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Collaborate: Introduction and terms of use

The purpose of this document is to set out the key principles and terms of use forCollaborate in the MA in Education.

About CollaborateCollaborate is a synchronous audio/video/presentation tool that allows us to meet, talk, andwork together online in real-time. The main facilities of Collaborate include:

  Real-time text chat

  Audio conferencing

  Video conferencing for a limited number of users

  A presentation window for showing slides, annotating documents, and creating user-generated content that includes text and drawings

  Web-tour facility that enables users to be taken through web content

  Desktop sharing so that authorised users can share their computer screen withothers for the purposes of demonstration or collaborative work.

More information about Collaborate, including demonstrations can be found on their websiteat: http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Overview.aspx 

The purposes of Collaborate

The central uses of Collaborate on the MA in Education are:

  Lectures  – the didactic presentation of material by Programme Directors, ModuleTutors or invited speakers. Most lectures also include some interactive aspects

whereby participants can ask questions.  Workshops and seminars  – collaborative sessions involving more interactive group

work in which discussion between participants around directed themes is the centralpurpose of the session. These sessions are usually run by tutors on the MA inEducation.

  One to one tutorials – students working on dissertations or on other module activitiesthat comprise one-to-one tutor supervision or consultations may use Collaborate fortheir work.

  Group work and other informal collaborations  – students may elect to or be asked touse Collaborate for module activities. Such sessions will often be directed by thestudent and may not involve any tutor participation.

How it works

Collaborate is a web-based conferencing facility and can be accessed by following a link tothe relevant room. These links will be sent to you or made available to you by your sessionorganiser.

To participate in a session you require a microphone and a set of headphones. While it ispossible to use speakers, headphones are better as they help to prevent the feedback ofsound in the session.

Most modern computers can support the use of Collaborate. Users are required to check the

computers and the hardware (microphones and headsets) that they intend to use for asession well in advance of the session. To do this, simply visit the Collaborate support page

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at: http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com. This site will enable you to run a diagnostic check totest your computer, and provides help and guidance on how to setup your computer.

If you have persistent problems with Collaborate that you are unable to resolve through theabove website please contact the Programme Administrator or your Module Leader orModule Tutor.

Attendance of sessions

The MA in Education core modules will make substantial use of Collaborate. Ordinarily,students will be expected to attend at least three quarters of the Collaborate sessionsprovided in any given module. More details of the specific requirements for attendance canbe found in the module area of Moodle.

Other sessions like revision sessions, informal seminars, and class meetings may bevoluntary. You will be told whether or not a session is voluntary or not, but if you have anyquestions please contact your Module Leader or the Programme Director.

Timetabling

For sessions that form a formal component of a module, and for all tutor-led seminars orworkshops, every effort will be made to schedule the sessions at times that are convenientto the module participants. Session leaders will usually request participants to complete apoll to help them select the most appropriate time. However, since particular time slots maydisadvantage participants in some parts of the world, session organisers may occasionallychoose to positively discriminate and to hold sessions at unpopular times that allowdisadvantaged users to attend.

It is the responsibility of the individual participant to let the Module Leader or ProgrammeDirector know if they are regularly unable to attend sessions because of scheduling. Wherethe course team becomes aware of such problems, every effort will be made to help findsolutions to them. However, if this is not possible, then it may be necessary to makeamendments to the participation requirements of the module. All such amendments must beagreed formally by the Programme Director and by the Board of Examiners.

In most cases, the dates of Collaborate sessions should be announced at least one weekbefore the scheduled session.

Recording

 All Collaborate sessions will ordinarily be recorded using the built in recording tool inCollaborate. However, while they are strongly encouraged to record sessions, ModuleLeaders and Module Tutors are not obliged to do so. It is at the discretion of the leader of thesession to decide whether recording is appropriate. Common causes for not recording asession may include low attendance; technical difficulties with audio settings; or discussingethically sensitive issues.

Where they are recorded, Collaborate sessions that are a part of a module will only beavailable to view by members of those modules and not by MA in Education students onother modules. However, for administrative reasons, a number of staff from the ExternalSystem and from the Institute of Education may have access to recordings. It is by no means

common practice for staff to review recorded sessions, but students and tutors should beaware that it is technically possible for them to do so.

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No member of staff or student will distribute the link to a recording beyond the confines of agiven module or the course without the prior consent of the participants in that session.Consent should be in written form, and a copy of the consent from each participant shouldbe passed on to the MA in Education programme administrator along with a DistributionRequest Form (available on request from the Programme Administrator). This form must besigned by the Programme Director and by the Dean before the recording can be released.

Where tutors or students have recorded presentations or lectures that they wish to distributethat do not include any participants other than themselves then they do not need to completea distribution request form. However, they are required to inform the Programme Director oftheir intentions.

Availability of recordings All recordings that are a component of a module will normally be available for the entirety ofthe academic year within which that module is situated. These recordings may also beavailable after that time, but this is at the discretion of the MA in Education ProgrammeTeam. All other non-module specific sessions such as revision sessions, guest lectures, and

informal seminars, will normally be available for the duration of the academic year in whichthey occurred.

Opting out of recordingsStudents and tutors who attend a Collaborate session will be regarded as agreeing by theterms of use outlined above. Any student or tutor who regards these terms as problematicshould contact the Programme Director. Requests to opt out of recordings that are a formalpart of a module will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Where possible, they should bemade at least one week before the date of the recording.