Continuing to study with limited access to IT | Student guide

It’s important that you make sure we are aware that you have limited access to IT or the internet.  The best way to do this is by contacting your Personal Tutor or Module Leader and a quick email is probably the easiest way to do that.  If you are unsure of who they are or how to contact them, you will have received an email at the start of the academic year, to your LJMU email address, informing you of contact details for your Programme Leader and Personal Tutor. 

If you have limited access to the internet, make sure you give yourself as much time as possible to upload any assignments.  Of course, if things don’t work out then contact your Module Leader to explain your circumstances and request an extension. 

If you are unable to submit work online or work is taking longer to complete because of limited IT access, contact your module Leader or Personal Tutor for an extension.   We do not know how long the current social distancing measures will persist, but extra time might allow you to gain better access to IT.  You can also use the MyLJMU app and complete the Personal Circumstances form in the MyServices area.  You can do this from your phone as well as a computer. 

If you’ve missed a session or weren’t able to attend an online lecture, it may have been recorded, speak to your module leader about the possibility of accessing recordings and materials. 

To work successfully you should try to create a suitable study space at home. If possible, make a space which is away from distractions that might make you lose concentration. This goes for digital distractions as well. There are a range of apps and tools on your mobile phone that can temporarily disable some of the more distracting tools that you use. 

• iOS iPhone/iPad Screen time 
• Android Digital Wellbeing 

Although we cannot make direct recommendations for alternative apps, there are many tools that can help you concentrate, or at least reduce the temptation to view social media or check the news. There are other apps out there too…so try some out to see if they work for you. 

• Other apps you might consider 

If you share IT equipment with other members of the household, try to come to an agreement over who will use the equipment and when.  Use the time when you don’t have access to plan or otherwise prepare for assignments. 

You probably have games, photos and movies stored on the device. This will impact on what you can download, store and do on your phone. LJMU offer 1TB of space to store your work on Microsoft’s OneDrive. Download the OneDrive app and temporarily move some of your files into here. 

Download the Canvas student app

Make sure you have downloaded the Canvas student app on Android and iOS devices. This helps you to stay updated with your courses anywhere. 

Download the MS Teams App 

Download MS Teams to your computer or mobile device. You’ll find it in your app store. 

Download the Panopto app 

Download the Panopto app, this allows you to download recordings temporarily for 14 days should you have limited internet connection. Guides available for iOS and Android. 

Install Microsoft Office App or Suite 

All students have access to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, OneNote and Excel for a mobile device. You also have 1TB storage on OneDrive.  With these tools installed you can continue to take notes and develop draft versions of your work.  The advantage of using this is that you can then access these materials from any other device.  So, when you do get access to other technology, you can continue to work on, refine and submit your work. 

Handy tip: Consider using ‘speech to text’ in MS Word.  This will allow you to narrate into your phone and your words are converted to text.  You can use this to create the main body of your document and then edit the text.  You can also play this back on your phone to get a sense of how well it is written.  Dictate your documents in Word guide. 

Install OneNote 

OneNote is probably the most powerful study tool you haven’t heard of. You can use it to structure your revision or essay using a range of tools that make it easy to keep track of your studies. OneNote study guide for students. 

Install Microsoft Office Lens app 

This app allows you to take images of pages or diagrams and turn them into text. This can help you keep a record of your work on paper. Watch this

Taking notes whilst watching a video, reading an e-book or reviewing an academic paper is a normal part of studying.  You can then use the technology outlined above to record these so that you don’t lose them. 

If you find that your internet quality is affecting your use of MS Teams, try switching your Camera off and speak to your tutor about the issue. 

Downloading materials from Canvas 

View content offline to help you download a local copy of your Canvas materials to help you study without the internet. 

Downloading journal articles and some e-books 

Access the recommended reading and download these on to your computer so you can access them when you need to.  Unfortunately, not all e-books are available for download, but some are. 

Downloading recordings from Panopto 

If you don’t already have permission to do this, ask your module leader so enable you to download recordings onto your computer for you to study without the internet. Download a podcast from Panopto Guide. 

Install Microsoft 365 office suite on your computer 

You might not know this, but you have access to the full Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, OneNote) via the university. Once these are installed you then have some very powerful tools to help you organise your studies. LJMU Microsoft Download Information