While we wait for the Digital Services Operating Model to deliver the new generation of digital services, it is important to be clear about how we are delivering support for teaching spaces and the limitations of that service.
What to do when something goes wrong
AV support will be delivered this year by a small team combining resource from the Lecture Capture project, CTIL and the wider End-User-Services team.
- There will be between 2-3 FTE dedicated to AV support during support hours on the central campus.
- We will be using some paid student helpers, who may turn up to your class when you call for support.
- Support for Kirkcaldy and Ninewells campuses will be limited to remote support. Note that we cannot support NHS owned equipment.
- Support hours are limited to 08:45 – 17:00, Monday to Friday. We are unable to provide support outside of these times.
Like in previous years, the emergency support for teaching spaces centres around dialling *1 from the in-room phones:
Support Process
- You encounter an issue in the room that they are unable to resolve themselves.
- Dial *1 on the room phone (08:45 – 17:00, Monday to Friday)
- Your call will go through to the AV team who will aim to pick up within 45 seconds if a team member is available (missed calls go to an answer service that messages AV specialists via Teams)
- The AV specialist will try to resolve your issue remotely by asking questions and going through a standard troubleshooting process that may include remotely accessing the lectern PC and other advanced support techniques.
- If the issue cannot be resolved remotely, we will try to dispatch one of the team to your room. This may not always be possible and we will advise you accordingly.
- If an issue still cannot be resolved then the specialist will discuss options with the lecturer, depending on the severity of the issue. The lecturer retains ultimate responsibility for their teaching session.
- Issues with rooms that cannot be resolved immediately will be escalated to the appropriate second line support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if your *1 call is not picked up within 45 seconds?
Although we will make every effort to pick up all *1 calls, inevitably there will be times when there is no one available, especially at busy times. This year, we have introduced an answering service that will allow you to leave a message after the initial 45 seconds. This message will be routed to the AV team, wherever they are, via Teams and they will try to respond as soon as they are able.
However, if you do need to leave a message it indicates that support is not immediately available and you should decide how best to proceed to continue your teaching session (such as continuing without lecture capture if need be).
What if an issue cannot be solved in a reasonable time?
Sometimes, in spite of best intentions and efforts, something may go wrong with your room that cannot be resolved in a reasonable time. There are usually three options:
- Continue in spite of any remaining issues (the ‘making do’ strategy)
- Move the class to another room (where possible)
- Abandon the session and re-arrange an alternative (the ‘nuclear’ option)
Note that the lecturer remains responsible for the teaching session, and ultimately makes any decision about how to proceed, based on input from the AV team.
What if a room is put out of action?
Room that, for whatever reason, are put out of action for a long period of time, affecting further classes (e.g. the only projector breaks), then Timetabling will be informed. Timetabling will then work to re-assign impacted classes to a different room.
In the mean time, the AV team will work to resolve the issue and inform Timetabling when a room is ready to use again.
What about Hybrid teaching?
Hybrid teaching is supported in the same way as Lecture Capture and all Teaching Spaces.
Service Limitations
A key vulnerability this semester is the small size of the AV team. As a result, staff should be aware of the following:
- Our priority is the support of active teaching sessions. This means that when busy, we will prioritise teaching delivery over non-critical tasks such as:
- Setting up rooms for events.
- Implementing enhancements to rooms or services.
- Provisioning new facilities such as new teaching rooms.
- Availability of staff to answer calls and attend to rooms is limited. At busy periods and especially if staff are absent we may not be able to respond to calls in a timely fashion. In such a situation, please leave a message on the *1 support line and continue your session as best you can.
- In the event of support calls stacking up, we do have a queuing system in place. We will attend to queued calls as we are able based on priority as well as chronology.
- It is critical that staff ensure they have engaged with guides, training and other information that has been published by the project. This will reduce support calls related to understanding the workflow and allow us to focus on.
While we understand that issues that impact people’s ability to deliver teaching sessions can be frustrating, but i’m sure we can all agree to treat each other with respect and patience irrespective of the situation. Unacceptable behaviour toward support staff will not be tolerated and will be addressed through the appropriate.