ULearn can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection, a suitable browser and Java VM installed . The web address to access ULearn is http://ulearn.surrey.ac.uk. You can also access ULearn from the University’s homepage by following the quick links provided for Staff and Students.

In order to access (or log into) ULearn, all staff members need to be activated in ULearn. This is not an automatic process, and you need send an e-mail to e-learning@surrey.ac.uk to request to be activated. Once you have been activated in ULearn, you will be able to log in, but you will only be able to access courses you’ve been enrolled on. Activation and enrolment are not the same thing in ULearn – activation registers you in ULearn, and enrolment registers you on a course in ULearn. By default, all staff (and students) are enrolled on a course titled `Plagiarism and Referencing.’ Please see the ULearn process map further up on this web page to get an idea of the steps you need to take to set up a module, get yourself enrolled on a course, enrol staff and students on a course, etc.

Staff who are not registered at the University of Surrey (i.e. do not have an Employer ID) have to be registered by the relevant Faculty for a computing account, known as a IT Services miscellaneous user account. This involves the completion of the Miscellaneous Account Registration Form issued by IT Services which is signed off by the user’s contact at the university and the Departmental representative and the Head of Faculty. An example of people in this category would be staff from external companies contributing to teaching on a temporary basis. This would also apply to students who are not registered at the University of Surrey and do not have a URN (eg. students on short courses).

Unlike staff, all students are automatically activated in ULearn. But, like staff, they need to enrolled on a course, before they can view or access the content or activities therein. The process to enrol students (and staff) is outlined in the support sheet:

Staff are expected to manage the process of enrolling their student cohort to their modules in ULearn. A support sheet is available which will take you through the steps to enrol students to a module in ULearn:

ULearn allows users to re-use sections: structure and content can be easily re-created and used for new instances of a section (e.g. the same ULearn module re-delivered to a different cohort). There is a support sheet that takes you through this process:

ULearn requires a few of your computer’s settings to be adjusted to ensure compatibility. The steps you may need to take are outlined in helpsheets available at: http://portal.surrey.ac.uk/itservices/InformationForStudents(New)/helpinformation/helpsheets/clean

It is highly recommended that staff use PDF (Portable Document Format) for lengthy documents that learners are likely to download or print out to read.

To view or read a PDF document, you need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. This application can be downloaded for free from the Adobe website

There are numerous applications that can be used to create and/or convert presentations, documents, and spreadsheets to PDF.

Two applications that can be installed by IT Services onto supported workstations are:

• Cute PDF – free
• Adobe Acrobat – offers increased functionality, but there is a licencing charge per machine

Please contact usersupport@surrey.ac.uk for further details.

WimbaCreate is software that allows you to quickly and easily convert your Microsoft Word documents into content for your online courses.

From one Word document you can generate a ULearn learning module with interactive features that is easily uploaded in to your course.

WimbaCreate works with Microsoft Word (Windows versions only).

WimbaCreate is available to all University of Surrey staff under a site license. If you wish to install it on your computer, please contact usersupport@surrey.ac.uk

To make your module user-friendly is to improve usability. In other words, how easy is it for students to navigate and find content and activities in your module? Some key aspects of usability when preparing materials for ULearn are:

• Presentation and layout – is it cluttered, too many different colours, fonts, icons?
• Navigation and signposting – can students find things easily, are the key elements signposted well?
• Readability – are the instructions clear, are the goals clearly outlined, are the materials and activities aligned?
• Consistency – do you refer to tools/activities by the same name every time, can the students expect a consistent structure in terms of how your resources/activities are set up?

A common usability problem encountered by students and staff alike is when Internet Explorer blocks Office documents as `unsafe.’ Even though the browser alerts about the Information bar, it is so inconspicuous, that most users don’t notice it. You run the risk of getting a number of e-mails from irate students: `The file won’t open!’

A simple rule of thumb is to use Office documents only if the learner is required to work in the document e.g. enter data in an Excel file. Otherwise, use HTML or PDF-based materials.

In order to offer the best usability and accessibility of materials for learners CEAD recommends:

• HTML for materials intended to be read online
• PDF for lengthy documents that learners are likely to want to print out to read
• Office documents only if the learner is required to download the document and use it as part of an activity

The smaller the file size, the quicker it downloads and makes your learning materials more accessible for your students.

Here some tips on how to reduce size of files being uploaded to ULearn:

• For text documents and PowerPoint presentations file size should not usually be a problem. It will be the embedded graphics (vector artwork) or images (bitmapped images) that are increasing the document file size. One option is to optimise the graphics or images before placing them in the text document. A simpler option is to convert the document to PDF which will automatically optimise and compress embedded graphics and images.
• For audio and video files it is preferable to upload them to Box of Broadcasts (BoB), the university media streaming service as this will automatically compress the content for web delivery. BoB will then provide an embed code that can be used to display the content in ULearn.

It is good practice to de-clutter your ULearn section. Most lecturers and tutors do not use all the course tools in the left-hand menu. Unnecessary course tools clutter the menu and make it more difficult for students and tutors to navigate. There are two options:

1) Disable Course Tools: This lets you decide which course tools will be available in your section. The rest will not appear in the Course Tools menu. To do this:

• On the section homepage, in the Build tab, in the Designer Tools menu on the left, select Manage Course > Tools
• Leave the tools you’d like to use checked, and uncheck the rest.
• Click Save

2) Hide Course Tools: This enables you to hide the course tools you will not be using in the section. They will not appear in the student’s view, but will appear greyed out with an appended `H’ to section designers and section instructors. To do this:

• On the section homepage, in the Build tab, in the Designer Tools menu on the left, select Manage Course > Course Menu
• Scroll to the order and Visibility section.
• Click the corresponding Hide Link button for the tools you want concealed in the student view