Digital Education

<p dir="ltr">Our digital infrastructure is designed for accessibility on both mobile and non-mobile devices, catering to all our students’ diverse learning needs. We have carefully curated our digital learning environment with user-friendly and accessible tools hosted through Google Apps for Education. All students have access to Google Drive cloud storage and many other applications, including Google Docs, Slides and Calendar. This allows you to work and study easily from wherever you are, on almost any device. Students are also given free access to the Microsoft Office Suite for home and onsite use.</p> <p dir="ltr">Our Digital Education team works to enhance your experience at Arts University Plymouth through the use of digital tools and learning technologies. We believe that technology shouldn’t be a barrier and aim to make learning materials more accessible to everyone, whilst also staying on top of upcoming digital trends.</p> <p dir="ltr">The team offers a range of support options for students, including one to one or group meetings, workshops, teaching sessions and drop in services. They can help with anything from basic IT skills, using the Google Workspace for essay writing, presentations and sketchbooking to emerging digital trends such as AI tools and creative tools.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">Arts University Plymouth has been designated an Adobe Creative Campus, becoming part of a select group of universities worldwide that collaborate with Adobe to empower every student with essential creativity and digital skills to succeed, no matter their field of study or career pursuits. Alongside full access to Adobe Creative Cloud, students can also gain access to Adobe Express on personal mobile devices, tablets and laptops both on and off campus. Using this range of Adobe tools, students can learn to stand out more effectively with videos, podcasts, webpages, data visualisation, PDF creation and the latest features from Adobe Firefly. Every student on campus can take courses and earn certified badges from Adobe, showing future employers that they have essential skills in communicating visually, establishing a social media presence, and understanding generative AI.<strong><br /></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Adobe Express</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">All students have free premium access to Adobe Express. Adobe Express aims to empower those in all creative disciplines with essential digital skills to succeed in the classroom and beyond.</p> <p dir="ltr">With Adobe Express you can easily edit and create standout content, including flyers, banners, videos, PDFs and social content. You can complete complex edits in a single click to remove image backgrounds, crop and trim videos, generate QR codes, and more, with Adobe’s one-click Quick Actions. You can also import and enhance your PDFs with eye-catching text, backgrounds, design elements, and images. Work faster with thousands of professionally designed templates, design elements, and Adobe Stock assets (images, videos, backgrounds) at your fingertips.</p> <p dir="ltr">Students can access Adobe Express <a href="https://new.express.adobe.com/a/aup.ac.uk">here</a>, and can begin <a href="https://creativecloud.adobe.com/cc/learn/students">free Adobe Express training online</a>. <br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">At the heart of our digital ecosystem is the Student Portal, which is home to a wealth of information and resources that will support you during your time at Arts University Plymouth. As well as a large collection of videos, downloadable guides and information, the Student Portal is also where you will find information from the Student Support team about Learning Support and wellbeing. </p> <p dir="ltr">Our campus app, MyAUP, is another tool you can use to stay up to date with the latest news. It will also give you quick access to all your learning tools; information from all our important systems and platforms; and updates on competitions, on-campus events and job opportunities.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">When you enrol, you will have access to units of study. Each of these units has a dedicated space within our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to provide quick access to relevant information, resources, assessment and learning materials. Importantly, our VLE is used for discussion and engagement, allowing you to stay part of our community wherever you are studying. Our VLE can be easily accessed through a range of handy mobile apps that integrate the important tools and programmes that you’ll need. We use additional digital tools to help you stay engaged with your studies. One of these is Padlet, a great tool for online co-creation and the sharing of ideas, that supports engagement and development of concepts. We are interested in the study and science of how people learn and we understand that our students learn in a variety of ways. This is why we offer the best physical and digital learning solutions to all of our community. We keep up to date with emerging digital trends in education and the creative arts, which means we often take part in exciting and innovative research projects.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">At Arts University Plymouth, we use a host of technologies to support your learning and creative development. While you are with us, you will have access to a collection of Google productivity, collaboration and sharing tools collectively known as the Google Workspace. These are used for academic writing, presentations, storage, hosting learning materials and submission of work.</p> <p dir="ltr">Below you will find descriptions of commonly used apps in the Google Workspace. Google provide videos and guides which may be helpful for you to view prior to your enrolment with us as you will start using some of these programmes in your first few days as a student at Arts University Plymouth.</p><ul><li><a href="https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9582544?hl=en&amp;ref_topic=9049890#zippy=%2Ccommunicate-with-your-teacher-or-classmates%2Cjoin-a-video-meeting%2Cstart-or-turn-in-your-classwork%2Csee-your-feedback-or-grade%2Cmanage-your-account-classes-or-notifications%2Cexplore-the-classes-page%2Cexplore-the-stream-page%2Cexplore-the-classwork-page%2Cexplore-the-people-page" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Classroom</a> - Classroom is our online learning environment where you will be able to access your teaching material such as unit briefs, course information and updates from your lecturers. Download the Google Classrooms app for mobile on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.classroom&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;gl=US" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Play</a> or the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/google-classroom/id924620788" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">App Store</a>.</li><li><a href="https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9247501" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Calendar</a> - A fully integrated and customisable Calendar to manage your time effectively. It can be fully integrated with our timetabling system to keep track of your tutorials, lectures and 1 to 1 sessions. Get notifications and reminders of events - ensuring you don't miss a thing.</li><li><a href="https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9259748" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gmail</a> - Gmail is our email system. Access your emails anywhere on your computer or mobile device.</li><li><a href="https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282958" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Drive</a> - Google Drive is a cloud-based storage system that allows you to work, access and share your documents online... anywhere, anytime.</li><li><a href="https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/10005650?visit_id=637582261775558899-1671463286&amp;hl=en&amp;rd=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets</a> - These are the basic programmes to support you with your studies and operate in a similar way to that of their Microsoft equivalent e.g. Word, Powerpoint and Excel<br /></li></ul> <p>If you need any further help and support with any of these apps then you can contact Adam or Jonah, our friendly <strong>Digital Education team</strong> on <a href="mailto:digitaleducation@aup.ac.uk">digitaleducation@aup.ac.uk</a></p>