The Digital Teaching Environment

This course provides a practical introduction to Blackboard Collaborate Ultra virtual meeting and classroom software. 

The course is aimed at staff who will be running Collaborate sessions. It is intended to complement the "Using Collaborate in Learn" course - we will spend more time looking at the tools, demonstrate creating a session in MyEd, and attendees will be able to practice sharing content in breakout groups. 

Learning outcomes:

• Introduction to roles in Collaborate

• How to set up a Collaborate session in MyEd

• Overview of communication tools

• Sharing content, including slides and polls

• Setting up breakout groups

• Hands-on practice sharing content in breakout groups

• Tips for running a session

We currently recommend that you sign up for the Learn Ultra: 10 Things to get Started in  Learn Ultra Training which will also cover the outcomes listed below.

Learning outcomes:

• Use Student Preview
• Understand the course menu structure
• Create a document
• Understand the content editor
• Add hyperlinks to a course
• Upload a file to Learn
• Copy items from other courses
• Move items within a course
• Add folders
• Use release conditions
• Add content from media hopper
• Add a link to lecture recordings
• Create announcements
• Create a learning module
• Set up forced sequencing

This course will be available shortly. In the meantime, we recommend that you sign up for Learn: Getting started with Learn Ultra (self-paced)

Event Description: 

Learn is the University’s virtual learning environment. This session will cover the topics below and give you the opportunity to ask questions about them. The session will last for 1 hour, including time set aside for a Q&A. 

Learning Outcomes: 

By the end of the course you will have learned how to: 

• Navigate UBN 

• Change courses view 

• Search/filter courses 

• Favourite courses 

• Edit profile page 

• Change notification schedule 

• Customise activity stream 

• Change calendar views 

• Add events to calendar 

• Navigate Marks area 

• Send a message 

Collaborate is the University’s virtual classroom, and the supported tool of choice ​​​​​​for synchronous online classroom sessions. This session is for anyone who will be teaching ​​​​​or hosting Collaborate sessions within the University’s VLE Blackboard Learn.  

Learning Outcomes:

• Requirements for using Collaborate
• Set up Collaborate within Blackboard Learn
• Giving students access to Collaborate through Learn
• How to record a session, upload slides, and manage students
• Tips for running a session

Book on to a training course: Staff Collaborate information                                                                               

The University has added an integration for Zoom into Learn which will be available from August for all Staff and Students via Learn courses.

This training will cover how to use this integration to add a Zoom session to your course and highlight the teaching tools available in Zoom.

Learning Outcomes:

• How to access Zoom in Learn

• Security for sessions

• Useful settings in ed-ac-uk.zoom.us

• Scheduling a call

• Hosting and participating in calls

• How to use Zooms teaching tools

If you’re new to Creative Commons licences or simply need a quick refresher, this Quick Start 30 minute information session will provide a brief introduction to Creative Commons, covering all the main licence types, and show you how to quickly and easily apply CC licences to content in Learn, Media Hopper Create and blogs.

This session will introduce participants to:

• The key concepts of copyright, licensing and the public domain.
• The benefits and affordances of open licensing.
• The different Creative Commons licences and how they can be used.
• How to attribute open licensed content.
• How to add a licence to your own resources on:
  • Learn
  • Media Hopper Create
  • Blogs.ed.ac.uk
  • PowerPoint.

Open Educational Resources: Copyright and licensing for hybrid teaching

Building upon the introductory ‘Building blocks of UK copyright and exceptions’ this information session provides teaching staff with guidance on how to use copyright and licensed materials in the core toolset to support in-person, online, and hybrid teaching.

This session is provided by Stephanie (Charlie) Farley, our Open Educational Resources (OER) Advisor for Educational Design and Engagement.

Learning Outcomes: 

• Authenticated vs. Public teaching spaces 

• Licences in Higher Educations 

• Subscriptions, databases, and services 

• Open Educational Resources and materials 

• Attribution of materials 

• Finding useful materials 

OER: Building blocks of UK copyright and exceptions

Copyright and licensing awareness is essential in enabling the provision of teaching (in person, online, or hybrid), research, and information services in compliance with the law and open educational practices. 

This session will be run by Stephanie (Charlie) Farley. Charlie is our Open Educational Resources (OER) Advisor for Educational Design and Engagement. She provides the OER service and the Open.Ed website. 

Learning Outcomes:

• Components and duration of UK copyright law 

• Public domain  

• UK copyright exceptions related to teaching & research 

• Licences and how they allow specific re-use of copyright protected works 

• Copyright risk assessment 

Book on to a training course: StaffBook on to a training course: Students    *New dates to be scheduled shortly, in the meantime please contact the OER Service for advice and guidance on OER, copyright and open licensing.                                                                                                                                                                         

Wooclap: In-Class Polling for Student Interaction and Engagement

This session will look at some techniques and functionality of in-class polling systems that can help engage your students with your teaching and course material. We will look at different question types, in-built functionality, and common techniques for encouraging peer and class discussion. 

For any practical demonstrations, we will use the centrally supported system, Wooclap. However, the functionality and techniques described are common to other polling systems or are not system dependent. 

In this session we will cover:

• Making the most of question types
• Advanced functionality
• Alternative approaches and activities
• Sourcing questions

Wooclap: Wooclap Orientation

Wooclap is the University's new, centrally supported electronic voting system (EVS) that is replacing Top Hat in AY 2023-24. An EVS allows lecturers to add question and answer activities to lecture sessions to support interactivity and engagement with large groups. This session introduces you to Wooclap and shows you the basics of creating an event and then presenting it to an audience. You will also experience using the system as a participant during a live demo.

The session is intended for experienced users of EVS looking to get up to speed quickly with Wooclap.

​​​​​Novice users of EVS should consider enrolling on the Wooclap: Introduction to Wooclap  instead. 

This session is no longer being offered.

Slides highlighting the topics covered, with notes, are available from the Digital Skills Documents Catalogue:

Wooclap Orientation                                                                                         

Bespoke sessions can be run locally on request to IS Helpline.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Learning Outcomes:

• create and organise events
• add questions, slides and presentations to an event
• present an event to an audience
• gather and display audience responses

Note: Both online and on campus sessions will be offered. Please ensure that you choose the correct type of session.

Wooclap: Introduction to Wooclap

Wooclap is an electronic voting system that allows lecturers to add question and answer activities to lecture sessions to support interactivity and engagement with large groups.

This course introduces you to electronic voting systems in general and Wooclap in particular and shows you how to use the basic features such as creating an event and adding questions to it. In addition, you will learn how to schedule out-of-class activities for your students. You will also experience using the system as a participant during a live demo.                                             

The session is intended for novice users of EVS looking to learn more about electronic voting systems and Wooclap.

Experienced users of EVS should consider enrolling on the Wooclap Orientation course instead.

Learning Outcomes:

• create events, folders and questions
• organise content within the system
• share an event - as a copy and as a collaboration
• choose different content delivery options – synchronous and asynchronous
• gather and display audience responses