Disruptions to services
We wish to apologise for the disruption that some of you experienced with Blackboard Collaborate and QMplus Media (Kaltura) during the week of the 18th of January. We worked with both external vendors and IT Services to resolve the issues as quickly as possible and service has been restored without further issues.
The Blackboard Collaborate issue was experienced where an older version of the plugin was used, some recordings were unavailable. This was corrected by an update to the old plugin. The QMplus Media issues experienced were as a result of expired certificates – a Major Incident was declared and a full report is being written accordingly.
QMplus was also affected by a network fault on 28 and 29 January which impacted many Queen Mary services, including the IT Helpdesk. IT Services engineers worked hard to restore services and updates are available on the IT Status page.
Analytics on student engagement
Would you like to know:
- Which students are engaging or not engaging with your module?
- How students are interacting with activities and learning materials?
- Which are the most and least used resources and activities within your QMplus module?
Read more to find out how.
Live streaming in Q-Review venues
Over the past few months, Campus Customer Support in IT Services have had the opportunity to replace all of the older Q-Review appliances, either with new versions or software-based solutions, plus equip several new rooms. It is now possible to live stream teaching in 100 of the 113 Q-Review enabled venues, plus the Universal Capture download for devices allows you to live stream in any other space – whether that be from home or your office. Read more, to find out where Q-Review is installed and how you can use it.
Remote proctoring – E-Learning Reading Group discussion
The London E-Learning Reading Group met at the start of January for a discussion surrounding remote proctoring, sometimes referred to as ‘Robo Invigilation’. Centred around a white paper exploring the topic, the group discussed attitudes towards remote proctoring, the issue of academic integrity and trust, the idea of assessment redesign and more. You can read more about the discussion here and find a link to the white paper.
Featured tool – QMplus Media playlists 
Creating video playlists is both easy to do and effective in improving student engagement. If you have complex material which needs breaking up into a series of shorter recordings, or you simply wish to group together related learning content, playlists are a great way to boost playback rates and improve navigation. Take a look at our video on QMplus Media playlists to find out how you can create them for yourself and share them with your students.
Staff development opportunities in February
Analytics on student engagement:
- Monday 22 February, 11am-12 noon
- Wednesday 10 February, 10-11am
Running webinars with Blackboard Collaborate:
- Tuesday 9 February, 10-11am
- Thursday 25 February, 2-3pm
Advanced Blackboard Collaborate:
- Wednesday 17 February, 11am-12 noon
Online grading and feedback with the QMplus assignment:
- Thursday 4 February, 2-3pm
- Tuesday 16 February, 3-4pm
- Wednesday 24 February, 10-11am
Please register attendance via the CPD website. We have also developed some self-directed online courses (e.g. Getting Started with QMplus and other topics) which you can go through at your own pace and time.
Drop-in Sessions and Book a Learning Technologist
Drop-in sessions are held online every Tuesday and Thursday from 1-2pm. There’s no need to tell us you’re coming; just drop-in via the Blackboard Collaborate webinar link on our E-Learning Online Support area on QMplus.
Please access the BALT QMplus page to book a session of up to an hour to discuss your e-learning ideas and issues with one of our learning technologists.
What are you asking the Helpdesk?
The top queries in January were related to: providing feedback, improving navigation and providing access to QMplus course areas. Read more in our common support questions article.
