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Software for success: Choosing the right software for your research project
By Katy O Foster, on 28 September 2023
Planning and completing a research project can be an exciting yet daunting prospect.
For the usual range of tasks – collecting, analysing and presenting data, writing up and managing literature – there is an even larger range of software options to help you achieve your goals. With multiple options available, it can be difficult to decide which is best for your project and the task at hand.
If you haven’t thought about what tools you will use, or if you have thought about it but you’re just not sure what to do, the Software for Success series of digital skills training courses is for you. There will be demonstrations of different tools and approaches with guidance and discussion of what tool is best for the job. If you think you know what software you are going to use, then we invite you to come along and be challenged: there may be tools on offer that could smooth the way to a successful research project.
Software for success sessions happening this term:
- Data collection – discover which survey tool is the best one for your research project:
DSD: Software for Success: Survey tools | Wednesday 11th October | 11:00-13:00 | Online
- Analysing data – an overview of the tools available:
- Presenting data – different tools available for visually presenting your data:
DSD: Software for success: Data visualisation | Thursday 12th October | 10:00-12:00 | Online
- Presenting data – which is the best chart type for your data?
DSD: Software for success: Winning with charts | Tuesday 24th October | 10:00-11:00 | Online
- Writing – is there life beyond Word? Is there any reason to go there? How do you cope with fussy formatting requirements?
DSD: Software for success: Writing tools | Wednesday 1st November | 14:00-15:00 | Online
- Managing literature – imagine a world where your library and database searches link seamlessly with your citation system and a database of annotated PDFs. That world can be yours:
Need help booking?
Further instructions on how to book courses can be found here: How to book a course on MyLearning
Discover more digital skills training
The Digital Skills Development team at UCL offer a range of training courses to meet your digital needs. Find out more here: Digital Skills Development UCL
For any questions on Digital Skills Development at UCL, email isd-digiskills@ucl.ac.uk
Develop your digital skills: Autumn 2023
By Katy O Foster, on 18 September 2023
From training and support to helping you improve your digital capabilities, read below to find out what exciting opportunities Digital Skills Development can offer UCL staff and students this autumn term.
Term 1 training courses
Is there a programme or piece of software that you use regularly but feel you could know more about? Could your Excel skills use a refresh? Or do you want to learn new skills like image editing or how to create a podcast? Our online and in-person training provides the opportunity to develop your skills with the help of an expert trainer.
To book, follow the links below or find more information here: How to book a course on MyLearning.
Data analysis and visualisation
| General | ||||
| 12/10/2023 | 10.00 | 12.00 | DSD: Software for success: Data visualisation | Online |
| 24/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Software for success: Winning with charts | Online |
| R | ||||
| 18/10/2023 | 13.00 | 20.00 | DSD: An Introduction to R with Rstudio (campus-based) | In-person |
| 07/11/2023 | 14.00 | 16.00 | DSD: Data visualization in R with ggplot2 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 10/11/2023 | 10.00 | 17.00 | DSD: An Introduction to R with Rstudio (campus-based) | In-person |
| 24/11/2023 | 14.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Better Tables in R (Campus-based) | In-person |
| 14/12/2023 | 10.00 | 12.00 | DSD: Data manipulation in R with Rstudio | Online |
| Stata | ||||
| 15/11/2023 | 13.00 | 20.00 | DSD: Getting started with Stata (campus-based) | In-person |
| 05/12/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Scripting Stata Graphs | Online |
| Nvivo | ||||
| 13/12/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: In a Nutshell: Starting an Nvivo Project | Online |
Interaction and collaboration
| General | ||||
| 11/10/2023 | 11.00 | 13.00 | DSD: Software for success: Survey tools | Online |
| 17/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Mentimeter – improving feedback and interaction | Online |
| 26/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Use online whiteboards to encourage collaboration | Online |
| REDCap | ||||
| 17/10/2023 | 13.00 | 14.00 | DSD: Introduction to REDCap for research | Online |
| 17/10/2023 | 15.00 | 16.00 | DSD: Managing participants in REDCap | Online |
