This document discusses the implementation of the Collaborate Ultra video conferencing tool at the University of Northampton. It describes both the benefits and challenges experienced by students and teachers. While Collaborate helped increase engagement and inclusion, technical issues caused disruptions. Recommendations include thorough testing, developing use cases, and ensuring support is available to build confidence in the tool. With effort, Collaborate shows potential to enhance learning, but successful adoption requires addressing connectivity problems and supporting new pedagogical approaches.

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Collaborate Ultra
Cache of Gold - or Wild, Wild West?
www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/
(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Ukulele Orchestra

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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
www.flickr.com/photos/kaptainkobold/
(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

3. www.flickr.com/photos/hoyvinmayvin/
(CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

4. hellowaterside.northampton.ac.uk/

5. www.northampton.ac.uk/ilt/current-projects/waterside-readiness/
‘Why do we do ABL?’ blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/2017/10/30/why-do-we-do-abl/

6. www.flickr.com/photos/shirleypickford2 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
clipart-library.com/clipart/kcKo9xo5i.htm

7. ‘Collaborate is well aligned to help support the
institutions’ transition.
Whether it is in augmenting physical space,
supporting new ways of teaching and learning, or
developing digital literacies, Collaborate affords the
opportunity to support a range of different strands of
the Waterside model.’
Why Collaborate Ultra?
UoN Collaborate consultancy report
December 2016-2017

8. • Browser-based
• Modern, responsive
• Breakout rooms
• Recording
• Guest link
The Good
Students more actively involved in their learning
Appreciate recordings
Helps digital literacy/fluency – student and tutor
Sessions more inclusive, engaging, collaborative
• Video / Audio
• Chat / Whiteboard
• Polling
• Session reports
• BB app / BB Instructor
• Integrated into BB Learn
• Accessible
• Telephony

9. Tutors - for being brave enough to
implement video conferencing - an evolving
technology, and to try a radical new learning
and teaching approach...
The Brilliant
Our Students –
for their feedback
Virtual classroom
Guest speakers
Employability services
Learning development support
1:1 Tutorials / interviews
Online training / support
Team meetings

10. Dr. Prithvi Perepa,
Senior Lecturer in SEN
Education
Student Research Proposals
• Students in Thailand deliver their
research proposal presentations –
an opportunity simply not possible
before and very much welcomed
by students.
• Monsoon weather sometimes
affects access by wireless, but
students then use their mobiles.
• Prithvi is still able to deliver his
classes whenever he is abroad

11. Emma Whewell, Senior
Lecturer, PE Specialist,
Teacher Education
Interviews – Primary graduates
Positives
• Sharing drawings of themselves through the file
share facility has been very effective, allows both
users to see and annotate during the interview.
• The chat facility has been used effectively to post
interview questions to refer to during interview.
• The guest link and recording facility have been
effective in organising the interviews and
referring back to and analysing the content.
• Works on most internet platforms so my
participants have been able to join me from their
own homes on an evening
Negative - the reliability of connection.

12. Jo Palmer,
Senior Lecturer,
Teacher Education
PG Cert twilight classes
Positive:
• I set a ‘Pre F2F task’, which might be a reading or an activity linked to a
discussion board, the outcomes of these tasks facilitate the collaborate
learning event. 1 hour Collaborate session.
• Collaborate has been extremely useful when teaching PG Cert students
who are distance learners, it has enabled us the opportunity to share
ideas and have discussions that we would have in a teaching room / F2F
situation.
Negative / areas for development:
• My distance learners live in rural Norfolk and Suffolk, where internet
connection is not always strong. This can cause disruptions to the online
sessions with some discussion points being missed.
• Will Collaborate become too ‘chalk and talk’ focused. This is something
that we are trying to move away from. For staff who are less confident in
the technology, or have large cohorts of students, I wonder how
manageable Collaborate will be.

