This is a guide to the learning technology tools that are provided for and supported centrally by the University of Nottingham.
See below for the overview of all technologies.
Training Courses available
Enabling Teaching Online: Training Schedule for staff
Contents
Core technologies
Moodle
Link to log into Moodle: http://moodle.nottingham.ac.uk/
Function
Moodle is an open-source virtual (online) learning environment (VLE). The university has customised Moodle and integrated within it other systems and features (referred to as plugins), such as Turnitin (assignment submission and text-matching tool), ExamSys (e-assessment system) and Xerte Online Toolkits (online learning materials creation), to enhance the teaching and learning experience for both staff and students.
Moodle is used to support blended learning programmes and programmes for distance learners where the online learning spaces are the key resource for learning materials and activities. Moodle is the place for uploading learning materials such as lecture slides, handouts, readings, web links, and audio and embedded video links.
It is also used for submitting assignments and other participatory and collaborative activities for students such as forum discussions, wikis, blogs and databases.
Moodle is also integrated with Campus Solutions ensuring student accounts and module enrolments are created within Moodle 24 hours after their details have been updated in Campus by the School. Staff accounts are at present manually created and we are working towards auto-creating them.
All modules within Moodle should contain the basic essentials laid out in the Moodle Everywhere document.
Help & Support
Moodle Help for staff
Student Moodle Help:
For quick answers to questions and support please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Turnitin
Turnitin is always accessed through Moodle
Function
An online service which enables the text-matching of submitted texts against an extensive library of web pages, journals, periodicals and student essays previously submitted. It is a tool for use in preventing plagiarism. Turnitin produces an originality report which indicates the percentage of text matched, i.e. the percentage that is thought to have been copied as well as the suspected sources. Turnitin is integrated into Moodle. Within Turnitin Assignments you can use the Feedback Studio service for marking online. Documents submitted to Moodle Assignments can also use the Turnitin text matching service, for matching only (marking using the Feedback Studio via a Moodle assignment is unsupported).
Help & Support
There is a list of help documents in Workspace for using Turnitin in Moodle, from creating the assignment submission dropbox to setting up a marking rubric.
Training is provided both in how to set up assignments and how to mark using the online systems including Turnitin. If you have any questions, especially about which type of assignment is appropriate for your needs, and how to set it up, please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Office 365
Link to log into Office365: portal.office.com
Function
Office 365 is a cloud suite of Microsoft applications that enables access to a wide range of communication and collaboration tools, including Teams and OneDrive).
All staff and students have access to Office 365 applications for the duration of their work or studies at the University.
Help & Support
For an overview of the available services, take a look at the comprehensive set of Office365 user guides (UoN login required).
For help with technical issues, including Bookings, Forms, OneNote, OneDrive and so on, the IT Service Desk is the place to go.
For advice specifically on using Office 365 in teaching and learning please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Useful apps include:
- Whiteboard
- Forms
- Sway
- OneNote
- SharePoint
- Bookings
Microsoft Teams
Function
Microsoft Teams enables online conference style meetings that can include live audio and video as well as screen-sharing in real-time with remote participants.
Help & Support
There is an interactive hands on Teams demo from Microsoft.
Using Teams for Teaching Online is a comprehensive support resource that covers creating a Team, deciding the structure, adding your students, setting up and recording meetings and archiving as well as helping you to understand how you can use Teams alongside Moodle to deliver your teaching.
For help with technical issues, the IT Service Desk is the place to go.
For advice specifically on using Microsoft Teams in teaching and learning please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Echo360 Engage
Function
Echo360 Engage records and (optionally) live streams both presentations and audio/video of the presenter. There are built-in activity slides and polling to facilitate active learning, Q and A and a confusion flag for students. The system also provides usage analytics.
The Engage service does not need to be booked. It is available for all staff to use, in all teaching rooms – you simply need to log into Engage by clicking the icon on the computer desktop. You can integrate your lecture recordings with your Moodle modules, or create access links making them private and restricted to university login or open/public access.
