Contents
What is the Inducktion project?
What do I need before I start?
How do I scan the barcodes on the posters?
I don't have the right kind of phone - can I take part?
I can't scan the barcodes or activate the links on the posters.
How much time does the tour take?
Do I have to go round the tour in order?
How can I find my way from place to place?
Why are so many any important places missing from the tour?
Why is the tour only available 19th Sep to 2nd Oct 2013?
Why are you using Mahara for the online entries?
I see somebody who looks confused - shall I invite them to join me?
What is the Inducktion project
This project launches in Autumn 2013. Partly funded by a small grant from the Higher Education Academy Changing the Learning Landscape programme, it's a collaboration initiated by E-Learning Environments (Information Services Division) and including:
- UCL Union
- Student Support & Wellbeing
- The Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching.
More about the project on E-Learning Environment's blog.
For information about the tour itself, see the About the Inducktion Tour page.
What do I need before I start?
- A mobile device, such as a phone or tablet, which has an integrated camera and internet connectivity - or perhaps somebody you know has these?
- A barcode scanning app installed on that device (what is this and how do you use it?)
- You can use your own mobile internet access - but I'd recommend connecting via UCL's (called Eduroam) because that's part of settling in. http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/students/wireless/eduroam
- Your student card - this will get you access to the libraries.
How do I scan the barcodes on the posters?
How to scan barcodes with your phone.
I don't have the right kind of phone - can I take part?
It would be great if you could join somebody that does have a phone or other device (such as a tablet eg iPad) with internet and a camera.
But in case you can't, I have produced a word processed guide (.doc) which you can download and print. There's a destination on each page, so if you want to play along with the cryptic clues, you can.
UCL also offers some very good campus orientation tours (mine is distinct from these though - mine is also an introduction to life at UCL):
- a self-guided tour to help you orientate yourself on campus - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/access-ucl/self-guided-tour
- a virtual tour with video panoramas which you can take from the comfort of your desktop - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prosp-students/access/virtual-tour/
I can't scan the barcodes or activate the links on the posters.
Because there are so many different mobile devices out there, we need to give you quite general instructions for scanning the barcodes.
And because you're using your own personal device with a downloaded scanner, UCL staff won't be able to help you or make decisions about what to download to your phone - but you might consider the following:
- could you ask a fellow student for assistance?
- or could you join other students who have a working scanner? That could be fun.
If you can't do any of those things, then don't worry - there's a word processed guide (.doc) you can download and print.
How much time does the tour take?
A minimum of an hour - but it depends whether you take some time to look round each destination.
Don't worry, you don't have to do it all at once. The posters will stay in place during Induction Week.
Do I have to go round the tour in order?
No - the route is circular so you can scan the posters wherever you see them.
Or if you'd prefer your own route I've made you a map - there's a link at the bottom of every Inducktion page.
It might be a good idea to follow my order, though, because I've planned the most straightforward route between destinations.
How can I find my way from place to place?
- There's an interactive Campus Route Finder at http://crf.casa.ucl.ac.uk/ which shows the route on a map along with instructions. Very helpful.
- You can search by building and lecture venue at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maps
- The UCL Go app has maps you can use on your mobile device - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/isd/students/mobile/ucl-go
Can I skip the cryptic clues?
Yes, of course. Here's how to do that while following the tour.
- On each page use the 'Just tell me' link.
- A page loads which gives you your next destination.
- Go there - using the map if necessary - and find the next poster to scan
Why are so many important places missing from the tour?
I've left it to your department to tell you about their own spaces and services - this tour tells you about spaces and services for all students. This is the first year that this activity has run - I welcome your suggestions.
My contact details are at the bottom of this page.
Why is the tour only available 19th September to 2nd October 2013?
There are a few reasons.
- We know from the research about induction that it's very important to reach students in the first weeks of their time with us.
- 2013 is the first year of the tour, so we expect to need to refine it in response to your feedback.
- In order to get agreement to place the posters, we needed to explain to the people and services nearby that they may receive more questions and visits than usual. Since this is a new experience for everybody, we thought that it would be a good idea to negotiate first for a fortnight and then, depending of the success of the Inducktion tour, we could ask for an extension. Not every destination can guarantee us space for a poster all year round - we'd need to investigate a more permanent solution.
Why are you using Mahara / MyPortfolio for the online entries?
MyPortfolio is the e-portfolio and groupwork environment at UCL. It is based on open source software called Mahara. We wanted to introduce you to MyPortfolio since it exists to support your studies and other aspects of life at UCL.
More about Mahara at https://myportfolio.ucl.ac.uk/about.php
In the long term we would like to explore the possibility of migrating to the UCL Go! campus app, and we'd like to embed the existing multimedia which already exists on UCL's web site. But for now, it's early days for this small project.
What about my privacy?
UCL isn't tracking individuals at all. You don't have to sign up to anything to take part in the tour - that means we aren't collecting personal data about you, and we won't share your details with anybody else.
We are monitoring how many links are activated, because we need to evaluate the project. But we aren't monitoring the individuals who activate them.
However, this tour does encourage you to use a barcode scanner installed on your device. The terms and conditions of the scanner will vary depending on which you choose. If you have concerns, do check these carefully.
I see somebody who looks confused - shall I invite them to join me?
How friendly of you! Yes, I encourage that. It's good to meet people - especially when you're new.
But if they say "No thank you", don't be down-hearted. Perhaps they're shy or have somewhere they need to go. Perhaps they don't like ducks. Some people don't, you know.
Contact me
On Twitter I'm @inDUCKtion and on email I'm ele@ucl.ac.uk.