Digital learning tools

We provide support and guidance for the digital learning tools used by Surrey staff.

TEL Hub

Digital learning support for staff

Platforms

We support a number of platforms and tools available for staff to use in their teaching and learning approach.

SurreyLearn

SurreyLearn is the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE). It is a secure online environment which can be used in a wide variety of ways to enhance learning and teaching. Typically it is used to provide easy access to up to date and relevant learning materials, module and programme information and guidance, supplemented by activities such as discussion forums, quizzes or tests, and online assignments.

Turnitin

Turnitin can be used easily through SurreyLearn helping to improve the ease of submission for students and allowing academics to spend less time on administrative aspects of assessment. It can be used to support formative and summative assessment and offers a variety of ways to improve how accessible, timely and engaging feedback is.

Panopto

Panopto is an audio-visual system designed to easily record and produce educational materials, which can be made available online for students to review at a time, pace and location of their choosing.

Polleverywhere

Polleverywhere is an electronic voting system (EVS) enabling academics to rapidly collect, display and evaluate student responses to questions posed during class. The use of EVS is seen as an effective way to enliven the traditional lecture format and deepen the learning that takes place.

Typically, the academic will use an EVS to create and display multiple choice questions to students via a web page or PowerPoint presentation. Students confirm their responses by interacting with their mobile phone or web-enabled device. The EVS receives the signals transmitted by the students’ devices, computes them then displays the answers graphically, for example as a bar graph or pie chart. The results can be saved and transferred to a spreadsheet for further analysis.

SurreyLearn ePortfolio

SurreyLearn offers its own ePortfolio tool, which is owned by the user (students and staff) and can be accessed anytime throughout the student journey.

An ePortfolio is an electronic collection of evidence that shows your learning journey over time. It encourages users to track, share and reflect on learning experiences. The emphasis places the importance on looking at the entire learning process rather than the end result. They provide an engaging medium for students to demonstrate life-long learning and professional development goals.

Explain Everything

Explain Everything is an interactive screencasting whiteboard app for tablet and iPad. You can draw, write, voice record, insert images and text, all on top of a presentation.

Captured content

Captured content is the term used at the University of Surrey to refer to educational video recordings used to supplement teaching. These might take the form of: 

  • Recordings of live classroom teaching, i.e. Pantopto lecture capture 
  • Recordings of content created in advance or after a teaching session e.g. podcasts, vodcasts, screencasts, webcasts. 
  • Re-purposing recordings created by individuals or organisations beyond Surrey and made available through e.g. Box of Broadcasts , YouTube, Khan Academy, TED Talks and other discipline specific collections. 

View the Captured Content Policy (PDF).

Tools

The following tools are available to support the purposeful creation and repurposing of digital content which are appropriate for the discipline:

  • Panopto is an easy to use industry-standard lecture capture system available to all academic staff at Surrey.
  • Explain Everything allows users to draw, write, voice record, insert images and text, all on top of a presentation, with the collaborative and interactive whiteboard for iPad and tablet.
  • Powtoon contains cartoon style characters and objects to create engaging animated presentations.
  • VideoScribe can be used to create whiteboard animations for explainer-style short animations.

Support

For further guidance and support, please check the TEL Hub (staff login required) or email tel@surrey.ac.uk.