal Capture to record your lectures please submit a request by logging into our online helpdesk at https://helpdesk.its.qmul.ac.uk – click on the ‘Request’ button and then select ‘Q-Review – Lecture Capture’.

More video clips from the interview with Mike Noon coming soon:

Part 1 – Mike explains why everyone should give Q-Review a try
Part 2 – Using Q-Review to record lectures, make edits and distribute to students

The E-Learning Networking Event was an opportunity to hear from and share ideas with other colleagues around the University who use various technology tools as part of their teaching (including the VLE, Q-Review lecture capture, BOS surveys, Turnitin, Clickers, Camtasia screen recorder, Youtube, Twitter and others).

There were many interesting E-Learning conversations captured at this event, and we plan to take the networking to an online community very soon, where members can continue to discuss and share ideas with colleagues online. Do stay tuned.

In the meantime, we invite you to join our E-Learning Practitioners’ Mailing List. This list is used to publish information about e-learning developments, and for people who are doing e-learning to communicate, discuss, share ideas and experiences.

More information about the E-Learning Mailing List is on this blogpost: http://www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/elearning/news-and-events/join-the-e-learning-practitioners-email-list/

Here are some photos captured from the Networking Event:

You can cast your vote for your favourite name: http://www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/elearning/news-and-events/olenaming/

Voting will close on 27th February 2012.

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Blackboard is being replaced with a new online environment.

We invite you to be a part of the change and help us to name this new online space.

Enter our naming competition and you could win £100 in Amazon vouchers.

This new online environment will be a lot more than Blackboard – it will be a place to:

• Learn - course information, lecture recordings, readings, learning materials…
• Share - new tools for group work, communicating, online CVs….
• Network – create your own profile, start your own groups, make new contacts

We’re looking for a name that sounds great and reflects what we stand for at Queen Mary. So if you have an idea for a name (or more than one) we would love to hear from you.

Competition Guidelines:
(See Terms and Conditions below)

1. Enter your idea in the form below by midnight of the 23rd of January 2012.
2. We will then create a shortlist of the best entries and post a poll for a vote in February.
3. The winner will receive £100 of Amazon vouchers.

Image Credit dubh on Flickr

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY WILL BE MIDNIGHT ON THE 23RD JANUARY 2012. ENTRIES RECEIVED AFTER THIS WILL NOT BE INCLUDED.

Terms and Conditions:

1. This competition is open to all QMUL students and staff members only.
2. Entrants must be able to verify that they are a QMUL student or staff member in a timely manner.
3. Entrants cannot enter trademark or copyright names.
4. Entrants can enter as many times as they wish.
5. The Learning Institute staff are not eligible to win the prize, but can submit names.
6. Management reserve the right to disqualify entrants at their discretion.
7. Management reserve the right to modify an entry as they deem appropriate.
8. If a suggested name is submitted by more than one entrant, the first entrant will be considered the ‘owner’ of that suggested name.
9. Similar names will not be counted and will be considered the same – E.g. ‘yourname’, ‘YOURname’, ‘URname’, ‘your-name’ etc. are all considered the same.
10. Entrants agree to having their name included in publications should their entry win.

Please note that the support team for the VLE will not be available between Wed 21/12/11 and Tue 03/01/12.

Thank you and we hope you have a great break.

E-Learning Admin

Due to essential maintenance, the Q-Review service will not be available on Thursday 8th December 2011 between the hours of 7:00pm to 8:00pm.

We will be applying a number of software updates to ensure the continued reliability of the service.

Recordings will still run as normal but the upload of these to the server will run one hour behind.

Viewing and playback will also be offline in this period.

If you have any questions about this downtime please email elu-support@qmul.ac.uk

Regards,

VLE Admin