Hybrid Teaching FAQS

If a school or faculty is able to bulk order then please collate the number of devices required and order via IT services:

• Go to the IT Services self-service page. 
• Choose New Service Request
• Choose General Service Request
• In the “Details of the request” field specify which devices you require and how many of each. Please make it clear if you need other devices, such as a tripod.

Go to the IT Services self-service page. 

• Choose New Service Request.
• Choose Equipment – audio visual devices
• Tick “Webcam” or “Boundary microphone”, as required. Please make it clear if you need other devices, such as a tripod.
• Fill in the rest of the required details and IT Services will be in touch with how to get hold of them from our stock.

See Connecting plug in microphones and webcams for DIY interactive audio and video conferencing on teaching PCs (sharepoint.com)

The teaching PC is connected to the microphones on the lectern, so you can be heard online. Your laptop will not be connected to those microphones, so you won’t be heard online unless you connect a microphone to the laptop. At that point you are doing “DIY Interactive hybrid”, as you are not using the teaching PC or AV system.

In interactive hybrid equipped rooms, remote participants will be heard by everyone in the room. If the room is only Re/Play equipped, there is no set up to allow students online to speak into the room. See the list of Central Teaching Spaces to check whether your room is hybrid equipped. In a room which is not equipped, it may be possible to set up your own microphones, speakers and webcams to enable online students to talk to the room (eg via MS Teams or Zoom). See the IT Services help pages on connecting devices to teaching computers.

This is dependent on their distance from the boundary microphones, which generally have a 2 metre limit for clear audio, although this can vary depending on the acoustics in the room. Lecturers should repeat any questions from students in the room to ensure these have been heard by remote students.

Certain rooms have cameras which will show the chalkboards. These include all of the interactive hybrid equipped rooms and some Re/Play equipped rooms where it was necessary for the chalkboards to be recorded in Re/Play. For more specific information on camera set up for individual rooms, contact IT Services.

Visualisers are connected to Re/Play in Re/Play equipped rooms (and so will appear in both recordings and live streams where enabled), but they are not connected to the teaching PCs, so can't be used with Teams, Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate.

In interactive hybrid equipped rooms, if using video conferencing software (Team, Zoom, Blackboard Collaborate), an online speaker can be heard in the room. This will not be possible if the room is only Re/Play equipped.

See Synchronous Online Sessions

• Instructions for Collaborate
• Instructions for Zoom.
• Instructions for Teams

If you need to reset the audio settings to use the room’s microphones and speakers, the default settings are:

• Speaker: ExtronScalerD (Intel(R) Display Adapter)
• Microphone: Echo Cancelling Speakerphone

Teams recordings are saved in Stream. You can download recordings of meetings. They can be uploaded to Re/Play to be shared with students alongside other lecture recordings.

Some models might plug and play. Others might need drivers installed (via a request on the IT self service site). We recommend trying this out in the room in advance to check.

You will need to share the link with your students in advance, for example posting it in the relevant Blackboard course.

This is covered in the Recording educational activities policy which can be found on the University Education Regulations, Policy and Guidance page:

Streaming and Recording of Students: (29) As part of students’ studies, students’ participation in teaching activities and assessments may be streamed or recorded and these recordings used and made available for educational purposes..... Recording Notice (30): Students must normally be made aware at the beginning of each class or lecture when recording of educational activities takes place.

If the technology is not working in the room then ring the AV Helpline on 0117 42 82222 (internal 82222). If you need guidance on hybrid teaching then contact the DEO.