You can also make your own recordings away from the teaching room by downloading and installing Universal Capture (Login using your firstname.lastname@nottingham.ac.uk address as the "username"). To record you will need a microphone and/or a webcam correctly set up on your computer.
Help & Support
Moodle moduleIntroduction to Engage for Staff (self-enrol).
Engage SharePoint.
Campus IT support can provide technical support for the Engage service. Find your local team. You can also consult the Digital Drop-In from Learning Technology: Drop-Ins and Virtual Drop-Ins
If you do not have access to Echo360 for a module which you have access to in Moodle:
- Login to the module as an Editing Teacher
- Click on the Echo360 link (it may have a different name) which will send you to the Echo360 system and add you to the equivalent Echo360 section.
Please complete the form on the Self-Service Portal if you do not currently have a folder within Echo360 for your module giving your module (course) ID number (found in your Moodle module > Edit settings) and the title of your module (course).
Everything you need to know about Engage Echo360 includes more resources about Echo360 Engage.
For help with Echo360 links within Moodle please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
ExamSys
Link to log into ExamSys: https://examsys.nottingham.ac.uk/
Note: prior to November 2022 ExamSys was known as Rogo.
Function
Online assessment for informal formative self-assessment quizzes, progress tests and formal summative exams.
What you can do in ExamSys:
- Assessment papers can be created using any combination of 15 question types.
- Reports on student performance can be accessed and exported. These reports are useful when assessing the performance of individual questions. Questions can be corrected or excluded from summative assessment papers post exam if the reports show a problem.
- Questions can be mapped to learning outcomes held in the Curriculum Mapping System (see below under 'Other technologies').
- Each assessment paper has a unique URL which can be used when a link to an assessment is required.
- Your module in ExamSys, once created, automatically links to Campus Solutions to add student enrolments. Links to ExamSys assessments can be added to your Moodle module via the ExamSys activity.
Note: For parent modules in Moodle (e.g. two modules with the same content, with the same assessment) a normal URL resource to the assessment paper must be added within the Moodle module.
Help & Support
ExamSys has a large number of help pages held within the system, accessed from a link from the menu in the top right corner.
ExamSys help is the main source of information.
Students get automatic access to their modules within ExamSys but staff accounts and modules need to be created as required to ensure you have editing access to the correct module.
As it is a high-stakes assessment system, we require that staff attend training in ExamSys.
To request access and a module in ExamSys, or if you have any questions, please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
If you have any questions please contact the IT Service Desk for support:
Link to log into Xerte: https://xerte.nottingham.ac.uk/
Function
With Xerte, staff (and students) can create interactive learning materials that integrate text, images, sound and video. Content is assembled using wizards and templates. Once you have published your Xerte resource, it can be made accessible through a unique URL or embedded within your module in Moodle using the External Tool activity.
Staff do not need to download any programs. Simply log into Xerte.
Help & Support
If you have any questions please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Audience Response Systems
Function
Audience response systems facilitate real time interaction between a presenter and the audience.
There are a number of tools that you can use for this:
Engage activity slides and polling
An audience response system is embedded within the Engage system (View the Xerte resource 'Engaging and Monitoring Students Using Echo360').
Microsoft Forms allows you to quickly and easily create quizzes and polls, including live in Teams meetings. More information about this functionality may be found on the University Office365 SharePoint site.
See also this Video on using MS Forms and Quizzes in Teams meetings
Moodle Choice activity
A Choice activity can be used to ask a single question, as a simple poll. More information about the Choice activity may be found in our Moodle Help page.
