For me, the technology is more advanced here. You feel proud - you're trying to get the most from everything that there is here. - Conchita
Some aspects of studying at university in the UK have changed significantly in recent years. Whereas ten years ago students starting university courses might have expected to spend most of their time using books in the library, you are likely to find that you spend much of your time online using a computer. University tutors now use a wide range of online resources to teach and support their courses, and new students need to quickly become familiar with these and start using them.
In these activities, you will do a quiz to to find out how much of your time will be spent online while you are studying in the UK. You will also listen to a university tutor talking about how she and her students use technology on a course that she teaches.
University study in the digital age
What do you know about how university students in the UK study in the digital age? In this activity, you can find out how much of your course in the UK might involve studying online.
Instruction
Look at each of these statements about university study in the UK and decide whether they are true or false. Select the 'True' or the 'False' button for each statement before reading the feedback. When you have finished, calculate your score to find out how well you did.
Click on 'True' or 'False' to make a selection. You can click again if you wish to change your answer.
1. During my studies in the UK, I expect to use a computer mostly for writing essays.
While it is true that you will be expected to use a computer to produce your written course work, you will also need to use a computer for many other study-related activities too. For example, you can expect to spend a great deal of time using the internet for research purposes - to access online journals and find other useful information in relation to your studies.
You will also probably need to use your computer for communication with your lecturers and fellow students when you are not in class. Email will be particularly important for you in this respect. You may also need to take part in online discussion tasks or group work, and to use online learning materials in your subject area, similar to the ones that you are currently using for this activity.
2. All course contact with my tutors will be through timetabled lectures and seminars.
Much of your face to face contact with your course tutors will take place through timetabled teaching sessions such as seminars and lectures, and possibly tutorials and workshops as well. However, between these sessions, communication may also take place by email, and if you wish to see your tutor for any reason, he/she will usually expect you to contact them by email beforehand to make an appointment. Discussion forums, or even chat rooms or virtual classrooms, hosted by your university's VLE may also be used as a means of communication between your tutor, yourself and other students on your course from time to time.
3. My course documentation may be made available to me in a variety of ways.
You may receive some course documentation from your tutor when in class, and in some Schools, the main office may be responsible for passing on some of your course documentation. However, many tutors now use a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) such as Moodle, Blackboard or WebCT to deliver lecture notes, essay titles or other course-related information to students enrolled on their courses. Usually, a tutor will enrol their students onto the corresponding Blackboard (or other VLE) course or ask them to self-enrol to the course. Students are then directed to use the VLE course website in order to access various course materials and may also receive email communication though the VLE and take part in VLE-based discussion activity too.
Students can usually download and print off course-related information themselves from their institution's VLE. Tutors may put different types of course material and information onto a VLE, including useful web links, assignment deadlines, reading lists, homework tasks or university holiday dates.
4. I will only be able to hear my course lectures if I attend them.
It is important to attend lectures, as they offer the best opportunity to gain a wider understanding in your subject area and to ask your lecturer questions about things you do not understand and want explained further. It is also easier to understand a lecturer if you can see them while they are speaking and can watch their gestures or look at any visual aids they use. However, many lecturers nowadays record their lectures so that students can listen to them again. These recordings are often available through your university's VLE and are sometimes made into podcasts which can be regularly downloaded for further study.
5. If I want to identify books and journals that I need for my studies, I will need to go to the library.
You do not need to physically go to the library to identify books and journals that you need for your studies. It is possible to access your university's library catalogue over the internet from any university computer or even from home. As well as identifying the resources you need, you can check their availability and reserve them so that you can collect them from the library later. You can also check how many items you already have on loan from the library and renew them if necessary online.
6. Sharing ideas with my classmates and course collaborations can only take place during seminars.
On many university courses in the UK, collaborative group work and discussion takes place through a VLE which hosts a 'discussion board', sometimes also called a 'discussion forum'. This is a place online, where students and tutors can post messages asynchronously (that can be read and responded to at a later time, like emails). Everyone in the class can read and respond to these postings when they go online. For example, a tutor might post a discussion question which students are required to respond to before the next seminar or lecture. Using a discussion board allows whole class activities to take place online over a period of time outside timetabled classes.
How much did you already know about online study? When you have finished, click below to calculate how many correct answers you have and look at your score below to find out what your score shows.
Find your score profile below:
Score: 5 or 6 Well done! Your score suggests that you already know what to expect in terms of the online dimensions that study at university in the UK may involve. You probably also already have some familiarity with the kind of tools and technologies that you will need to use during your course. Perhaps you are already used to working in this way at university in your home country.
Score: 3 or 4 Your score suggests that you are partly aware of what to expect in terms of the online dimensions that study at university in the UK may involve, even if this may be a little different to how things work at university in your home country. You may already have experience of some of the ways of working online that you will meet while studying in the UK. You may still need to learn how you will be expected to use different online tools and technologies to support youself on your academic course.
Score: 2 and below Your score suggests that you are rather unused to study that involves an online dimension and that some of the tools and technologies and how you are expected to use them will be new to you when you start your studies in the UK. Don't worry! You can quickly learn how to support youself on your academic course using the different online tools and technologies available.
A university tutor speaks about using technology
In this activity you are going to listen to a university tutor talking about how she and her students use technology on a course that she teaches.
Liz
Instruction
Read the statements first, and then listen carefully to Liz (Dr Hauge) talking about how she and her students use technology on a university course. She mentions some online resources and technologies in relation to her use of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and others in relation to her classroom teaching. Move each online resource or technology into the appropriate box, check your answers and then look at the feedback. You can listen to the interview as many times as you need to.
Here are definitions of three of the technologies that Liz mentions:
A VLE or 'Virtual Learning Environment' is a software system that supports teaching and learning in an educational setting, Your university courses may be supported through a university VLE and you should be able to access the VLE and your specific courses over the Internet using a unique university username and password which you will receive.
A SMART Board or interactive board is a form of electronic education technology for classroom use. Users can interact with the display board by touching the screen; they can access websites and databases directly from the board.
An OHP or 'Overhead Projector' is a projector, often used in the classroom, which can be used to project and present images of written information or pictures onto a screen from a transparency (acetate).
To listen to the audio, click the play button once. You can move between parts of the audio by dragging the slider left or right. You can move items from the list into a box by clicking on them and dragging them into a box with your mouse. If you change your mind, you can still move the items from one box to another.
There is a transcript for you to look at if you need help: Audio transcript (pdf, 13kb).
In a VLE
In the classroom
Assignment titles
Computer workbench
Concordancing learning activity
Course documents
OHP acetates
Powerpoint presentations
SMART Board
Streamed video
University library link
Useful media and cultural links
In a VLE: Assignment titles, Course documents, Streamed video, University library link, Useful media and cultural links. In the classroom: Computer workbench, Concordancing learning activity, OHP acetates, Powerpoint presentations, SMART Board.
Were you surprised by how much technology is used on a university course such as the one Liz teaches in the UK? If not, perhaps technology is being used increasingly at university in your country too.
Most universities in the UK use a VLE, which hosts many of the courses that students do. Many tutors put course documentation, reading lists and assignments, and links to useful websites in their course areas in the VLE, and you will need to access these regularly. Commonly used VLEs in the UK include Blackboard, WebCT and Moodle.
In class, you can expect your tutors to use technology too. Smart boards connected to computers allow access to online teaching resources and websites. The use of these can be blended with classroom teaching in the same way that paper-based materials are. You can also make use of such technology in any oral presentations that you are required to give on your course. Powerpoint slides and low-tech devices such as Overhead Projectors and acetates are commonly used by students when giving presentations.
Listen to the interview with Liz again using the transcript above if you need to check your understanding. The parts of the transcript containing the answers to the listening task are highlighted.
Would you like to review the main points?
From these activities you should now be aware of the different ways in which technology might impact on your studies in the UK. One important technology is the VLE. If you are not familiar with VLEs you may wish to use these web links to find out more about the commonly used ones in universities in the UK: Blackboard VLE Moodle VLE
University study in the digital age
A university tutor speaks about using technology
once. You can move between parts of the audio by dragging the slider left or right. You can move items from the list into a box by clicking on them and dragging them into a box with your mouse. If you change your mind, you can still move the items from one box to another.
