13th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference: Programme Announcement

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2025, Conference, Uncategorised Leave a comment

We are delighted to announce the programme for the University’s 13th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference.

The Conference is taking place between Tuesday 8 and Thursday 10 July.

Tuesday 8 July will be online, with sessions in person on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 July.

You can see the full programme on our webpages and you can book your place online.

This year’s conference boasts a number of external speakers.

Keynote speaker:

Dr Neil Currant will be offering a keynote presentation on Compassionate Assessment. There will also be a masterclass workshop with colleagues being able to apply these principles to their own scenarios. See our blog update for further information.

External speakers:

We’ve got three other external speakers lined up. For further information, click the links below:

In addition to that, we’ve got some amazing sessions from colleagues showcasing the cutting-edge teaching practices taking place at the University.

Topics include:

  • Generative AI 
  • Online learning and community building 
  • Student panel on their learning experiences
  • Outreach work with schools 
  • Inclusive curriculum design 
  • Pan Wales group update 
  • Innovative and engaging teaching activities 
  • PGCTHE and TPAU celebration 

The programme has been designed to support learning and teaching priorities and initiatives for the forthcoming academic year. 

If you have any questions, please contact us on elearning@aber.ac.uk. 

We’re looking forward to seeing you in July.

Merging Courses 2025-26

WordPress User [kaw] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment

Now that the 2025-26 modules are available to teaching staff, we can link them together at the module co-ordinator’s request. This process is called merging courses (previously known as parent-childing) and works with courses in Blackboard Ultra. Linking courses together is an effective way of dealing with separate courses with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different courses.

This process makes one course the Primary (previously parent), whilst the other course(s) becomes Secondary (previously child). There’s no limit on how many secondary courses you can make but there can only be one primary.

If you’d like to merge any courses, we invite module coordinators to contact elearning@aber.ac.uk 
indicating the module codes for the primary and every secondary course in the following format:

Primary module code: secondary module code/s

Examples from Aberystwyth

Many members of staff are currently using the merge course facility across the institution. Some examples are:

  1. Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years.
  2. Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, e.g. dissertation modules.

Essentially, any module/course that shares the same content is ideal for Merging courses.

What do students see?

Students will see the name of the course that they are enrolled on (even if it’s the secondary course) when they log into Blackboard but they will see all the content placed in the primary course. Instructors will not be able to place content in the secondary course.

Things to consider

Now, before the start of term and whilst course content is being built, is the perfect time for linking your courses. Whilst the linking of courses does save time in the loading of materials, here are some points to consider:

  • All content can be viewed as soon as the courses are merged (as long as students are enrolled on the course). In addition to PowerPoints and lecture materials, this also includes Announcements and other interactive tools on your primary course.
  • Historical student interactions on a secondary course (such as using blogs or posting in discussion boards) won’t be available once the courses have been merged.
  • Any submission points created on a secondary module before the merge takes place will no longer be able to be viewed. We would advise creating these again in the primary course.

How do I control content so that it is only viewable to a module cohort?

Whilst all content is automatically visible once the courses are merged, you can use groups and adaptive release if you only want the content to be visible to a specific module cohort. This might be useful, for example, if you have merged a 2nd year and 3rd year course but your students on the different courses have separate assignments. You can use groups – 1 for the 2nd year students and one for 3rd year students and limit who can see the assignment information and submission point. See our guidance on Creating Groups and Release Conditions (previously ‘adaptive relesease’ in Blackboard Original).

Merging Courses and the Grade Book

Once the merging takes place, all students will appear in the Grade Book of the primary course. You can, however, determine whether they are enrolled on the parent course as this information displays against the student in the Grade Book columns. 

If you’d like further information on this process or have any questions, please contact us on elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Generative AI in Learning and Teaching: Case Study Series

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We are working on a series of case studies to share practices of using Generative AI in Learning and Teaching Activities.

In this series of blogposts, colleagues who are using Generative AI in their teaching, will share how they went about designing these activities.

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Panna Karlinger (pzk@aber.ac.uk) from the School of Education in this blogpost.

Case Study # 1 – ResearchRabbit

What is the activity

This activity is focused around finding reliable academic sources for students to use in their coursework. The students are invited to use a ‘seed paper’ for an upcoming assignment to feed into ResearchRabbit, that uses machine learning to map related literature based on authors, citations, related topics or concepts. The students are then prompted to choose sources for their assignments, and critically evaluate these using the CRAAP test – checking the currency, relevance, accuracy, authors and purpose of the sources to pass a judgment on overall reliability before use.

What were the outcomes of the activity?

Students reported an increased confidence and ability to find academic sources and to demonstrate criticality within their work. Despite the vast resources and detailed guidance provided by both the teaching and library staff, students often struggle to find relevant sources to support their work, which was successfully addressed where students engaged with the activity.

