It is recommended that you familiarise yourself with everything on these pages within the first three months of starting at USW. However, if you have only just started at USW and have immediate teaching commitments there are a few key things that can help you get started with the very basics outlined below.
Blackboard is our main virtual learning environment (VLE) at USW. Each module and course has its own Blackboard area where you can provide content, information, activities, assessments and feedback for your students as necessary. You will need to ensure you can see the modules and courses that you are expected to teach and/or mark assignments. To do this, log in to Blackboard. You should be able to see a list of the modules and courses that you are enrolled on under the ‘My Modules’ and ‘My Organisations’ tab. If you don’t appear to have access to the modules you are expecting to see, please contact the module/course leader so that they can add you as soon as possible.
If you have immediate teaching commitments once you have started at USW, there are several things you will need to know, these have been summarised below.
You must provide a minimum amount of content and support for each module and course via Blackboard, this minimum is set out in the VLE Baseline Requirements. There is Blackboard guidance available to help you get started with adding content to your modules.
You can record in-person and online sessions using Panopto or MS teams. Further information about recording sessions is available in the ‘recording teaching’ section.
If you are delivering teaching online, you can use Blackboard Collaborate or MS Teams. Clear technical guidance on how to access collaborate/teams for students is available on the IT services website, and you will need to remind learners when sessions are being recorded.
You may find within your first couple of weeks that you are asked to mark assignments, even if you haven’t started teaching yet. There are several different assignment tools that can be used to allow students to submit work online, you will need to check with the module leader which assignment tool has been used so that you can follow the relevant marking guidance. You can find more information about accessing and marking student submissions on the CELT website.
Contact the Digitally Enabled Education (DEE) team using their shared mailbox to see if they are available, please note that they will not be available outside normal office hours. For technical support, you can log a call on the IT helpdesk. Don’t forget to ask your colleagues who will be more familiar with the tools and systems for help and advice.
Please contact the Digitally Enabled Education (DEE) team should you need any further support with the above or have any questions about technology for teaching, learning and assessment. The team can provide guidance about how technology can be used to enhance and support learning and teaching in various ways such as designing your module on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), how to deliver inclusive digital assignments and activities online, encouraging active learning among students, polling tools, classroom technologies, recording lectures or online resources, and more.
A list of useful links and resources that have been referenced on this page has been provided below for ease of access.