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A great way to communicate with your peers and teachers is by using Discussions in VU Collaborate. Online discussions could be part of your course as a formal assessment or as an area for general discussion. Discussions provide you with an area to post, read and reply to messages on different topics, share thoughts about course materials, ask questions, share files or work with your peers on assessments. Alternatively, formal assessments could be submitted using an Assessment Dropbox. It is a repository for your assessment documents and it eliminates the need to mail or email your submission to the teacher. 

How do I post a comment in the Discussion forums?

If teachers have created Discussion Forums in your space, start a new thread and get to know your peers. To access Discussions, click Communication and Discussions on the navbar. Click ‘Start a New Thread’ to write a message or ‘Reply to Thread’ to respond to someone else’s message. You cannot edit or delete messages that have already been submitted in the Discussion forum. If you have difficulties using this tool, please contact the teacher for assistance as they may have certain restrictions in place.

Can I receive notifications from specific Discussion forums?

You can receive notifications to specific Discussion forums or topics by clicking on the dropdown arrow next to the title and selecting Subscribe. You can also select how you receive these notifications.

Why can’t I see any Discussion forums or topics?

It is at the discretion of the teacher or lecturer to utilise the tools available in VU Collaborate, and they may have decided not to utilise the Discussions tool. If you have any concerns regarding this, please speak to the teacher or lecturer.

How do I submit assignments into my Assessment Dropbox?
To submit an assignment, simply enter your unit space then click on Assessments and Assessment Dropbox. Pick the appropriate Assessment Dropbox corresponding to the right assignment task. If you are unsure please contact the lecturer. To learn more about submitting assignments into an Assessment Dropbox please view this guide.

How do I check if I have submitted my assignment?

You can review your Assessment Dropbox folder submission history on the Submission History page. This can be found beneath the Assessment Dropbox Title on the Assessment Dropbox page.

For more information on discussions in VU Collaborate, please visit the VU Collaborate Student Help site. If you encounter any issues, please contact the ITS Service Desk by phone on (03) 9919 2777, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or self-service.

Please note that the teacher may not have chosen to utilise this tool. 

By now you’ve been able to access your spaces for the units you’re studying this semester, view some content and know when your assessments are due. With VU Collaborate, you can communicate with your peers and teachers seamlessly, view your lecture recordings online, participate in discussion forums, use virtual classrooms and monitor your progress using checklists.

How can I communicate instantly with my peers and teachers?

You can access Discussions or Email to communicate with your peers and teachers. Alternatively, use instant messaging to speak with other students and teachers in real time. Please note: The teachers may not have chosen to utilise these tools.

How do I view e-mails that I’ve sent in VU Collaborate?

By default, e-mails that you send within VU Collaborate are not saved to the Sent Mail folder. To change this, click on your name in the top right-hand corner of VU Collaborate and select Account Settings. Click on the E-mail tab and select the “Save a copy of each outgoing message to the Sent Mail folder” checkbox. To find sent e-mails, click on the messages icon that’s next to your name in the top right-hand corner and select “Go to Email”. Select the Sent Mail button.

How do I post a comment in Discussion forums?

If the teachers have created Discussion forums in your space, start a new thread and get to know your peers. Click Communication and Discussions on the navbar to access Discussions. Click on a topic to participate and ‘Start a new thread’ to write a message or read someone else’s message and then click on ‘Reply to thread’ to respond. You cannot delete messages that you have posted. If you have difficulties, please contact the teacher for assistance as they may have certain restrictions in place.

Why can’t I see any Discussion forums or topics?

It is at the discretion of the teacher or lecturer to utilise the tools available through VU Collaborate, and they may have decided not to utilise the Discussions tool. If you have any concerns regarding this, please speak to the teacher or lecturer.

What is Echo360 Active Learning Platform?

You may have seen the widget for this on the front page of your unit space.  This is the platform that is used at VU for lecture recordings and other videos that your teacher deems helpful for your learning.  The widget on the front page of your unit space will take you directly to the Echo360 Active Learning Platform (ALP) and teachers may also connect certain lectures to content areas of the unit space such as Week 1 lecture in the content for Week 1.  There is also an app available for download at Google Play, Apple and Microsoft Windows that you can use to check and upload videos and presentations (make sure you use the email ending with @students.vu.edu.au when logging into it for the first time).  Check the Student Help site guides for more information.

I've been told to use Virtual Classrooms this semester, how do I access the room?
Virtual classrooms are accessed in the relevant unit under the Communication tab.  View the Participating in a WebEx Virtual Classroom for steps on how to successfully participate in a Virtual Classroom session.

There is a checklist in my unit, how do I use it?
Easily use the checklist by ticking on the box next to the allocated task. It is recommended that you use the checklist to monitor your learning progress and the completion of your assessments.

For more information on VU Collaborate, please visit the VU Collaborate Student Help site. If you encounter any issues, please contact the ITS Service Desk by phone on (03) 9919 2777, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or self-service.

Please note that teachers may not have chosen to utilise all of these tools.