Teaching and Learning Remotely

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Teaching and Learning Remotely

Connecting Remotely

In general, much of our daily operations run on applications that are accessible from the internet by visiting MyQueen'sU; however, if you require an application or program that is not accessible from the internet, you may need local admin access on your device in order to install the required tools. If you do not see the applications that you require to complete your work on any of these lists, please check with your departmental IT Admin Representative.

Fortinet's FortiClient is the solution that allows you to remotely access your Windows File Shares (I: drive or H: drive). Download the FortiClient from the Software Centre. Configure your connection using the VPN tutorial.

Applications that can be accessed with the Campus VPN:

  • EDRMS/Qdocs
  • GE Picture Perfect
  • Windows File Share

The Global Accelerator Network Service is available to assist students living abroad to connect to teaching and learning resources at Queen’s. Currently, this service should increase the performance and reliability of network connections specifically from within China. To learn more, check out the Global Accelerator Network Service page.

Teaching Remotely (for Faculty and Teaching Assistants)

While Queen's is now operating in-person classes, some courses still remain online-only. For those courses, IT Services has put together a quick guide on how to best prepare your online course. Virtual classrooms offer a learning environment that’s as close to the normal classroom as possible. During virtual classes, you can interact with students using webcams and microphones. You can also present materials during live classes, so you can still use resources such as presentation slides as teaching props

Be sure to also check out the Centre for Teaching and Learning's Educational Technology Tools page linked below.

Educational Technology

Tools and Resources for Faculty

onQ is Queen's enterprise Learning Management System, powered by Brightspace/Desire2Learn. It is used to deliver academic courses online or to supplement face-to-face instruction. It can also be used for collaborative research and project-based group work. Refer to the onQ support site for instructors to learn more about:

If you are considering onQ for delivering a course, the Course Readiness checklist will help to get you started.

In addition to onQ, IT Services provides additional resources for creating course content: 

  • Articulate 360: a suite that allows you to create responsive, interactive course content.
  • Camtasia: a screen recorder and video editing software used to create tutorials, presentations, video lessons, meeting recordings, and more. 
  • FeedbackFruits: a suite of pedagogical tools that are designed to help engage students in their learning. 
  • Snagit: a screen capturing software that lets you quickly capture a process, add your explanation, and create visual instructions.

There are many ways to communicate with your students outside of class, including:

  • onQ - Use onQ to communicate with your students 
  • Microsoft Teams – Use your Microsoft team to give lectures, host virtual office hours, and provide a space for collaboration.
  • Microsoft Bookings – Use Microsoft Bookings to organize virtual office hours as well as group meetings.
  • Zoom - Use Zoom to give lectures, host virtual office hours, and provide a space for collaboration.

Faculty members can create static videos and presentations for viewing on-demand using the following tools (links open in new window):

  • Camtasia - Camtasia makes it simple to record and create professional-looking videos on Windows and Mac.
  • Microsoft Teams – record presentations and enable live captioning.
  • Microsoft PowerPoint – record audio to provide narration for your slideshow.

Queen's Streaming Service

The Queen's Streaming Service allows account owners to upload video and audio files into a "library" using their web browser. Once uploaded, the owner can embed the video within onQ courses (for viewing by students). Live streaming is also available through the Queen's Streaming Service.

Microsoft Stream

Microsoft Stream is an enterprise video service that allows users to upload, view, and share videos across Queen's Office 365. With Stream, users can share recordings of classes, meetings, presentations, training sessions, or other videos. Videos can be uploaded and shared individually or to a chosen group or channel. The screen recording tool can be used for training videos and other communications. Use options to record any window or screen, add mic or system audio, and include webcam footage for a personal touch.

Visit the Microsoft Stream page for more information.

Using Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is an online tool that enables conversations, documents, audio/video conferencing, and document sharing capabilities for faculty and students.

Using Teams, students can join live video conferences with the ability to ask real-time questions using a microphone or via chat. Video conferences could be facilitated/presented by an instructor or teaching assistants, and students can create their own sessions to collaborate with other students on groupwork. While working in groups, students can make use of additional features within the Office 365 suite to collaborate and edit documents simultaneously with other students, take class notes, create group presentations, track group member tasks, schedule group meetings, etc.

Using Teams, faculty members can deliver lectures while displaying presentations, allowing students to ask questions. Faculty members also have the ability to make use of additional features within the Office 365 suite while presenting live to students, such as making use of the Whiteboard tool, surveying students, recording presentations and enabling automatic captioning, giving presentation control to others (for example, a TA or student), etc.

Using Microsoft Live Events

For large classes, Live Events in Microsoft 365 is an option. Live Events is an extension of Teams meetings that would enable a faculty member to schedule, produce, and deliver live events that stream to large online audiences (up to 10,000 attendees). Live events are designed for one-to-many communications where the host of the event is leading the interactions and audience participation is primarily to view the content shared by host. Attendees can watch the live or recorded event in Microsoft Teams or Microsoft Stream, and can participate in discussions using moderated Q & A. Live Events is currently limited to 15 concurrent sessions, and a maximum of 4 hours per session. Microsoft is anticipating an increase in Live Events usage due to recent events and is currently considering an increase to this limit. If you would like to schedule a Microsoft Live Event, please contact IT Services using the Microsoft 365 Live Events request form. IT Services and the Centre for Teaching and Learning will coordinate requests to ensure we do not exceed our capacity.

Using Zoom

A Queen's Zoom account allows you to host meetings of up to 300 participants, complete with screen sharing, video recording and a host of other collaboration features, at no charge to the user. Participants do not require an account to join meetings. 

For information about obtaining a Zoom license check out the Zoom service page.

The following services are available for transcription:

  • Microsoft Stream – If a video's Language field is set to a supported language, Stream can automatically generate captions and a transcript using Automatic Speech Recognition technology.
  • Microsoft Teams – With live captions, Teams can detect what’s said in a Teams meeting and present real-time captions for anyone who wants them. Live event attendees can view live captions and subtitles in up to six languages in addition to the language being spoken. Event organizers can select the languages from a list of over 50. Teams also offers live transcription of meetings. The text appears alongside the meeting video or audio in real time, including the speaker's name and time stamps. 

Online Grading and Evaluation

Please consult the CTL for all of the pedagogical approaches to assessment as the following list only outlines the available technologies.

  • onQ Quizzes - The Quizzes tool enables you to create and manage points-measured assessments. 
  • onQ Grade Book – Instructors can set up a Grade Book that reflects their approach to evaluation. You control the grading formula used to calculate grades and which projects, assignments, tests, etc. are graded; how grade items are associated with other tools, and when grades are released to users and what information they see. 
  • onQ Grade Export – Primary Instructors can now send their Grades directly from onQ to PeopleSoft. 
  • Crowdmark – Crowdmark is a collaborative online grading and analytics platform. Previously available only to select departments, Queen’s has procured an enterprise licence for it, opening up use to all instructors.
  • FeedbackFruits -  A suite of pedagogical tools that are designed to help engage students in their learning. 
  • Microsoft Forms – Stand-alone or through Teams, Microsoft Forms can be used for simple quizzes or questionnaires.

Remote Proctoring

The following services for remote proctoring are integrated with onQ. Be sure to get familiar with remote proctoring solutions at Queen's.

  • Microsoft Learning Tools – The Microsoft Learning Tools set is natively built into the Office 365 and Microsoft Edge applications. The immersive reader capability in Learning Tools gives users the ability to have content read aloud to them, and lets them adjust settings to break the words into syllables, adjust text size or background colors.
  • Visit the Accessibility Hub for more information about accessibility.

Physical hosting provides climate-controlled, power conditioned server rack space for your servers and storage systems. Request physical hosting using the Physical Server Hosting and Management request form.

Virtual hosting provides a flexible server environment capable of running Windows and Linux servers in an enterprise class and storage infrastructure. The service includes nightly backups and automatic failover in the event of hardware failure. Request virtual hosting using the Virtual Server Hosting request form.

Learning Remotely (for Students)

As a Queen's student, you may have in-person classes, online classes, or some combination of both. If you are attending online courses, we have put together a list of resources to consider as you make your way through the course. These resources include things like group and peer evaluations, connecting with professors and teaching assistants, and course material within onQ.

If you are new to Queen's, you can check out our Getting Started for Students guide, which will help you to become familiar with the various services and software that IT Services offers you on your journey at Queen's.

Getting Started for Students

Learning Remotely (for Students)

If you're new to Queen's, you can head over to the Getting Started for Students page for information on how to get started with tech at Queen's.

onQ is Queen's enterprise Learning Management System, powered by Brightspace/Desire2Learn. With onQ, you can:

  • Access course content, such as videos, group work, shared files, etc.
  • Communicate directly with your professor and classmates
  • Collaborate and present assignment material
  • Submit assignments, quizzes, and other material for evaluation
  • View grades and assignment feedback

Visit the onQ support site for students to learn more about what you can do with onQ.

As many courses move to online delivery, it's important to stay connected to peers and faculty. There are a few ways to keep in touch:

Microsoft O365

Some of your classes may be delivered using Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is a collaboration tool that allows users to interact via video and audio calls and chat, share, upload, and collaborate on documents, and more. Use Microsoft Teams to:

  • Attend lectures, visit virtual office hours and access a space for collaboration.
  • Have impromptu or scheduled meetings with classmates with video and audio chat, screen sharing and file collaboration

Zoom

Some of your classes may be delivered using Zoom. Like Teams, Zoom allows you to attend lectures and collaborate remotely. Participants do not require an account to join meetings.

Class Groupwork

  • onQ Discussions – The Discussions tool provides an area for collaboration and communication, allowing youto post, read and reply to messages on different topics.
  • onQ Assignments – Use the Assignments tool to submit assignments, view rubrics and competencies, download assignments to your computer, and view grades and feedback.
  • onQ Groups – Groups are used for a specific project or activity, and are a means of organizing learners within a course into a smaller unit for collaborative activities. Groups can be used to interact with the Discussions and Assignments tools.
  • Microsoft Teams – You can use Microsoft Teams to share and collaborate on documents, chat over instant messaging, and have ad-hoc meetings/gatherings over audio or audio and video.

Peer Review

  • Aropä – Aropä is a web-based tool that supports peer review of assignments. Aropä can be used for students to provide formative or summative feedback and/or grades to each other. There is also an additional option that allows the student feedback to be graded by students, TA's, or by an instructor.
  • Feedback Fruits -  Fully integrated with onQ, Feedback Fruits allows students to conduct evaluations like peer reviews and peer evaluations directly within the LMS. 

Remote Proctoring

Students will be informed through their program if they will be expected to complete remotely-proctored assessments. If you have been informed that you will be completing a remotely-proctored assessment, please consult the Office of the University Registrar site for more information, including step-by-step guides, FAQs, and more.

 

Accessibility

  • Microsoft Learning Tools – The Microsoft Learning Tools set is natively built into the Office 365 and Microsoft Edge applications. The immersive reader capability in Learning Tools gives users the ability to have content read aloud to them, and lets them adjust settings to break the words into syllables, adjust text size or background colors.
  • Visit the Accessibility Hub for more information about accessibility.