eLearning is the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to support learning. To help you choose the best ICT learning tools, ITS has developed an eLearning Toolbox.
Please use the drop-down menu below to select what best describes your requirements, then click the icons to display more information about each tool.
Audioconferencing
- Type
- Audioconferencing.
- Cost
- — No charge to University departments.
— $35 per hour per connection plus GST for those bookings without a University account code.
— Additional charges apply for hiring the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin audioconferencing rooms, after-hours technical assistance and international calling rates. - Requirements
- Bookings are required.
- Example uses
- — Present lectures to your distance students.
— Hold meetings with all members of your research team.
— Conduct interviews or oral exams.
— Run training sessions.
Audioconferencing is a conferencing tool that enables any number of people anywhere in the world to connect and interact virtually using their own telephone.
Audioconferencing allows as many people as desired to participate in an interactive discussion or conversation. It is the perfect vehicle for Distance Teaching.
Blackboard
- Type
- Learning Management System.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — University usernames for access.
— Need to be a staff member to request a paper. - Availability
- Private, limited guest access.
- Example uses
- — Access students via online tests or assignments.
— Distribute course content.
— Communicate with your students via Discussion Boards and Class Announcements.
Blackboard is the learning management system used at the University of Otago. It allows lecturers and tutors to upload lecture notes, reading lists, assessment information and other course-related material to their Blackboard site so that students may access them.
There are also tools for assessing students, such as on-line tests and assignment submission.
Otago Blogs
- Type
- Blogging System.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — University usernames for access.
— Need to be a staff member to request a paper. - Availability
- Public or private sites.
- Example uses
- — Use a blog to communicate your research to the general public.
— Make a temporary website for your research.
A blog (or weblog) is a website that is easily updated with:
- articles
- journal entries
- images
- embedded links for video and music
You can set up a free Otago Blogs site for anything related to teaching and learning, research, or administration at the University of Otago.
Email
- Type
- Electronic Communication.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University username.
- Availability
- Staff, role-based, or general email addresses.
- Example uses
- Have one email address for your research group.
You are provided with a staff email address once you become a University of Otago employee.
- Your staff email address will look something like joe.bloggs@otago.ac.nz
- You can also get a role-based or generic email address set up for a role or function, rather than an individual
- Staff Webmail allows you to access your emails online using a web browser
Email Lists
- Type
- Electronic Communication.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University username and email for registration of an email list.
- Availability
- Registration to the list can be set as open to all email addresses, requiring approval by the list owner or by registration by the list owner only.
- Example uses
- — Communicate with a research group.
— Discussions within a specialist area – i.e. all IT support staff within the University.
Email lists are used for sending out information or discussion with a group of people electronically.
University of Otago staff or students can have an email list for group activities such as:
- project communication
- technical procedures or documentations
- departmental intranet
- group learning projects
iPad Loan
- Type
- Mobile Device.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University username and email for loan application.
- Availability
- Up to 30 iPads available to University departments.
- Example uses
- — Collect survey data electronically.
— Study how mobile devices are used within class settings.
University departments can borrow a set of iPads for use in supporting teaching and research. These can be used for:
- projects
- tutorials
- meetings
- fieldtrips
- research groups
Up to 30 iPads can be borrowed for the following standard loan periods:
- 30 iPads for two weeks
- 15 iPads for four weeks
There are also 4 iPad Minis available for short-term individual loan.
Otago Capture
- Type
- Lecture Recording.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — University of Otago staff username for request.
— HOD or delegated authority approval. - Availability
- Available to University of Otago staff.
- Example uses
- — Display your recordings in your Blackboard paper.
Otago Capture can record the audio and screen of events as well as live stream in specified lecture theatres. The events an be automatically published and recordings scan be scheduled.
Otago Podcasts
- Type
- Podcasting System.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — University usernames for access.
— Need to be a staff member to request a paper. - Availability
- Public or private sites.
- Example uses
- — Publish video/audio recordings of your research.
— Publish audioconferences or teaching events.
Podcasting technology lets you distribute audio and video files over the internet.
You can set up a free Otago Podcasts site to allow your students access to audio and video recordings.
Qualtrics
- Type
- Survey System.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University of Otago staff or student email address.
- Availability
- Public or private surveys.
- Example uses
- — Market research.
— Customer satisfaction surveys.