| Qualtrics | ||||
| 11/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Qualtrics Tips and Tricks | Online |
Accessibility and assistive technology
| General | ||||
| 10/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.30 | DSD: Creating accessible Powerpoint presentations | Online |
| 31/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Best practice for video captions and transcripts | Online |
| 31/10/2023 | 14.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Creating accessible documents with LaTeX (Campus-based) | In-person |
| 23/11/2023 | 14:00 | 15:30 | DSD: Creating accessible Word documents | Online |
| 12/12/2023 | 10:00 | 11:00 | DSD: Creating accessible social media content | Online |
Mastering Excel
| General | ||||
| 01/11/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Excel Tips and Tricks | Online |
| 16/11/2023 | 14.00 | 16.00 | DSD: Intermediate statistics with Excel | Online |
| 29/11/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: In a Nutshell: Excel functions we should all know | Online |
| Excel Essential Skills Workshops | ||||
| 17/10/2023 | 12.00 | 13.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 1 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 08/11/2023 | 13.00 | 14.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 1 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 15/11/2023 | 16.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 1 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 22/11/2023 | 13.00 | 14.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 2 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 28/11/2023 | 12.00 | 13.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 2 (campus-based) | In-person |
| 06/12/2023 | 13.00 | 14.00 | DSD: Excel Essential Skills – Workshop 3 (campus-based) | In-person |
Multimedia content: Creating and editing
| Graphic design and photo editing | ||||
| 26/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Design an impactful research poster using UCL templates | Online |
| 31/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.15 | DSD: Basic image editing using free tools – demo | Online |
| 07/11/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: An introduction to free graphic design tools | Online |
| 14/11/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Photo editing with Pixlr X – workshop | Online |
| 16/11/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Creating infographics using free web based tools | Online |
| Filming and podcasting | ||||
| 12/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Podcasting made easy | Online |
| 24/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.30 | DSD: Planning and filming advice for a short film | Online |
| 31/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Best practice for video captions and transcripts | Online |
| 09/11/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Make a short film using your iPhone | Online |
Writing, presenting and referencing
| General | ||||
| 01/11/2023 | 14.00 | 15.00 | DSD: Software for success: Writing tools | Online |
| 02/11/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Software for success: Working with Bibliography and Citation Apps | Online |
| Microsoft Office | ||||
| 10/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: Word Tips and Tricks | Online |
| 10/10/2023 | 14.00 | 15.30 | DSD: Creating accessible PowerPoint presentations | Online |
| 09/11/2023 | 14.00 | 16.00 | DSD: Format your Thesis (Windows) | Online |
| 23/11/2023 | 14.00 | 15.30 | DSD: Creating accessible Word documents | Online |
| 13/12/2023 | 10.00 | 12.00 | DSD: Format your Thesis (Windows) | Online |
| LaTeX and Markdown | ||||
| 25/10/2023 | 10.00 | 11.00 | DSD: LaTeX: Demo of Overleaf | Online |
| 31/10/2023 | 14.00 | 17.00 | DSD: Creating accessible documents with LaTeX (campus-based) | In-person |
| 08/11/2023 | 13.00 | 20.00 | DSD: Overleaf: LaTeX with NatBib (campus-based) | In-person |
| 30/11/2023 | 14.00 | 16.00 | DSD: Getting started with Markdown | Online |
Office hours
To make them more widely accessible, our drop-ins have been changed to an office hours format, with slots available each day. If you have a question or would like individual support on a specific issue, book an appointment with one of our team: Digital Skills Development Office Hours
Upgrade your skills with the Discovery Tool
In partnership with Jisc, the Digital Skills Development team have put together a Discovery Tool to help UCL staff and students identify gaps in their knowledge and improve their skills. Use the self-assessment questions to start your journey towards better digital skills today: Discover your digital
LinkedIn Learning
UCL staff and enrolled students can access over 16,000 courses for free on LinkedIn Learning.
