Blended learning using the ABC approach
The E-Learning Unit is piloting an approach to assist you in the process of designing or redesigning your new and existing modules. Designed by UCL Academic Development staff to support their most recent Teaching and Learning strategy, the ‘ABC Curriculum Design’ approach has been adopted by many universities as a method to design or update modules which are modern and innovative by design. The approach uses an innovative, rapid design approach which focuses on student activity and has been proven to be an effective methodology for blended course design. You can read more about the ‘ABC’ approach and its application in Higher Education here.
The approach comprises attending a 90 minute workshop in which course content is ‘storyboarded’ to sequence blended content and learning activities relative to the course’s learning outcomes. Once module design work is done, we will provide you with funding for an E-Learning Assistant to help you in constructing learning content required to deliver your teaching, assessment and evaluation for the 2019/20 academic year. We hope that this new initiative will support staff to try out some new ideas and modes of delivery in their teaching which they may not have had the time, know-how or resources to do before. Please get in touch with us to express your interest or for further information.
Q-Review Tracking Cameras – Fogg LT & Engineering 3.25
After receiving feedback from academics and students, we are installing tracking cameras for Q-Review in the Fogg LT and Engineering 3.25 so that blackboard and whiteboard content can be recorded. Through the use of PTZ cameras triggered by pressure mats along the front of the venues, this pilot will allow lecturers the ability to present more dynamically whilst their content is recorded by Q-Review and maintain the ability to creating lecture notes to upload to QMplus. To find out more or to be part of the pilot, click here.
Bringing Virtual Patients to Life
Virtual patients are a form of e-learning that uses interactive computer simulations that mimic real life clinical scenarios for the purpose of healthcare education. QMUL has a virtual hospital which can be found on QMplus. A virtual genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic was developed, using Articulate Storyline 2, and has been uploaded to this virtual hospital.
The E-learning Unit funded a project led by Dr Lauren Goundry which would enhance the virtual GUM clinic by replacing the illustrated characters currently used with photographic characters, in order to improve the realism of these exercises and bring the virtual patients to life. To read more about this, click here.
SMD E-Learning Showcase
On the 12th of September, the School of Medicine and Dentistry E-Learning User Group will be holding an E-Learning Showcase and invite anyone who is interested to attend. This will be held in the Old Library in the Garrod Building at the Whitechapel campus, running from 10am until 1pm. The showcase will feature brief presentations from staff who have used technology in their teaching practice and parallel workshop sessions to learn more about different types of teaching technology. To find out more about the schedule for this event, please click here.
Orphans going stealth mode
The 4th September release of QMplus is now upon us. We have managed to complete most of the planned work and correct the majority of known errors.
As you prepare courses for the new academic year, you may want to cast your mind back to the new features that came with the July 2018 upgrade. How about using the ‘Grade By’ feature to improve the timeliness of grading and feedback. You might also want to restrict the formats that students submit assignments in. Or you might want to improve the student experience by adding the Accessibility Block to your course.
For those who have been using orphaned sections in previous versions of QMPlus, you may find it helpful to read about how we are managing the transition from orphans to Stealth mode.
Staff development opportunities in September
Workshops
In September we are running the following workshops:
- ELU001 – Getting Started with QMPlus – Thursday 13th September – 2-4pm – E-Learning Studio, Scape Building, Mile End Campus.
- ELU001 – Getting Started with QMPlus – Wednesday 26th September – 1-3pm – Room TBC, Whitechapel Campus.
Please see our online booking system for more information about the sessions we run and to book yourself a place. If this system is not working, please email elearning@qmul.ac.uk with the title and date of the workshop you would like to attend.
Drop-ins and Book a Learning Technologist service
Our staff drop-in sessions will be running as per usual every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2pm on the Mile End campus for any member of staff who needs help with their use of technology in their teaching. We will also be holding an extended series of daily drop-ins for Week 0 of Semester A (17th – 21st September) between 1 -2pm, so please do not hesitate to come and see us if you need assistance with anything before teaching.
If you’d like to discuss something in more detail, appointments are available through our Book a Learning Technologist service. Book a one hour appointment with a member of the team to discuss your use of technology in more detail.
What are our users asking via The Helpdesk?
We’ve picked out a few of the most frequently asked questions for April, updated our guidance material and have a couple of tips for you. Click here to learn about how to make sure Q-Review recordings are accessible in the new academic year and view other common issues raised this month.
