Teaching & Learning
Welcome to the Teaching and Learning section of the ISS website.
The Teaching Enhancement Unit (TEU) has the main responsibility for teaching and learning support and development in DCU.
ISS works closely with the TEU to provide and maintain systems such as Loop VLE (virtual learning environment) which is used by DCU staff and students.
If these pages do not answer your teaching and learning query, then please contact us or the TEU as you think appropriate.
Loop
Loop is DCU’s Online Teaching Environment which provides staff and students with access to electronic teaching and learning materials (such as lecture notes and links to useful websites) and activities (such as discussion forums, group assignments, reflective journals and quizzes).
The way that Loop is used in DCU varies from module to module: in some cases, Loop resources and activities may be additional supplements to lectures and tutorials; in others, Loop activities may be fully integrated into your coursework.
Logging into Loop
- Open your web browser and go to http://loop.dcu.ie (Use Google Chrome)
- In the login area, enter your DCU email address and password
After you log in, the "My courses" block on the left-hand side of the screen will display links to the modules that you have access to. Greyed out courses are not currently available to the students on that course.
Training
Formal training on how to use Loop is provided by the Teaching Enhancement Unit
More information on Loop
- FAQ section (Requires logging in first)
- For all Loop related queries, log a ticket with ISS Service Desk
Connect to Loop Connect
Loop Connect powered by "Zoom" is DCU's virtual classroom.
A virtual classroom is an online environment that enables students and instructors to communicate synchronously using audio, video, text chat, interactive whiteboard, application sharing, instant polling etc.
Loop Interact, powered by Zoom is the virtual classroom or live web-conferencing tool that is currently available in DCU and can be accessed via Loop.
To log into Loop, visit loop.dcu.ie or log in directly to Zoom via dcu-ie.zoom.us
For information on how to use Zoom for teaching, consult the Loop Staff Support Page
Loop Reflect is a learning portfolio platform available to all DCU students and faculty. It is an online space, similar to a webpage, where you can record and share your learning through many different media. The learning portfolio supports making your learning visible to you and to others through the creation of a personal and reflective showcase of academic, professional, and/or personal achievements. Your learning portfolio is completely private to you but can be shared with peers, teachers, and potential employers, as you wish.
Loop Reflect is maintained and supported by the TEU Department.
For any queries/questions on Loop Reflect you can contact ISS who will ensure the query is assigned to the correct team/person in TEU.
For more info on Loop Reflect - click here
Course Builder
Coursebuilder is a development tool for teaching and learning, designed to assist staff with the writing of module descriptors in terms of learning outcomes in the short term and to facilitate on-going academic development in the future. The Coursebuilder system is hosted by ISS on behalf of the Office of the Vice-President Academic Affairs - OVPAA. Should you have any queries in relation to the overall running and structure of Course Builder please refer to the OVPAA
Course Builder Login
You may log in to the system with your standard DCU email address and password. Please contact ISS if you need to have your network password reset.
Loop/Anon Marking
Faculty office will assign module coordinators and teaching staff. This, in turn, will populate Anon marking and links to Loop. If you are unable to access your anon marking or moodle please check with you Faculty office that you have been correctly assigned.
User Guide
A user guide can be downloaded by staff once they've logged into Course Builder.
Further Help
If you require further help or instruction on using the system please contact the Associate Dean for your faculty as listed below.
Associate Deans
| Faculty | Associate Dean |
|---|---|
| Humanities & Social Science | Dr Jennifer Bruen |
| Engineering & Computing | Dr Garrett McGuinness |
| Science & Health | Dr Greg Foley |
| DCUBS | Dr Caroline McMullan |
| DCU Institute of Education | Dr Justin Rami |
Technical Support
Please contact ISS if you experience any technical issues such as:
- Unable to load the Coursebuilder login page
- Unable to login to the system with your standard DCU network username and password
- No access to modules in Anonymous Marking
- Database errors after login to the system
Lecturing Timetable
The DCU lecture timetabling system, Scientia is maintained and supported by the Academic Systems Unit (ASU)
The ISS department also work closely with the ASU and the DCU Registry office to ensure the system and related infrastructure is in working order.
This system is used across the university by faculty to create the DCU academic timetable.