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London's global university: UCL students log on around the world
9 April 2020
UCL buildings may be closed, but learning hasn鈥檛 stopped. Data shows our students are logging on across the world to continue their studies, whatever their time zone.
As the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak escalated,听UCL听closed most buildings听on听Friday 20 March and students听were听strongly advised to return home wherever possible.听Face-to-face teaching was suspended for the remainder of the academic year and any assessments must be completed remotely.听听
Our buildings may be closed 鈥� the University is not.听The 宅男视频 community sprang into action; staff are meeting the challenge of moving teaching online and preparing alternative assessments with a huge amount of flexibility, patience and support for each other and our students.听
Teaching, supervision听and pastoral support continues as academic teams听turn to听Blackboard听Collaborate听sessions,听Lecturecast听recordings,听Teams听chats听and听more,听to听stay connected with their students and听minimise disruption to learning听and progression.
But where in the world are our students tuning in from? And what implications does this have for staff revising their sessions for remote delivery?听听
Student time zones
The听Office for the Vice-Provost (Education & Student Affairs)听has听released听data on听the home time zones of our student population.听Departmental, programme and module听leaders can now see what听number and听proportion of their students are听based within Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) locations. More importantly, the data shows the remainder of their students鈥� time zones in relation to GMT.听听
The chart below shows the percentage of students in each time zone, by Faculty.听The full data set can be filtered by level of study (UG, PGT), department or programme.听听
Understanding how many of听our听students are more than听one, two or five听hours ahead of, or behind UK time may help staff听with听planning听their听approaches to teaching听and听student听support.听听听
As of 7 April 2020, the percentage听of听traffic to Moodle originating in the UK had听dropped to 68%听of total visits,听with approximately seven thousand users connecting from outside the UK.听After the UK, the most frequent origins of Moodle visits are听China, Hong Kong,听France and USA.听听
The full data听is hosted on 宅男视频 Tableau site.听To access, click on the link below and log in with your usual 宅男视频 credentials (username and password). Tableau is best accessed on a larger screen but can be viewed across a range of devices.听The key questions听answered by this dashboard are listed听on the third tab.听
If you are not yet registered to access Tableau or are unable to log in, please contact the Data听and听Insight team.
Managing a remote, not distant class
As we move to remote teaching for Term Three, it鈥檚 important that no one is disadvantaged as a result of their location or听time听zone.听Relying听solely听on听live听鈥� or synchronous 鈥撎齮eaching events听is听not an option听with such dispersed cohorts.听Providing听'asynchronous'听activities 鈥撎齱here听staff and students鈥痯articipate when and from where they can听鈥撎齬educes听the impact of time zone differences.听听
Recorded lectures and seminars
Lectures can be pre-recorded using听Lecturecast听Universal Capture Personal. The tool can be used with a PC or Mac, in听combination听with a听Powerpoint听presentation, and recordings are uploaded to听Lecturecast听before release via Moodle.听Most components of a traditional lecture can be included as part of a video lecture鈥痷sing听Lecturecast听Universal Capture Personal.听
Assuming no updates are required, you could also re-publish听Lecturecast听recordings made in the previous academic year (if available)听to the new Moodle听module.听听
Lectures and seminars, for example,听can听also听continue as live, synchronous events听but should also听be听repeated or听recorded听for review by any students who are unable to听attend.听However, such students should not be disadvantaged by听more听limited opportunity for live interaction so, where听possible,听consider varying the times听(am/pm)听of live seminars so听students of differing time zones听have the opportunity for听synchronous sessions.听听
Don鈥檛 forget to press record before starting any live听sessions!听
Discussion forums
Asynchronous, text-based discussion activities can听also听provide rich learning听opportunities and听are听often听simpler to set up.听Moodle Forums听are for more than just听announcements; discussion forums are great for icebreaker听activities, Q&A听conversations听and听group听or听individual听active learning tasks.听
Further information
See the听Teaching Continuity webpages for more guidance on听moving to online teaching and supervision.听听
The Arena Centre and Digital Education colleagues are providing听remote support on moving to online delivery and alternative forms of assessment.
To book a virtual drop-in, email the Teaching Continuity mailbox with your preferred time-slot for a Teams call between 10am- 4pm, Monday-Friday.
Digital Education are also hosting听 鈥� no booking required.
For guidance on听or issues with听UCL's online platforms, use the .听