In this extra post, Satu Kapiainen, Team Manager in the Digital Skills and Training↗️ Team at Information Services, shares updates on the implementation of the University wide training that was delivered as part of the Learn Ultra upgrade. This post is linked to the series: Spotlight on Learn Ultra↗️.
Course leaders, course organisers and teaching office colleagues across 5,000 courses in all parts of the university benefitted from a bit of extra help in getting started with our new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) upgrade to Learn Ultra. Learning technologists across schools and deaneries worked with The Digital Skills and Training team in the Information Services Group (ISG) to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to get started with Learn Ultra in advance of 2023/24 teaching.
Feedback from students who used the updated intuitive interface stated that there was little need for training, although support and resources for students are available throughout the year.
Training for Learn Users, created by Learn users
The training programme that was created was done so with teaching and teaching office staff at its core. Through the Early Adopters programme, colleagues from across the institution got to use Learn Ultra in advance of the at-scale roll-out, and their experiences allowed us to deliver something that was created by the University of Edinburgh Learn Ultra users, for The University of Edinburgh Learn Ultra users.
In advance of the Early Adopter programme, we identified a core set of Learn tools which underpinned an improved student experience. Based on these, we developed a suite a Good Practice Guidance↗️ to support Early Adopter colleagues in designing and building Learn Ultra courses. We piloted an early version of the live training programme to the Early Adopters, followed by a round of engagement sessions which were used to gather feedback and insight, allowing us to refine the training.
Getting started with Learn Ultra
A key change that was made to the live training after engaging with the Early Adopters was to streamline our offering from three shorter training sessions to a single session of 2 hours which covered the essentials of Learn Ultra. To do this, some content was removed that was not ‘essential’ to get started, and that was not relevant for the majority of colleagues. The Learn Ultra training course, ’10 Things to get started in Learn Ultra’↗️ ran online and across University campuses twice a day, five days a week between March – September 2023, with regular sessions running until the end of January 2024. Attendee feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 91% of respondents stating that they are now more confident in creating accessible learning materials in Learn Ultra, and 76% of respondents agreeing that delivering courses in Learn Ultra is likely to improve the student experience. Using data and feedback from attendees and local learning technologists in schools and deaneries, we were able to keep a close eye on ensuring that the programme reached all course leaders, and help schools identify when further engagement in training was needed.
A task-focussed approach
It was also noted from engagement with the Early Adopter community, that while a session that covered all the essential tasks needed to set up and deliver a course was useful for the majority of Learn Ultra users, there were some colleagues, particularly in teaching offices, who required knowledge of fewer tasks, but an in-depth understanding of these tasks. Therefore, the ’10 Things’ training sessions were supported by a number of ‘task-focussed’ training courses↗️, spotlighting specific tasks in Learn Ultra, as well as wider learning technology tools and practices. Most of these were existing training courses that were brought up to date for the upgraded platform.
A flexible approach to training
Feedback from the Early Adopters, particularly academics, highlighted time constraints around attending live training, while acknowledging that the structure that a live training session provides is beneficial. In response we launched a self-led online version of the ’10 Things’ course, titled ‘Getting Started with Learn Ultra’, to meet the needs of colleagues pressed for time as well as serving as a resource to those who have attended the live session but are looking for a ’10 Things’ refresher.
Improving the student experience
The upgrade and training have provided colleagues not only the help needed to move their materials into the new ‘Ultra’ format, but also the chance to reflect on their materials and what they share with students, clear out outdated materials, incorporate best practice, as well as improve accessibility. Now that we are nearing the end of the upgrade project, we hope that colleagues will continue to reflect on their course content in Learn Ultra and take time to use the tools that Learn Ultra offers to continually improve the experience of students on their courses. The ’10 Things’ training course will continue running until the end of January 2024 in its current format, while the task-focussed training will continue running year-round as part of the Digital Skills Programme. Support and guidance videos and written materials are available on the Learn Ultra SharePoint.
Support from the Digital Skills and Training team
If you have any questions about Learn Ultra training, or the wider Digital Skills Programme available to staff, please check out our full programme for staff↗️ or contact digital skills↗️.
The Digital Skills and Training team collectively steer the University toward a more digital future. We offer IT training and online resources to support big changes in systems. If you have a project that may benefit from our expertise, visit our consultancy service webpage↗️, or contact us↗️.
Satu Kapiainen
Satu is the Team Manager in the Digital Skills and Training Team in Information Services. Satu joined the University in 2018, having previously worked in consultancy, organisational change and training roles in the private and public sectors.
