Resources for Learning

As a student taking courses in the School of Mathematics, we assume that you will have:

1. Computer
2. Digital writing device
3. Smartphone
4. Good internet connection

Further details are available in this guide:

Equipment for studying in the School of Mathematics  

School of Mathematics students

Students on programmes run by the School of Mathematics can request devices from us.

Request a laptop and/or digital writing device 

Please see this guidance from the University's Institute for Academic Development:

Study Hub learning resources: Hybrid learning and teaching

Some of the most important tools for online teaching will be

• the University VPN service
• Teams
• Zoom
• Blackboard Collaborate

The following sections will have more information about each of these platforms or services as well as relevant links to getting started with them.

University VPN

Depending on where you are, you might not have access to all the online platforms you will need for online teaching. If you find this to be the case, the university offers a VPN service through which you can connect your own device from your current location to the university network and can use the internet as if you are in Edinburgh.

The VPN service also allows you access to any files you might have stored on a university computer in the last year that you might want to access during the upcoming year.

For more information on how to set up the VPN on your device, visit the IS Services website

Microsoft Teams 

Teams is a platform for working in groups. Some of your workshops might use this platform and it can be used to work on group projects as well. The university has a getting started guide and more information on Teams provided by the IS Service.

Zoom 

Zoom is a video communications tool which you might encounter for teaching sessions as well as social interactions within and outside the school. Find the quickstart guide as well as more information on Zoom on the IS Service website. Zoom can also be used to have live presentations or pre-record your presentations. More information as well as another quickstart guide, can be found in the document above.

Blackboard Collaborate 

Collaborate is a university-supported online classroom. Some of your synchronous teaching might happen on Collaborate and it can also be used to schedule and hold meetings with other participants within the university via MyEd. For more information on how the interface looks for students, IS Services has more information:

Blackboard Collaborate for Students

You might find it necessary, to access library resources online. More information about the current status of the library services and help with getting online access to the resources you need can be found on the Library Website.

Find out more about our Making the most of IT (Information Technology) presentation which introduces new students to the University's IT, library and learning technology services, and find out how to request one for your school.

Making the most of IT

You might find Generative AI (GenAI) tools useful in the general course of studying.

It is important to understand to what extent, if at all, you may use them directly in the production of assessed work to be submitted for credit. This will vary between courses and sometimes between assignments within courses.  The Course Organizer will make it clear when and how GenAI may be used in their assignments. 

A global underlying principle is that you remain responsible for the work that you hand in, however it has been created.  You should, if asked, be able to explain your work, elaborating on the processes used to reach the final outcome, and explaining and justifying the use of any tools (including GenAI).  The work you submit should be an authentic demonstration of your own understanding, whatever tools you have used to create it.   We design coursework with the intention that it helps you learn, and we believe you will get the most benefit from completing coursework when you approach it as intended by the Course Organizer.

When we do not believe it is appropriate for you to use GenAI to complete coursework, we will explain the justification for that decision.  This might be that we are testing that you have fundamental skills that we consider it important for you to acquire independently.  If this is the case, we will explain why we consider these skills important. 

We aim to equip you to succeed in the world after you graduate.  GenAI will be a routine tool in many workplaces and educating you in its ethical and responsible use is therefore important.  We are also admitting you to the community of mathematical scientists, and there are certain fundamental skills that we expect you to learn, irrespective of the perceived ability of technological tools to complete tasks that demonstrate those skills.

Many courses are structured to give you practise in developing skills essential to understanding the material.  Using GenAI inappropriately to complete such assessments will therefore deprive you of this practice and leave you ill-equipped to complete future assessments in that course and follow-up courses.

The use of GenAI in assessments for purposes for which it has been deemed inappropriate will be treated as academic misconduct and will be subject to the usual possible associated sanctions. You should be aware that GenAI tools can:

• plagiarise without acknowledgement other sources, and submission of such an output would therefore constitute plagiarism;
• produce content based on information generated by humans which may contain societal biases and stereotypes, which may then in turn be replicated in the GenAI tool’s response; and
• produce incorrect, irrelevant, or out-of-date information as a result of being trained on a wide range of internet-based sources of differing qualities, including those that are poorly referenced.

The fundamental underlying principle is that you remain responsible for the work you submit, however it has been created.

School of Mathematics students have access to GenAI tools via ELM: https://elm.edina.ac.uk/(requires EASE authentication). 

All University of Edinburgh students can access Microsoft Copilot (uses ChatGPT 4) https://copilot.microsoft.com/ through your University Microsoft account.