The information on this page is relevant to tutors teaching online Short Courses. It covers topics such as training guides, resources and FAQs. Anything not found on this page can be located on the general information section of the site.
Online team contacts
Please visit the Contact Us page on this site.
If you have a question or concern regarding online courses please email the Online short Courses Team.
- Online Short Course Manager: Laura Gnata
- Online Short Course Coordinators: Andrew Potts and Philippa Robinson
- Online Short Course Assistants: Jack Stanley, Jessica Nichol and Sara Hibbert
Training guides
Please find an introductory guide to our Shor Courses VLE here
A video with a quick overview can be found at this link
Some ideas on how to design and organise your course can be found at this link
UAL digital teaching and learning resources
We offer digital tools, support, guidance and staff development sessions to support your teaching online and face to face, access them on the UAL site.
FAQs
During the live lesson there will be a moderator in the room to support tutors and students with any technical issues. Please contact your moderator via the Moderators Chat in Blackboard Collaborate if you require assistance. Please note that moderators usually moderate multiple lessons at the same time.
1. What happens if my sound disappears during a lesson?
If your sound disappears during the lessons, please log out and close all the classrooms and log back in.
2. What settings need to be turned on if I want students to draw on the whiteboard?
If you wish to allow students to interact on the white board, click on session settings > participant permissions > enable draw on whiteboard and files setting.
3. How can a student share their screen?
- The student needs to be updated from a participant to a presenter, you can do this by clicking on the ‘…’ icon and clicking ‘make presenter.’
- Once the student is made a presenter, they now have access to share their screen with the rest of the class.
4. What if I am unable to share my screen during a lesson?
- Check the tutor is using Google Chrome and has enabled screen-sharing permissions
- If the tutor is using a Mac, get them to go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > scroll to Screen Recording > [click the lock to make changes if necessary] > tick the relevant apps to ‘allow the apps to record the contents of your screen’ (Google Chrome, Microsoft Teams, etc.)
5. What if I am unable to upload my presentation?
- Check that the file is PDF
- Check that the file is less than 20mb in size
- You may need to compress the pictures of your presentation. (How to Compress Pictures)
- Check that there aren’t too many files already uploaded onto the BB classroom.
6. How do I mute a student?
- To mute a student their mic must be on.
- Then click on the ‘…’ icon next to their name and click on ‘Mute’
- They can turn their microphone back on, so make sure to follow-up with the student to explain why you’ve turned off their mic and ask them to keep it off.
7. How do I remove a student?
- Only remove a student as a last resort.
- To remove a student, click on the ‘…’ icon next to their name and click on ‘Remove from Session’
- Depending upon the circumstance, then send the student a follow up email explaining why they have been removed from the session, offering them help if possible. Once the session has finished, share the recording of the session too if appropriate.
8. How do you add a profile pic to blackboard collaborate?
- For Tutors – To add a profile picture to blackboard Collaborate the tutor needs to update their profile picture on Moodle. To do this, the tutor needs to log in to Moodle > click their name in the top-right of the screen > Click Profile > Click the settings wheel in the top-right > Click Edit Profile > Upload/Edit their picture in the User Picture section.
- For Students – It is rare for students to request to change their profile picture and is not a requirement for them to take the course. Check in the Session settings that ‘Only show moderator profile pictures’ is not ticked.
9. What if I’m unable to teach a scheduled class?
Please refer to the Requesting Changes to Course Dates information