Help & Support
If you have any questions about audience response systems, please contact the IT Service Desk for support:
More information in this blog post: Ways to poll your students
Mahara
Link to login to Mahara: http://mahara.nottingham.ac.uk/
Function
Mahara is our e-portfolio management system, used to support personalised and community learning for students and staff. It enables students to compile content from external resources, and build their own personal development plans and reflective pieces, a compulsory feature of Nottingham Advantage Award and other modules and programmes. Mahara is frequently used by Schools and Departments where students complete placements, to enable them to keep track of student progress during their time away from the university. There is also a collaborative feature enabling group interaction with others. Overall, students remain in control of how and with whom they share their information, but for placements they are encouraged to share their ePortfolio with their mentor.
For further information and details on functionality please see the help in Mahara. (All staff and students can log in).
Help & Support
If you have any questions about Mahara, please complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
More information and Help on Mahara
Reading Lists (online)
UK Reading Lists
China Reading Lists
Function
The Talis Aspire Online Reading Lists are managed by the Collections Team in Libraries. Once an academic has created an online reading list, students are provided with direct links to the library catalogue, and information about library availability is provided. It can be made directly accessible to students enrolled on your Moodle module by adding the Reading list (UK) activity. You can create a link to a full reading list or to sections of a reading list as appropriate.
This tool also sends automatic alerts to library staff when you make amendments to your reading list online to ensure the necessary resources are available for students; this is very useful if new resources or more of a particular resource need to be purchased by the University.
Help & Support
Please refer to more information about reading lists to learn how to create an online reading list.
If you would like to know more about online reading lists and access any available help, please contact the reading list support service.
China: Please refer to the support information on UNNC library website
Other technologies
Workspace
Link to log into Workspace: workspace.nottingham.ac.uk
Function
Workspace is an intranet for the University: it’s a collaboration tool, based on a wiki, where you can create and share content with your team. It allows you to publish web pages that you can read and edit online via a web browser. You can create something as simple as text on a page, add images, diagrams, activity streams, videos etc. Workspace puts your content online in a central place where your team can search, edit and discuss it at any time. You might use Workspace to write and discuss meeting notes, project plans, requirements, how-to guides etc. Generally material for students is being moved off Workspace.
Help & Support
Quick guide on how to use Workspace to create content.
Mirroring360
Function
Mirroring360 is a program that allows you to wirelessly share the screen of your personal device with a computer attached to a display screen or projector. This will allow easy sharing of tutor/lecturer and student device screens during classroom teaching or lectures, in group work or in meetings. Using Mirroring360, you can easily share your screen to a computer or laptop, which can then be projected for the whole room to view.
Help & Support
More information about Mirroring360.
Curriculum Mapping System
https://curriculum.nottingham.ac.uk
Function
The Curriculum Mapping System holds Learning Outcomes at different levels and the links between them. For example, you may have module Learning Outcomes that are linked to more detailed Learning Activity Learning Outcomes. Accrediting Body Learning Outcomes can also be added and linked to the Learning Outcomes set for a module, programme or Learning Activity. The Curriculum Mapping System can be linked to ExamSys and Moodle. Reports can be run from the system showing mappings between the different levels of Learning Outcomes.
The uses for this are as follows:
- Giving outcome based feedback in ExamSys to students, particularly in Summative exams
- The use of the Curriculum Map format in Moodle where the module structure is set by the Curriculum Mapping System with the display of relevant Learning Outcomes
- Providing reports to Accrediting Bodies showing where their Learning Outcomes are being covered in the Curriculum
Help & Support
If you have any queries complete the form at selfservice.nottingham.ac.uk or contact your Faculty Learning Technology Consultant or you can speak to one of the team in the virtual Digital Learning Drop-in (Search MS Teams for Digital Learning Drop-in).
Link to the timetabling system: http://timetabling.nottingham.ac.uk
Function
You will find web timetables for courses, modules, departments and rooms for academic sessions on the online timetabling system. Personal timetables can be accessed via MyTimetable.
myCAL is the term used for the UoN personal timetable solution for mobile devices.
Help & Support
SharePoint RAA Timetabling Support pages.
Support for online timetabling is provided by IT Service Desk and Campus IT Support
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