Qualtrics is an online data collection and analysis survey application that can be accessed using any web browser or operating system. Survey data is stored outside of the University of Otago. You can use Qualtrics for anything related to teaching and learning, research or administration at the University of Otago.
Support:
- IT Training offer an introductory course on how to set up a survey in Qualtrics.
- Questions about the University of Otago survey “skins” should be directed to the ITS Service Desk.
- Survey design enquiries should be directed to your appropriate divisional resource.
- All other support is via the Qualtrics website which provides comprehensive training and support information.
If your survey will include personal information which is either covered by Health Information Privacy Principles (HIPP), The Privacy Act or Ethics Committee specifications that require a secure survey tool, you should use the REDCap survey software.
REDCap
- Type
- Survey System.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University of Otago staff or student email address.
- Availability
- REDCap is available for use by University staff and students. All survey data is stored securely in the University of Otago data centres.
- Example uses
- — Surveys with complex design.
— Surveys that will include personal information which is either covered by Health Information Privacy Principles (HIPP), The Privacy Act or Ethics Committee specifications that require a secure survey tool.
REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure web-based survey application and is recommended if your survey has a complex design or will include personal information which is either covered by Health Information Privacy Principles (HIPP), The Privacy Act or Ethics Committee specifications that require a secure survey tool.
ITS does not provide support for REDCap. However, feedback from those using it is that it is intuitive to use and support videos are available on the REDCap website. There are also inbuilt prompts and instructional text within the application itself.
Survey design enquiries should be directed to your appropriate divisional resource.
The Qualtrics survey software is also available for staff and student use.
Zoom
- Type
- Web Conferencing.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — Fast Internet connection (i.e. broadband).
— Webcam or camera.
— Microphone.
— Speaker.
- Availability
- University of Otago staff or student username.
- Example uses
- — Online meetings.
— Conferences.
— Distance collaborations.
Desktop videoconferencing makes it easy for you to participate in videoconferences without needing to go to a purpose-built room or purchase expensive equipment.
You can use Zoom web conferencing software on your University of Otago or home computer to easily videoconference with other people.
Syncplicity
- Type
- File Storage and Synchronisation.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University of Otago staff or postgraduate student username.
- Availability
- Public and private.
- Example uses
- — A University 'dropbox' service.
— Storing and sharing research, teaching and administrative data sets.
— Access to important files on all computers and devices.
Syncplicity is a free University of Otago provided document backup, sharing and synchronisation service like Dropbox. It is great to use with files smaller than 100GB or where you have less than 20,000 files per person.
Videoconferencing
- Type
- Videoconferencing.
- Cost
- — free if being charged to a University account code. After-hours use (between 6pm and 8am) is charged at $60 per hour.
— $260 per hour plus GST ($299 incl GST) for those bookings without a University account code. After-hours use (between 6pm and 8am) is charged at $60 per hour plus GST ($69 incl. GST).
There may also be additional charges for:
— room hire charges at other venues.
— bridging costs and ISDN charges.
— tea and coffee provision. - Requirements
- Bookings are required.
- Availability
- Public or private sites.
- Example uses
- — Interview a new member for your research team.
— Assess a student studying off campus. — Teach distance classes.
— Run one-on-one teaching or tutorial sessions.
Videoconferencing is a communications technology that integrates video and voice to connect remote users with each other as if they were in the same room. Users see and hear each other in real-time, allowing natural conversations to take place. It allows users to save time and money on travelling and accommodation costs by bringing people face-to-face virtually.
Otago Wikis
- Type
- Wiki service (Collaborative authoring and information sharing).
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- University username to register.
- Availability
- Viewing and editing access can be enabled for registered users only, or the site can be made public.
- Example uses
- — Document all your experimental protocols for everyone in the research group to see.
— Get students to work together to produce a 'wikipedia' for a particular topic.
A wiki is a website where a group of people can add and edit connected pages using their web browsers. Otago Wikis are a simple way for your group to efficiently manage your information.
High-Capacity Central File Storage (HCS)
- Type
- Secure File Storage.
- Cost
- No charge to University departments.
- Requirements
- — University of Otago staff username for registration.
— HOD or delegated authority approval. - Availability
- Available to University of Otago staff members.
With HCS, your files are easily and securely accessible from the HCS folder mounted on your desktop. Files are automatically backed up as part of this service.