Learning with COL (FAQs)

To successfully participate in our online courses, you will need some basic digital skills and confidence with using technology.

In addition, there are some basic equipment requirements:

• A reliable internet connection
• A computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone; equipped with a camera and mic (please note, we do not recommend using a smartphone for our language courses due to the small screen size.)
• A headset or earphones
• If you are taking a Languages course, you’ll also need the Zoom app/software installed and set up on your device (more guidance on this can be found on our Remote Learning: Zoom help page)

We recommend that your device runs a modern operating system, to avoid potential compatibility issues. For example, Windows 10 or the latest Apple software if you are using a computer or laptop.

Classes will take place on a designated day and time, just as they did in our classroom based model. You will be sent information prior to the course start date, with details on how to join your class online. Participants in a our Gaelic language courses will be required to use Zoom (and in some cases the University of Edinburgh's online platform Learn) and those studying an online course in another subject will be asked to use the University of Edinburgh's online learning platforms, Collaborate and Learn.

If you're unfamiliar with how to use Collaborate and want to take find out how it works, take a test run in Collaborate here. 

How you access the course content in Learn will depend on whether you are enrolled on a Credit or Non-credit course.

• For Credit courses you can access Learn via Myed using your matriculated student log in. 
• For Non-credit courses you can access your content via a link sent to you by email from COL.

We understand that sometimes technical issues may occur which are beyond our control. Unfortunately, we're unable to provide all students with technical support on an individual basis, however we have created some information pages that may be useful if you're having technical difficulties or you can take a look at common troubleshooting issues below: 

Missing link: Links are sent out around 48 hours before your course starts. If you don’t think you have received your links, please check your spam/junk folders. If you still cannot find it, contact reception at col@ed.ac.uk  

Password: If you have trouble logging into your Zoom class, make sure you are inputting the password correctly with no spaces. Sometimes when passwords are copy and pasted, there is a space at the end which you cannot see. Delete the last character after you have copy and pasted the password and hit enter.

Issues with Collaborate: For Collaborate, please make sure your operating system is up to date and that you have tried using Chrome for best experience. You can read more about using Collaborate here.

If you still have issues, please contact reception at col@ed.ac.uk. We ask that you answer the following questions when emailing us for technical help as this information will be needed:

• Please provide a screen shot of any error message (s) you are encountering
• Are you using Mac or Windows?
• What operating system version, ie Windows 10?
• Are you using WiFi, Ethernet cable or 3/4/5G
• What browser are you using? ie Firefox, Chrome, Safari. Please also try using an alternative browser to see if this issue still remains.