As this is the first TEL email from the Faculty TEL Team in 2019, we would like to wish you all a wonderful and positive New Year!

This week we have a number of institutional TEL updates (some of which are biggies) that we would like to pass on. These include an upcoming E-Learning Forum, alongside significant updates to Meetoo (LJMU’s mobile response system), Panopto and Canvas. Full details after the jump:

E-Learning Forum

The University’s e-learning forum is always a great opportunity to catch up with others across the University who are interested in enhancing learning through technology. As a forum I have always found it genuinely supportive and it consistently offers insight into all kinds of TEL approaches and practices. More information is available here, a light lunch will also be provided and you can book your place via EAQS@ljmu.ac.uk

Meetoo

Meetoo has had a significant interface update so that it is now far easier for colleagues to review comments, check questions and release surveys from a mobile device (whether phone or tablet). This should be invaluable with regards to session management.

Last year Jim Turner also asked existing Meetoo users to share their experiences and ways of using this tool in class. Jim has kindly put together a summary of these responses which makes interesting reading whether you are an existing user or someone considering using Meetoo for the first time. If you want even more ideas, some old, but still relevant suggestions on using mobile response systems are also available here.

Panopto

The Panopto interface has also been improved over the winter break with some slight tweaks to functionality. The company has also recognised that upload speeds are not currently good enough, especially when factoring in back to back teaching, and therefore has stated they intend to double upload speeds this semester.

The practice of allowing students to create Panopto recordings and submit them also seems to be growing in popularity. Up to date and comprehensive instructions for both staff and students using this function are now available here. 

Canvas

Perhaps the biggest Canvas news, for our Faculty, is the introduction of the new Private Course Journals tool. Many colleagues used Blackboard Journals for both formative and summative reflective assessments previously and the new journal tool in Canvas provides us with similar functionality. You can read more here.

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