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Distance Teaching Resources for Staff

Students on the steps of the Information Services Building

The Distance Learning Office provides support for staff through the following:

Professional Development

Distance Education Community Network

Resources

Note: The Directory and Guide are also available in hard copy from the Distance Learning Office

Background Information

These additional background notes may also be of interest to distance education staff:

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Distance Teaching Meetings

Commencing in 2012, meetings for teaching staff will be held four times a year to hear about and discuss initiatives and innovations in distance education. Meetings run for 50 minutes and will be held at 1pm on the following Wednesdays:

  • 28 March
  •  6 June
  •  8 August
  • 17 October

Mark these dates in your diary now. Further details will be advised via our database. Northern campus staff will be able to join via Otago Connect web conference.

Biennial Symposium

The biennial symposium is an opportunity for distance educators to network and share practices and will include workshops & guest speakers.

This all day symposium was last held in Dunedin on Friday 25th November 2011. Videos of a selection of presentations are available on Unitube

Distance Learning Forum

Distance education administrators meet five times a year to discuss matters of interest.

Meetings are held on Thursdays at 1pm in the ISB Audioconference Room in the ISB building, (corner Albany & Cumberland streets), unless notified otherwise.

Staff from our northern campuses are able to join in via web or audioconference.

This one hour meeting consists of short presentations from ITS, the Distance Library Service, Admissions & Enrolment, Student Administration and Network;
followed by a topic for discussion. Previous  topics have covered: Proposed developments for 2010, Marketing your Distance Programme, the new Library Distance Service, Supporting distance students, and Student access to new technologies.

Meeting Dates for 2012

  • 15 March
  • 17 May
  • 19 July
  • 20 September
  • 15 November

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Distance Learning Advisory Board

At a strategic level, the distance learning community at Otago is represented on the Distance Learning Advisory Board. Meeting four times a year, the Board is comprised of representatives from each of the Divisions and is convened by the Deputy Vice Chancellor. Visit the Otago University website for the full membership, meeting dates and terms of reference. You are welcome to raise issues with your Divisional representative.

Newsletters

Course Outline and Administration Guide

Also known as a paper outline or course book, it provides students with information about how the course will be run. The template can be adapted by lecturers for their own use. This template is available as either a Blackboard or Word doc template. Request the Blackboard zip file with importing instructions from the Distance Learning Office.

Course Outline & Administration Guide template (2013 version. 142KB in Word format, 47 pages)

Blackboard version information with sample home page screen shot (1 page in pdf format)

Staff user reviews (1 page in pdf format)

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Student Support Email Templates

This resource outlines an easy and quick way to build engagement with distance students and to tell them about the range of information and support resources that are available at the University. Messages do not need to be sent individually to be effective. A ‘class’ message - the same to every student – will do. Although the resource is called “Email support” any technology is okay. Use Blackboard, email, even Facebook to send the messages.

Rationale and sample message (in PDF format)

Contact the Distance Learning Office for the full range of support messages.

Otago Connect

Otago Connect is a web conferencing solution for online meetings and webinars used by the University of Otago.

Otago Connect is:
“a bit like Skype to use – but with a lot more functions to deliver [online classrooms]” at any time and to almost any one with an internet connection.

Otago Connect has many useful features to encourage collaboration and learning:

  • Group text, audio and video chat
  • Ability to share presentations (like Powerpoint)
  • Collaborate on a whiteboard
  • Conduct polls during your meetings
  • Share useful files

Is Otago Connect for you?

Email template to send to participants

This email should be sent to students and other guests at least a week BEFORE the Connect meeting.
It contains advice about equipment needed, set up instructions and an audio quality test.

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