Welcome to the May edition of the TELT Newsletter. Put aside one of the wettest springs on record and find out about all the interesting news we have for you from the TELT.

Important dates this summer

Just a reminder of two important dates in July which will affect QMplus and QMplus Hub.

• Tuesday July 16th – QMplus and QMplus Hub will be upgraded.
• Tuesday July 30th – QMplus infrastructure update.

On both of these days, QMplus and QMplus Hub will be unavailable for the whole day. The QMplus archive sites are unaffected and will still be available, including the new 2023/24 site.

We appreciate that there is no good time for our teaching and learning systems to be offline but this work is necessary to ensure that QMplus continues to meet the demands of the university. We thank you for your patience while we carry out this work.

Please visit our 2024 QMplus Upgrade page for more details.

We are recruiting a Learning Technology Officer

The Technology Enhanced Learning Team at Queen Mary University of London is seeking to appoint a Learning Technology Officer. The post is full time and permanent and the starting salary will be in the range of
£38,165 – £44,722 per annum (Grade 4).

The closing date for applications is currently: Sunday, 2nd June 2024.

For more information, please visit our website, or visit the QMUL jobs website.

QMplus upgrade – Improvements for editing

This year’s upgrade will not bring major changes to the look and feel of QMplus. There are some smaller changes which we hope will make using QMplus easier. Some of these changes relate to editing QMplus areas and include:

• Add resources and activities anywhere on your module page. No more adding an item at the bottom of a topic and then moving it to where you want it.
• Easily access and update common settings on existing items on your module page without having to go to the full settings page.
• Make edits in bulk with the new bulk editing mode and updated “Mass Actions” block.

See our full QMplus Upgrade – Improvements for editing article for more details.

Mentimeter news

Want to keep up to date with new Mentimeter developments, especially at the moment with the new AI tools that are currently being added? If you would like to, it is worth signing up to the live monthly update webinars in which tips, tricks and latest developments are presented. Simply register to be included and you can attend or a recording will be made available to you anyway even if you can’t make it.
Head to their webinar page and select monthly product updates. https://www.mentimeter.com/webinars

In the meantime, there is news of a new AI lesson presentation planning tool for you to make the most of. From your Mentimeter home page choose ‘Start with AI (Beta)’. Give the tool a short description of the sort of quiz or presentation that you’d like to create and it will create first draft for you. There is a demonstration of the tool here: The new AI Mentibuilder

Teaching with augmented reality

Ben Audsley and his team at the Institute of Dentistry are running a project that explores the use of augmented reality in teaching using an app called TINALP. With the help of TELT, Ben took his proposal to the Ideas Forum, which approved funding for a 1-year pilot of the application. Ben’s team are now working on integrating TINALP into various teaching activities. We interviewed Ben to find out more for our newsletter readers who might be interested in this innovative use of technology.

Read more here…

Spring clean your QMplus area with this handy checklist!

Yes it is that time again when the sun begins to rise early (maybe!), the washing can go outside, the blossoms and flowers start blooming…and your QMplus module area starts to look…well…perhaps slows down or looks a bit tired…

Find the checklist here.

 

Don’t Forget to Sign Up for the 2024 Community of Practice Event

 

There is still time to register for the 2024 Community of Practice event. Our Interaction Zones will be covering QMplus, H5P, Mentimeter, Linkedin Learning, Reading Lists Online and much more. Come along and enjoy afternoon refreshments whilst networking with colleagues.

FAQs

Q1: A student reports they have completed a course on QMplus but the module is not showing as 100% complete.
A: This course being influenced by ‘hidden’ activities which students are not able to access that previously were expected to go towards the final course completion. The course is still considering them as part of the whole despite them being hidden. The module convenors will need to remove the hidden sections for students to achieve the 100% completion.

Q2: I do not have a Moodle account on the CPD training site, who can help?
A: Please raise an ITS Helpdesk ticket on its-helpdesk@qmul.ac.uk for the attention of HR Systems.

Q3: A student cannot log into QM’s Canvas VLE, where can they get support?
A: Canvas is the VLE used by students studying with Queen Mary Online. The platform is managed by the Cambridge Education Group (CEG). For any issues relating to this platform please contact the ITS Helpdesk on its-helpdesk@qmul.ac.uk

Find more information on Canvas here.

Let’s Meet… Meher !

 

This month we got to know Meher Khan a bit better – the E-resources Officer at the Institute of Dentistry. Find out more in Meher’s Let’s Meet article.

 

Upcoming TELT Workshops and Sessions (May 24 edition)

We are happy to share details of a number of brand-new TELT training workshops/sessions.

Please consider booking on to one or pass details on to fellow staff who may be interested.

Details of the workshops here.