Dear colleague,

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Event – Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning

E-Learning Unit is running an event on ‘Mobile Technology in Teaching and Learning’ on Thursday 3rd April. This event is beneficial to everybody who is involved in either teaching or managing E-learning activities within their school/faculty/institute. Apart from discussing introductory concepts such as what is Mobile Learning and why doing it we are also inviting some speakers from a variety of mobile initiatives such as  –

• Use of mobile app in Dentistry for teaching and assessment
• Turnitin iPad app for assessment
• SBCS who are giving all their first year chemistry students Samsung galaxy note tablets

There will be a panel discussion at the end of the presentations where users will have opportunity to ask their questions. Please note that this is not the final programme, some other topics will be added and some may be removed. For more information about the event look on the ELU website.

Event Details

• Date  – Thursday 3rd April
• Time – 10:00 – 12:00
• Venue – Arts One Lecture Theatre. Lunch will be provided at 12:00 in Arts One Foyer. Please fill out the Eventbrite form.

 

Enhancements to Mahara – Groups & Portfolios

In the second year of QMplus there has been a lot of new uses of Mahara ( Groups & Portfolios) both to assist in groupwork activities and to encourage the development of online portfolios.  In the next few weeks we are updating the software from version 1.5 to verion 1.7 and in this short article you can explore some of the enhancements we expect to see.

 

QMplus Upgrade in Summer

The QMplus Online Learning Environment is fundamental to teaching and learning at QML. Thus it is important that we constantly fix the issues and regularly update the underlying software. This summer we will be upgrading QMplus to Moodle 2.6. This will not only add some interesting new features but also enhance some of the existing activities. Please go to our website to find out the activities and road map –

§  What are we going to do and when?

§  How will it affect you and where to direct your questions?

§  How we ensure that you continue to use the system uninterruptedly?

 

QMplus Survey for Staff and Students

As you know last year we carried out a survey to find out about who uses QMplus, how they found using the new system and how they would like to see it being used in the future. We then analysed the data and and published all findings in a short report which is available to all students and staff at Queen Mary.

As this is the first year that QMplus has been used across the whole of Queen Mary to support blended and distance teaching, the E-learning unit is going to run its second survey for students and its first for all staff who are using the system. We will keep you posted on the status of this survey by regularly updating this page.

 

Students as Producers Project

The Students as Producers project is funded through the Westfield Fund for Enhancing the Student Experience, supports students in creating module focused learning resources. The aim is to create revision materials that demystify areas of the curriculum identified by the academic that many students find difficult. Students, drawing from their own experiences to produce a resource on a topic that they themselves may have initially found challenging, using their their own words and their own technologies they are able to communicate to peers and create a resource by ‘students for students’.  As an added benefit, students have said that the process of participating in the project has consolidated their own learning. Typically resources are distributed via QMplus. More information is available at: http://www.learningdevelopment.qmul.ac.uk/resources/bystudents.

To discuss a potential project contact Tim Morgan – t.morgan@qmul.ac.uk

 

Upcoming E-Learning Courses

There are plenty of opportunities for new starters as well as a wider programme of training for those keen to enhance their teaching with technology. You’ll be able to see the full list of courses we’re offering during 2013/14 by visiting QML’s  Course Bookings site and selecting the date range that you are interested in, so you can start planning your professional development.

Over the next month, the e-learning unit has the following opportunities for you to develop your skills in e-learning. What would you like to learn more about? If you don’t see a course listed that covers what you want to know, click here and leave a comment at the end of the page or email: elearning@qmul.ac.uk.

• DELUOLE16 – Getting Started With QMplus
• DELUOLE15 – QMplus for Support Staff
• DELUOLE21 – Working with the Gradebook in QMplus

Click on the titles above to see more about a specific course.

 

Learning Technologist Meetings

The Learning Technologist Group is for Queen Mary staff whose work centres on using technology to enhance learning. The group enables them to share information, ideas and good practice between all schools and departments of the college. These meetings are relevant to everybody who is involved in managing E-learning activities within their school/faculty/institute. We rely upon input from these people to ensure that the services we run fit the needs of users across the college. These meetings will take place in CAPD (and uses a networking group on QMplus Groups and Portfolios to communicate between meetings) at 11:00 AM in the E-Learning Studio on the first Thursdays of every month starting  March 6th.