Teachers’ basic digital skills

Belongs to themes:

By selecting a degree programme you are able to see the general content as well as the possible degree programme-specific content.

The University of Helsinki provides not only contact instruction, but also remote instruction as well as various combinations of the two.

What do you need?

Equipment and an internet connection

Make sure that you have access to a computer and an internet connection. When giving a remote lecture, you also need a microphone and a camera. See Flamma: How to order IT accessories (requires login).

User account

Before your courses begin, make sure that you have a University of Helsinki user account. See Applying for access rights (Helpdesk).

Information on your courses

For information on your courses, log in to the University of Helsinki’s Flamma intranet, select the Teacher page and see under My Teaching. You can find links to the relevant course pages and to course areas in Moodle if you have linked the Moodle area to the course page.

You can also find information on your teaching (e.g., a lecture-based course, an examination or a seminar) in the student information system Sisu. This information is usually entered into Sisu by an education planning officer, who ensures that the basic details are correct and suitable teaching facilities have been booked. See Sisu instructions for teachers.

A course page is created for each course or examination (known as an ‘implementation’ in Sisu) entered into Sisu. Course pages are public. You can use your course pages to provide students with relevant information, share learning material or links to Moodle areas and send students email messages. See Course pages – user instructions.

The course descriptions in the curriculum define the learning outcomes, scope, completion methods, prerequisites, evaluation methods and grading scale of each course, and whether the course is compulsory. You must comply with what is outlined in the course descriptions as well as in the teaching programme. See The curriculum.

Using Moodle for interactive teaching

The most diverse and most commonly used online learning environment at the University of Helsinki is Moodle, which you can utilise to receive learning assignments and give feedback on them, administer examinations, and guide, supervise and monitor your students’ learning. See Moodle.

User support: moodle@helsinki.fi

Using Zoom for video communication

The Zoom video communication tool can be used for remote lectures and other scheduled teaching. You can also use Zoom for small group discussions and groupwork or record your teaching for the benefit of absent students and for revision. See Zoom instructions.

User support: edutech@helsinki.fi

Other teaching tools

The University also offers other tools for teaching, such as Presemo to activate students and Examinarium to hold examinations. See Tools for teaching.

Learning material

The course descriptions in the curriculum determine the required reading for courses.

Please make sure that your learning material is readily available to students online, or for no charge to those with a University of Helsinki user account. Helsinki University Library supports teachers in the selection of open-access resources. User support: hulib-textbooks@helsinki.fi

If you create your own learning material, please make sure it is

Evaluation

Teachers record student credits in the student information system Sisu. If you have used the Examinarium examination system or the Moodle learning environment, you can use their features to export grades to Sisu. See Evaluation and grading in different systems.

User support: assessment@helsinki.fi

Course feedback

The University of Helsinki uses the course feedback system Norppa. Students can use Norppa to give feedback on teaching. A summary of the feedback will be displayed on the course page. See Norppa instructions.

Notifications for teachers

News and notifications related to teaching can be found on the University of Helsinki’s intranet Flamma (requires login). The Teacher page also include a list of your courses, enable you to set your office hours and contain a great deal of other information important to teachers.

Training

The University of Helsinki supports the development of its teachers’ digital skills. See Education and qualifications.