How was the activity introduced to the students?

This activity was part of a key skills module, where students had prior knowledge of the CRAAP test, finding sources and had a discussion around and introduction to generative AI, the opportunities and risks involved as well as efficient and ethical use. Synthesising their prior knowledge, the tool was introduced as a demonstration, and then students used their own devices to find sources for a chosen, upcoming assignment for a different module.

What challenges were overcome?

Some students are still wary or skeptical about using AI, or fear being accused of unfair practice, so it was important to demonstrate use cases where they can use AI in a confident manner to help develop these skills. Some students did not have large screen devices on them and the activity was challenging to carry out on a phone, this has to be considered in the future, and some students require more hands-on guidance and support with the activity, this is largely down to digital skills and competence.

How did it help with their learning?

It reinforced some messages about critical AI literacy, evaluating output and sources in general, reminding them of the importance if criticality in their work, and finding further and often more up-to-date information and resources helped inform the coverage and evaluations in their assignments where students engaged as expected.

How will you develop this activity in the future?

As we no longer teach the key skills module, there is an opportunity to embed this into other modules, for instance in assignment support sessions or optional drop-ins. This allows for smaller groups of students and more one-to-one time as necessary, which could make this activity more successful; given that the students received the necessary guidance from the department on the use of AI. This could also be part of research methods modules or guidance we give to PGRs, as this resource is not only free, but also has more advanced capabilities compared to similar literature mapping tools, which was be valuable to anyone working on a dissertation or thesis.

Keep a lookout for our next blogpost on Generative AI in Learning and Teaching case studies. If you are using Generative AI in your teaching practice and would like to submit a blogpost, please contact elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 10/6/2025

WordPress User [mhj] Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery. 

Online events and webinars

June

July

Resources and publications

Other

  • Call for proposals (open dates) Unfiltered by EmpowerED: A Podcast Series where educators share unedited stories of inspiration and challenge
  • Call for proposals (open dates) Future Teacher Webinars
  • Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinars free open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. Social media: BSky, X.com.

Generative AI guidance and advice: Update

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, E-submission, Generative AI, Ultra, Ultra Leave a comment
Accessibility icons showing 3 images: a checklist, a computer workstation, an image

Library and Learning Services, Academic Registry, and UndebAber are collaborating on Generative AI guidance and advice.

Following approval at the recent Education and Student Experience Committee, we are pleased to share these resources with you ready for next academic year. 

  1. A Statement on the use of Generative AI

This statement outlines the principles and approach that AU intends to use for Generative AI across all its operations. 

  1. Guidance for students on using Generative AI

This document provides guidance and advice to students on how they might want to use Generative AI as a study tool. This document uses a traffic light system approach to alert students to the amount of caution they might want to apply in its use.

  1. Generative AI e-submission template statement

A statement has been added to the Blackboard course template for 2025-26 Courses providing advice and guidance for students on acceptable use of Generative AI and where to get support and help.

  1. Generative AI Assessment Learning Object Repository Statements

You can copy Generative AI assessment statements into your Blackboard course to communicate to students the acceptable use of Generative AI on the assessment. See our blogpost for further information on how to do this.

  1. A Generative AI Tool Use Statement

Designed by the Department of Law and Criminology, and already being used by some departments, this amended Tool Use statement allows students to outline how they have used Generative AI in their assessments. Students fill out the form and insert the tool use statement into their word document before submission.

The tool use statement can be downloaded from our webpage and uploaded to Blackboard.

There is a dedicated webpage for Generative AI advice and guidance where we place our support materials and advice.

We have consulted widely with colleagues and students on this matter, and we’d like to thank those who have helped shape this guidance.

Please direct staff enquiries to elearning@aber.ac.uk or contact your subject librarian.

What’s new in Blackboard June 2025

WordPress User [ksg2] Blackboard, Blackboard Tests, Monthly Update, Ultra Leave a comment

In the June update, we are particularly excited about a new question type: jumbled sentence.

There are enhancements to Discussions, Knowledge Checks (Documents), and Student Activity Logs that we would like to draw your attention to.  

New: Question type: Jumbled Sentence

This question type has been highly requested since our move to Blackboard Ultra, so we are pleased to see it available.

Jumbled Sentence is now an option in the Question Type dropdown. This question type is also available for the AI Design Assistant as well.

To create a jumbled sentence question:

  1. Select Add Jumbled Sentence question in the question creation canvas:
image showing Jumbled Sentence question

  • Enter your question text putting the gap and correct answer in square brackets:
image showing Jumbled Sentence editor window

  • Enter distractors which also appear in the dropdown for students to complete the question:
image showing distractor options

  • Save your question and deploy your test as usual.