13. FEASST@8 Project Team
Project to develop a
community of PhD students,
located in: India, Beirut,
Birmingham, Reading,
Bedfordshire, Northants.
‘This has been a great
enabler for our Project
team…..everyone is starting
to feel part of a community.’
PhD project community
mypad.northampton.ac.uk/feasst8/2017/04/25/session-1-getting-to-know-you-online/
‘For those online sessions, I found it amazing.’

14. Team meetings and 1:1 support
Team meetings
• Team meetings take 30-40
mins rather than 120 mins.
• Focused discussions.
• Can attend from any
location
The (Award winning!)
UoN Learning
Technology Team
1:1 Support
Some team members regularly give 1:1 support via Collab,
and include a link to a Collab room in their email footer

15. Professional Studies Lectures
Karen Woolley,
Senior Lecturer,
Year 2 Leader
BA Primary Education
‘We need to walk
into the Future...’
The case study of how the BA
Primary Education teaching team
reconsidered their pedagogy; how
they built collaborative video
conferencing into their series of
cross-programme learning events;
and the experiences of all
involved.
https://northampton.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Karen+Woolley+Feedback+on+Collaborate+session+for+Professional+Studies/1_cvjbosqj

16. padlet.com/belinda_green1/ProfStudies
‘When the IT is working, Collaborate works
really well, being able to stay connected to
all the groups and share our ideas. It is
much easier to discuss information in a
seminar setting than in the lecture’
‘Collaborate - mixed
feelings so far. I'm sure it
will work effectively one
day and will be fantastic for
distance learning’
‘Recording of the lecture supports
students with additional needs /
those who are absent/those who
want to revisit key content’
‘Collaborate from the start has been
a huge failure. Lessons are of a
poor quality. It is difficult to hear the
lead lecturer most of the time and
students lose interest’

17. • For the second session, tutors
reverted to one lecture room…
• 68 students in 4 groups uprooted
• One tutor swore never to use it
again (!)
• Tutor confidence shaken
• Required even more support the
next time
• Student evaluations were
forthright!
Things all went a bit Wild, Wild, West
i.vimeocdn.com/video/289837257_1280x720.jpg80x720.jpg

18. The Uncomfortable !

19. The Uncomfortable !

20. To build it successfully into teaching and learning needs:
• Institutional backing
• Core team of key stakeholders, and Collab ‘champions’
• Realistic & meaningful measures of success
• Training and technical support for staff
• Clear guidance for students
• Purposeful activity – what does this offer that F2F cannot?
• New/Existing policies may need to be developed/modified
• Create a Community site, to include Feedback cycle
• ‘Rock-steady’ connectivity!
Recommendations
1. Ensure that all technical
issues are resolved at the
outset.
2. Test thoroughly where
possible – network checks
https://www.voipspear.com/
3. Develop genuine use cases
align them and then
prioritise them – develop
case studies

21. community.blackboard.com/groups/mocousergroup

22. • Indication when someone is typing…..
• Timer - Q1 2018 - yay!!! 
• Customisation of polls (medium time frame)
• Integrates Collab rooms with Learn course Groups
• Post images onto whiteboards
• Screenshot button
• Engagement report (available to tutor in session)
• Capture poll results in recordings
• Dynamic Bandwidth Adjustment – sounds very useful!
• Rename recordings(in development)
Community WishList
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jGGoCRv3hNHjH
baE4gmk6F4F4AIlDt4T2-Wdvvn9TCE/edit#gid=0
The Wish List
Grrrrrrr….
• Not being able to mute
the app, (so have to plug a
headphone into the device
if in class)
• To Join the Course room,
you click something that
says ‘Get secure link’ ??
• Lag in recordings
• Sound issues in Firefox.

23. pixabay.com/en/copper-boiler-gold-coins-treasure-2236777/ (CC 0)
Cache of Gold ?

24. i.vimeocdn.com/video/289837257_1280x720.jpg80x720.jpg
… or Wild, Wild West …?

25. Performed by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Available on ‘'Anarchy in the Ukulele‘
https://youtu.be/pLgJ7pk0X-s?t=3m23s
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly