Overview: This is an online session which will introduce QMULs Virtual Learning Environment, Blackboard.

In this 60-minute webinar, participants will be given an online tour of Blackboard and will be able to observe a brief demonstration of the commonly used tools across QM. Participants will receive other tips to get started, as well as instructions of where to get further help.

The session is aimed at academic staff who are just starting out with the VLE or who are perhaps thinking about using it.

Requirements: You will need a computer with internet connection and Flash, along with speakers (or a headset).

To register, please go to our online course booking site at:
www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/booking or email us.

Instructions of how to participate will be sent closer to the date once you have registered for this event.

Some of our scheduled workshops for the next term are as follows:

October 2011

• Induction to Blackboard, QM’s Virtual Learning Environment
  – Wed. 12th October; 14:00-16:00
• Induction into Presentation Technologies at QMUL
  – Wed. 19th October; 13:00-14:00
• Induction to Q-Review: recording your lecture and getting it online
  – Wed. 26th October; 14:00-16:00
• Induction to Blackboard Webinar (online session)
  – Fri. 28th October; 10:00-11:00

November 2011

• Getting Started with E-Learning
  – Wed. 2nd November; 13:00-15:00
• Introduction to Audience Voting Systems:  “Ask the Audience” Promoting student engagement
  – Thurs. 3rd November;  10:00-12:00
• Introduction to the BOS Online Survey Tool
  – Fri. 4th November; 10:00-12:00
• TurnitinUK & the VLE – plagiarism detection in the VLE
  – Thurs. 10th November; 10:00-12:00
• Quiz Building in Blackboard Webinar (online session)
  – Fri. 11th November; 10:00-11:00
• Getting started with teaching room technologies in QM
  – Wed. 16th November; 13:00-14:30 (location TBD)
• Blackboard: Quiz Building and Exams
  - Wed. 23rd November; 13:00-15:00

December 2011

• Extending Blackboard – Wimba Voice Tools
  - Thurs. 1st December; 10:00-12:00
• Induction to Blackboard, QM’s Virtual Learning Environment
  - Thurs. the 8th December; 10:00-12:00

We can provide bespoke workshops for any of the above, based on your requirements.  Do get in touch with us to discuss any of these.

We also deliver other on-demand sessions, some of which include:

• From Camera to YouTube – putting your videos online
• How to Podcast and get on iTunes
• What can I do with Web 2.0?
• Online Debate: Facilitation and Promotion
• E-Learning consultation session
• Blackboard: Online coursework and feedback

To Register:

Our sessions are free and available to all staff or teaching assistants engaged or interested in E-Learning.

To book a place onto one of our scheduled workshops, please visit the online booking system at: http://www.learninginstitute.qmul.ac.uk/booking

COMING NEXT YEAR

Look out for these new workshops coming in 2012:

• Preparing for the new VLE
• An Introduction to Copyright and IPR for Digital Learning Resources

Photo credit

sean dreilinger on flickr

1. An audio/video recorder – such as a Flip camera (available in the ELU)
2. Editing and Conversion software – such as iMovie and iSquint (available in the ELU) or jaycut.com (available online) *
3. A media host account – such as YouTube or Screencast (available online)
4. A Blackboard course area (available through the ELU) *

* Not required, but helpful

Step 1 – Record your Video

It is easy to record and get video using a Flip camera (which you can borrow from the ELU). The following steps were adapted from the Flip Camera’s website:

1. Turn it on and press the red button to start/stop recording.
2. Record.
3. Connect camera to computer (slide switch on the side of camera to pop the USB connector out). For PC users, navigate to ‘My Computer’; go to FlipVideo Drive, then DCIM folder to get video.

Step 2 – Edit your Video

This step is not required, but helpful.

Using iSquint and iMovie (both available in the E-Learning Studio) you can compress and edit your video. Compressing your video file in iSquint is very easy and makes your video iPod compatible. There are other options for editing videos, such as Jaycut.com which offers free online editing options. (You can read our article about Jaycut here).

1. Open iSquint and simply drag your movie file into the iSquint screen.
2. Click the Start button.
3. Depending on your video size, the conversion should take a few minutes.
4. In the example below, my video file was compressed and went from 54.3MB to 5MB

If you would like to make edits, you can open your video in iMovie (or jaycut.com) where you can remove sections of your video, as well as add text and/or animation.

Step 3 – Share your Video

Next, you will need to have a media hosting account – such as YouTube or Screencast (read our comparison blog here). Screencast allows you to set privacy and authentication rights to your recordings, and decide who you want to share your recordings with.

A basic Screencast account is free (2GB space). £7.50/month or £73.50/year gives 25GB of space.

1. Log into Screencast and click Upload Content (create a free account if you don’t have one)
2. Browse for your video recording and upload into Screencast
3. Once the upload is complete, click the Close button

Your video will be in the My Library root folder (you can move your videos into folders later)

1. Hover your mouse over the video for more options.
2. Click on the Share icon  to see options for how to share your video

You can copy and paste the first link into an e-mail and share with your students or, you can add the link into your Blackboard course.

Step 4 – Embedding your Recording into your Blackboard Course

The following shows a sample recording that was uploaded to Screencast then embedded onto a page within a Blackboard course. Follow these steps:

1. Within Screencast, copy the Embed on your page script (option 3 in image above)
2. Log into your Blackboard course area. From the Build tab, click Add File, then Create File
3. From the Create File page, give the page a Title, then click Enable HTML Creator button
4. Type an introduction, then click the Source View tab (see image below)
5. Paste the script from Screencast (see #1) within the <body> tags, after your introduction

1. Scroll to the bottom of the Create File page, click Save.
2. Click on the Student View tab, and click the File that you just created.
3. The embedded video should display, see an example below.

Here is my embedded video made with the Flip Camera:

The session is aimed at staff who are interested in how they might use the VLE to deliver teaching or training, either as a complement to face-to-face teaching or for distance learning. Topics covered will include:

• What the purpose of a VLE is
• How the particular central VLE at QM works
• The types of tool that are available in the VLE and how they can be used

The session does have an educational focus and is not intended to be an IT training session.

If you’d like to attend, please book yourself on to the session by visiting our online booking system on http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/ or contact the front office of Educational and Staff Development on extension 2800.

If you can’t attend this time, a further session is planned in April.

Photo Credit

Marco Bellucci on Flickr

The Distance and E-Learning Unit are running a short session on the Q-Review system on Tuesday 8th December. This will provide more information about what the system is, how it works and how you can make use of it. For more information and to book a place on the session, please see our course booking system on http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/. If you can’t make it this time but you’re still interested, there are other future sessions planned, again see our online course booking system for more details.

Session details

Date: Tuesday 8th December

Time: 11 – 12

Location: E-learning Studio, Third Floor, Francis Brancroft Building, Mile End Campus

Unfortunately this session has had to be cancelled. A second session is planned for January 2010, please see our online online booking system for more details.

Audience response systems are technologies which allow presenters to rapidly gain input from an audience. These systems usually consist of a special handset given out to audience members which they then use to select responses during the session, the responses are collected via a special receiver and the results can be displayed instantly to the audience. While this type of technology is not new, there has been increased interest in it in Higher Education over recent years and it is now often found to be an integral part of teaching spaces in many institutions.

This session will allow participants to experience using one particular audience response system (TurningPoint), demonstrating the different types of activities that are possible with such systems and how they can be used to increase student engagement. The session will also cover issues such as:

• The logistics involved e.g. how do students get their handsets?
• Integration with the College’s virtual learning environment, Blackboard
• Other emerging technologies such as voting via SMS (texting)

While this session uses a particular audience voting system, it is not intended to be an in depth training session for this product. Rather it is intended to show what can be done with these types of system, to discuss any logistical and pedagogical issues that are raised by their use but most importantly to give participants some real hands on experience in their use.

To book a place on the session, please visit our online course booking system on http://www.esdcourses.org.uk/

A second instance of the session is scheduled for 12th January 2010.

If you are interested in this session but cannot attend on these dates, please contact us on elearning@qmul.ac.uk as it may be possible to organise another date.

