• Overview
  ...a rough guide to e-learning, for staff
• News and Updates

• Using the Course Materials Repository
• Using Online Coursework Submission
• Using the Plagiarism Detection Service
• Using Moodle
• Using WebCT
• Using Perception
• Using a Personal Response System

• SENDA
• Supporting Online Learning
• IPR and Copyright Guidance
• E-Learning Network (Mailing List)
• Training
• Learning and Teaching

ELeN Newsletter: June 2008

Welcome to the second edition of the ELeN Newsletter!

LTT News

Moodle News

(1) Moodle Upgrade (1.8 to 1.9)
We are planning to upgrade Moodle over the summer which will involve taking Moodle out of action for a duration (yet to be specified) on or around the 11th August 2008. Users will be notified of more details nearer the time.

(2) Introduction to Moodle Training Courses
We are pleased to announce the next provisional dates for the introductory course on Moodle:

• Thursday 12th June, 2.30pm - 5.00pm
• Tuesday 24th June, 10am - 12.30pm

If you are interested in attending any of the training sessions above, please contact us (ltt@essex.ac.uk) and we will add you to the participant list. We do need to know who you are beforehand! Please also note that sessions will only run if there are at least 5 attendees.

(3) New Moodle Features
We have recently added some new features to Moodle:

1. Feedback Activity - this allows you to create and conduct surveys to collect feedback from students. Unlike the Survey tool, it allows you to write your own questions, rather than choose from a list of pre-written survey instruments.
2. Quickmail Block - this adds a link to a tool that has a checkbox list of all students in the course, and a mail composition text area. You can check the students you like, and email those and only those.
3. Scientific Calculator Block - this adds a link to a scientific calculator that appears in a separate window.

Smart Guide to E-Learning

The LTT has been assisting the Learning and Teaching Unit (LTU) in creating a "Smart Guide to E-Learning". This will provide staff with some basic information and ideas about how to use the learning technologies that are supported by the university. The booklet should be available sometime in July.

WebCT Retirement - Reminder

Please remember that support for WebCT will cease as of October 2008. We have recently contacted all members of staff who still have an active course in WebCT. If you have not heard from us and wish to discuss what to do with your WebCT course(s), please contact us (ltt@essex.ac.uk) as soon as possible.

WSU RIP, Long Live WaLT, WDT and LTT

The Web Support Unit has been renamed and reorganised to reflect its growing remit. The Unit is now called Web and Learning Technology, and is managed by Keith Brooke with the able assistance of Project Manager Debbie Nicholson.

Within WaLT, the Web Development Team looks after web support, design and development, and the Learning Technology Team is responsible for support and developments in the University's learning technology systems. More details are available at http://www.essex.ac.uk/wag/walt.

Amanda is leaving!

At the end of this month, we will be bidding farewell to one of our Learning Technologists, Amanda Hayler, who is leaving the unit to pursue leisurely interests. Amanda only joined us last July, but in a very short space of time she has made herself an integral part of the Learning Technology Team. We will be sad to see her go, but wish her all the best.

Jobs of the Month

As this academic year draws to an end, this is a good time to start thinking about preparations for the new academic year!

End of Year Procedure for the CMR

This essentially involves some housekeeping:

• If you are uploading totally new course material for the new academic year, it is a good idea to download the old material and save it to your local machine (or departmental drive) before deleting it - you may need it at a later date.
• Make sure that all references to the previous academic year (2007-8) in documents and on web pages are changed to the new academic year (2008-9).
• If you are publishing web pages to the CMR, make sure that all your web links are working (internal and external ones).
• If you are teaching a different module for 2008-9 and wish to use the CMR, make sure that you have editing access. If you don't have access, contact us (ltt@essex.ac.uk) with the details (module code, your name and your Essex username).

End of Year Procedure for Moodle

We will be sending out an "End of Year Procedure" guide for Moodle in mid-June to all Moodle teachers (as well as making it available on the ELeN web site). This guide will run through the process of saving a back-up of your Moodle course(s) to your local machine, and then how to reset your course(s) so that it will be free of old user data (such as course logs, discussion posts, quiz attempts, groups, etc). Resetting a Moodle course means that you are able to use the course for the new academic year with all your resources and activities intact, but without user data from the previous year.

Handy Hints: Copyright & E-Learning

All information recorded in an electronic/digital format, including CD-ROMs, online databases, floppy disks, computer programs, web pages etc. is protected by copyright. Although information from the Internet may be free to access, it does not follow that the material is copyright free. Before using a digital resource, make sure it is either copyright free or copyright cleared and, if the latter, check the licensing agreement to see how you are permitted to use it. Do not assume that because you can photocopy a resource you can also scan it or use it in the CMR, your Moodle course or on your web site.

• General advice on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Copyright: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ipr/
• Copyright issues and restricting access to online resources: http://courses.essex.ac.uk/about/restricted/restrictingaccess.aspx
• Scanning of copyright material for use in courses: http://www.essex.ac.uk/ipr/cla_digitisation.aspx

Elsewhere on the Web

Some useful sites for you:

• Association for Learning Technology (ALT)
  http://www.alt.ac.uk/
  A professional and scholarly association which seeks to bring together all those with an interest in the use of learning technology (academics and support staff). Their annual conference (ALT-C 2008: Rethinking the digital divide) is being held at the University of Leeds, on 9-11 September 2008.
• E-learning Starter Guides from the Higher Education Academy
  http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/SNAS/snas_266
  A series of 8 brief guides addressing issues for new lecturers how to use existing tools within their roles: using the WWW in Learning and Teaching, Virtual Learning Environments, Computer-mediated Conferencing, using Computer Aided Assessment to support student learning, Streaming Audio and Video for Course Design, Evaluating Learning Technology Resources, Integrating online learning into your course, Approaches to evaluating the effect of ICT on student learning.

And one for fun...

• Where Do You Fit?
  http://www.pewinternet.org/quiz/quiz.asp
  Try out this quiz to find out what typology group you belong to.