Contact us
For any questions on Digital Skills Development at UCL, email isd-digiskills@ucl.ac.uk
Using the free Equatio Chrome Extension with Moodle
By Kerry, on 14 September 2023
You may have heard of texthelp‘s literacy support tool Read&Write but did you know that they also have an education tool called Equatio which helps support the creation of accessible mathematical content online?
Equatio can help you create maths expressions without having to use any code or programming languages. You can easily add formulas and equations to your content through keyboard input, handwriting recognition or voice recording. It is also compatible with LaTeX for more advanced users. In addition, it allows some graphing input.
The Premium version of Equatio with unlimited use for Google, Windows, Mac and LMS can now be installed on UCL machines. Advice and guidance on this will follow in due course but in the meantime, we have created a wiki mini guide on what it is possible to achieve in Moodle with the free version of the Equatio Chrome Extension. This guide will be useful for anyone who would like to dip their toe in to explore what Equatio can do before installing a full version! There is also further information for anyone who is keen to learn more.
Using the Equatio chrome extension to insert speech, which you have recorded and converted to Math, into a Moodle Text and media area.
LinkedIn Learning Content now available in Moodle
By Jason R Norton, on 11 September 2023
Linkedin Learning’s media and courses are now available to be embedded in Moodle via the add activity/Resource button as an LTI. This will allow you to share either whole Linkedin courses, single media items, with the added bonus of being able to deep link to a specific point within a video.
A new Moodle mini guide is available here detailing how to use the tool.
Getting Started with Moodle and Lecturecast (self-paced courses)
By i.niculescu, on 5 September 2023
The ‘Getting Started with Moodle’ course has been updated in light of the Moodle 4.2 upgrade*. Additionally, we are pleased to introduce the ‘Getting Started with Lecturecast (Echo360)’ course.
These two self-paced courses cover the basics of using Moodle and Lecturecast (Echo360). They are aimed at UCL staff who are new to Moodle and Lecturecast as well as those wishing to brush up on their knowledge.
The courses provide a series of video and written guides, links to further resources and interactive activities. As they complete the course, staff are encouraged to practice using a Moodle Test course.
*Please note, the ‘Getting Started with Moodle‘ course does not focus on the Moodle 4.2 upgrade, for guidance and updates about this, please use the Moving to Moodle 4.2 self-paced course https://42-training.preview-moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=15
Getting started with Moodle
The estimated completion time is up to 2 hours or 3 hours if the assessment is completed. The course covers how to:
- Navigate: overview of how to navigate the Moodle homepage and course page
- Build: learn how to add resources and activities
- Access: give students and colleagues access to your course
The course can be accessed via the following link https://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=24915
Please note this is a self-paced course which you can complete in your own time. You also have the option to receive a certificate at the end of the course.
After completing the course, staff can get further support by getting in touch via email or by booking a 15 min consultancy session.
Getting started with Lecturecast (Echo360)
The estimated completion time is 1:30 hours, and the course covers the following:
- Lecturecast Overview
- 3-step training guide for beginners
- Advance training
The course can be accessed via the following link Course: Getting started with Lecturecast (Echo360) (ucl.ac.uk)
Lecturecast online live training
In anticipation of the year ahead, we are also offering online live training sessions to those engaged in preparation for next year’s Lecturecast content. Moreover, we’re committed to tailoring this training to address other pertinent needs within the Lecturecast (Echo360) platform.
If you’re interested or know colleagues who could benefit, kindly complete the form, and we’ll contact you shortly.
Changes to Lecturecast (Echo360) Interface
By Tom Walters, on 15 August 2023
We would like to inform you that Lecturecast (Echo360) is undergoing a theme transformation set to continue until September. You may have already noticed that elements of the Lecturecast (Echo360) interface have been updated with a refreshing Raspberry Pink colour palette. Please be assured that these updates are purely aesthetic and do not impact the platform’s functionality, which remains unchanged.
Our team is diligently working on aligning our user guides with this new theme. We appreciate your patience as we work through this process.
If you have any questions, concerns, or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to our dedicated support team at lecturecast@ucl.ac.uk.