Digital Exams (Summer 2020) – Call for interest
You may be aware of the Digital Examinations and Assessments Project (DEAP) which is currently piloting a solution for computer-based exams at QMUL. A number of pilot exams have already taken place during the past year and the project team is currently seeking participants for the final phase of pilots to take place in the May 2020 examinations.
If you are interested in taking part in this project and setting a digital exam for your students in the summer of 2020, please complete the following form:
https://forms.gle/H2VHoJbTy84afHyd6
If you have any questions about the project, please email digitalexams@qmul.ac.uk.
Blackboard Ally: New tool to enhance your learning materials
QMUL is in the process of procuring a new tool called ‘Blackboard Ally’ which will integrate seamlessly into QMplus and help colleagues in making digital course content accessible to all users. The primary functions of this tool is to provide:
- alternative formats for existing content in order to improve the overall student experience, particularly for students with additional needs or disabilities
- teachers with detailed insight into the issues with their existing teaching materials and guidance on how to improve the accessibility of these materials
- Institution-wide reporting on the accessibility of course content by automatically checking for accessibility issues
We will share more information about this tool in the coming months.
New… Content Creation Tool!
Introduced this month as part of the January Release, we have the newly implemented ‘Content Creation Tool’.
The tool allows users the ability to select pre-defined activities from templates once the content creation block has been added to a course area. To find out more, take a look at the content creation tool guide.
New Members of the E-Learning Unit
It’s all change in the E-Learning Unit at the moment! Stella has begun her maternity leave, so we welcome Evan Dickerson from The Bloomsbury Institute to lead The ELU and replacing Brett as the Senior Learning Technologist (Enhancing Practice), Shoshi Ish-Horowicz joins us from LSE. Our most recent addition is Annette Muhammad, from SEMS, who will be covering Rume Begum’s maternity leave. They all look forward to meeting you all and helping with your E-Learning needs!
Building a virtual classroom
We are aware that the situation with the coronavirus has affected teaching on our various joint programmes in China. For those would would like to conduct webinars, publish recorded lectures and find out how they can interact with their students remotely, we have created the following ‘Building a virtual classroom’ article.
Staff development opportunities in February
Workshops
- Monday, 17th of February, 10:30-12:30 – Getting Started with QMplus – a practical 2 hour session aimed at those new to our online learning environment or anyone who’d like a refresher. (Book Now!)
Spaces on our workshops are limited, go to our course booking system to book yourself a place. Workshops take place in the E-Learning Studio, room 0.09 of the Scape East building.
Drop-in Sessions and Book a Learning Technologist
Drop-in sessions run every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2 pm in the E-Learning Studio on the Mile End campus for any member of staff who needs help with the use of technology in their teaching. There’s no need to book, just turn up on the day and a member of the team will be available to help.
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.