Links

Turning Technologies website. The makers of the TurningPoint system

Photo credit

sean dreilinger on flickr

We have just published our new training schedule for the 2009-10 academic year and we have a number of different types of face-to-face sessions available for staff at various levels to learn about the VLE. These are:

• Introduction to QM’s Virtual Learning Environment – aimed at academic staff and teaching assistants just starting out with or interested in using the central VLE
• The College’s VLE for Support Staff – aimed at front line support staff who have to deal with queries about the VLE as part of their job
• VLE Diagnostics Service – one to one sessions for staff who already have a course area on the VLE and would like advice on improving it or taking it further
• TurnitinUK and the VLE – Plagiarism detection in the VLE – aimed at staff who are interested in using an electronic plagiarism detection service through the VLE

For staff new to the VLE who cannot attend a face-to-face session we also have some online resources to get you started.

Introduction to QM’s Virtual Learning Environment

This session is aimed at staff who are just starting out with the VLE or who are perhaps thinking about using it. We examine the purpose of a VLE, the most commonly used tools across QM and look at some educational activities that can be carried out.

The first of these sessions is scheduled for the 23rd of September with further sessions running in October, December, January and April.

It should be noted that these sessions have a largely educational focus and are not intended to be IT training sessions.

The College’s VLE for Support Staff

This session is aimed at staff in academic support who may be expected to make use of the VLE in their jobs. For instance, you may have to answer student queries about the VLE, or set up online assignment submissions or indeed set up whole course areas for academic staff. This session aims to show you how to accomplish these types of task.

The session is intended to be responsive to your particular needs so participants are encouraged to come along with an idea of the types of task they will be expected to carry out with the VLE so those specific needs can be addressed.

The first of these sessions is scheduled for 27th November with a second instance running in April.

VLE Diagnostics Service

The Diagnostics Service is aimed at academic staff who already have course areas on the VLE and who wish to get advice about either making improvements to their course area or in taking their use of the VLE a stage further. These are hour long one-to-one sessions with a member of the Distance and E-Learning Unit. We will look at your course area in advance of the meeting and then will be able to help you with issues such as:

• Improving the look and feel of your course area
• Using new tools
• Strengthening the link between your face to face teaching and your online course area
• Ideas for new activities

We have attempted to provide a wide variety of different time slots for these sessions including late afternoon sessions to provide maximum flexibility for staff. Please check the online course booking system for dates and times available and for further details about how the service works.

TurnitinUK and the VLE – Plagiarism detection in the VLE

TurnitinUK is an electronic plagiarism detection service which the College subscribes to. It is possible to make use of the system through assignment submission through the VLE. This session is for staff who may be interested in using such a service or who are just starting out with the system.

The first of these sessions is scheduled for 9th December with a second instance running in March.

Please note that it is possible to use the TurnitinUK service through a website rather than through the VLE. This session does not cover usage in this way.

Online resources

As well as the face-to face sessions, we do have a number of online resources. In particular, we can give staff access to an online “Getting Started” course on the VLE which takes you through some of the more common tasks. We can also set up a “Test Area” where you can play with the features of the VLE without being in a “live” course area. If you would like either or both of these, please contact us on vle-support@qmul.ac.uk stating whether you want a Getting Started course or a Test Area or both and we will arrange it for you.

Further Information

All of these sessions are bookable through our online course booking system.

Photo Credit

Marco Bellucci on Flickr

Video Assist is an initiative running in the 2009-10 academic year which aims to provide specific project support for projects which involve the creation of new moving image resources. For each project, JISC Digital Media will provide 4 days’ worth per in-depth consultancy support and practical help.

It should be emphasised that this initiative does not provide you with any funding for your project. Nor will it provide you with staff to actually do the work for you. What it provides you with is access to professionals in the area to help guide and advise you through your project. What you should get at the end is a successfully completed project and staff who have the knowledge and skills to take the specific project further or to undertake similar projects.

The initiative has three rounds, the date for submission for round 1 has closed. One of the projects chosen for the scheme involves the creation of video materials for a Masters course and the other the creation of a video introduction to a Learning Resource Centre (Announcement on JISC Digital Media blog).

However the date for submission for round 2 is 20th November 2009 and round 3 is 26th February 2010 so that gives plenty of time to put something together. Further details about how to apply and the criteria that will be used to judge whether a project might be suitable for the initiative can be found on the JISC web site (link below).

Links

JISC Digital Media Video Assist web page

Photo credit

Andyrob – http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=clapperboard&w=21372046%40N00