The above question will display to students like this:

image of the Jumbled Sentence question from a students’ perspective

With students clicking on the dropdown to select the correct work which includes all correct answers and any distractors you might have added:

image showing Jumbled Sentence options from dropdown menu

Enhance student engagement with unread discussion activity indicator

Blackboard  improved the discussion experience by adding another indicator of activity. This addition encourages student engagement and makes it easier for instructors to track student activity. 

  • Unread Discussion Posts: The Discussions page now shows the number of unread discussion posts from anywhere in a course. 

Image 1. From the Course Content page, the link to the Discussions page now has a number beside it that indicates the number of new discussion posts.

Enhanced overall appearance and usability of Knowledge Checks in Documents

Last September’s release saw the introduction of Knowledge Checks to Documents.

These are a great way to assess students’ knowledge and understanding, whilst also acting as a way to maintain engagement with their Virtual Learning Environment.

The changes include:

Instructors and students 

  • Answer Choices: The letters of answer choices now display at the top of each answer option, rather than in the middle.
  • Answer Labels: Correct and incorrect answer labels have been moved from the side of an answer option to the top.
  • Question Text Padding: Padding on the right side of question text that extended past the answer text has been removed.
  • Small Screen Adjustments: On very small screens, the “Correct answer” label is now shortened to “Correct.” 

Instructors 

  • Answer Metrics: Answer metrics now appear at the top of answer text alongside the correct and incorrect answer labels.
  • Visual Indicators: Instead of highlighting questions with red and green to indicate the correctness of the answer, a bar now appears at the top of a question.
  • Result Labels: Result labels are now displayed in lowercase instead of all capital letters.
  • Small Screen Padding: Padding to the left and right of the Knowledge Check results has been removed for smaller screens.
  • Participation Count: The number of students who participated is no longer shown as a fraction. Instead, students are described as part of a number. For example, “2 of 8 students participated.” 

Image 1. The instructor view of Knowledge Check results in 3900.116.

Image 2. The instructor view of Knowledge Check results in 3900.118.

Students 

We made several changes to enhance the mobile and small screen experience for students. 

  • Submit Button: The Submit button now occupies the entire space at the bottom of a question, rather than just partial space on the right.
  • Feedback Layout: For correct answers, the checkmark indicator, correct answer feedback, and Reset button now stack vertically instead of being on a single row. This change also applies to incorrect answer feedback and the Try again button.
  • Answer Selection Indicator: On all screens, the answer a student selects now has a purple line to indicate it has been chosen. 

Image 3. The student view of an incorrect answer in a Knowledge Check in 3900.116.

Image 4. The student view of an incorrect answer in a Knowledge Check in 3900.118.

Student Activity Log

Blackboard added two new features to the Student Activity Log to enhance tracking and reviewing student engagement. These updates streamline the evaluation process and provide more comprehensive data for instructors. 

  • Content Access Filter: The Student Activity Log now includes a filter for content access, recording information not available elsewhere, such as Kaltura content. This allows instructors to easily review students’ access without needing to download and manually filter CSV files, saving time and simplifying the process.
  • Enhanced LTI Access Filter: The LTI access filter now includes all types of LTI items, including LTI placeholders. This provides instructors with more detailed insights into how students interact with LTI elements in their courses.

Image 1. The Content Access and LTI Access filters are in the Event menu.

If you have any enhancements to request from Blackboard, please get in touch with us via elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Generative AI assessment statements available in Blackboard Learning Object Repository

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Generative AI, Technical Updates Leave a comment
Image of Blackboard content area with a Generative AI tool use statement added

We’re pleased to announce that Generative AI Assessment Statements are now available in the Blackboard Learning Object Repository.

This is part of the work that Library and Learning Services are undertaking in collaboration with UndebAber and Academic Registry.

The aim of this work is to make it clear to students the expectations regarding their engagement and use of Generative AI in learning and teaching.

There are three statements available in the Learning Object Repository:

  • No Generative AI Tool use for this assessment
  • Some Generative AI Tool use for this assessment
  • Generative AI Tool use expected for this assessment

Each of the statements gives advice and signposts students to additional support.

Colleagues can copy these statements into the relevant area of the course. As acceptable levels of use of Generative AI vary between individual assessments, it’s recommended that the statements are copied into the relevant assessment folder.

For further information see: How do I add an item from Blackboard’s Learning Object Repository to my course?

In addition to the Generative AI Assessment Statements, a Generative AI Tool Use Statement is also available. This statement has been developed by colleagues in the Department of Law and Criminology and gives students the opportunity to outline how they have used Generative AI in their assignments.

If you have any questions about using the Learning Object Repository, please contact elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Course Creation 2025-26

WordPress User [kaw] Blackboard, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

All courses for 2025-26 have been created and are available to staff in Blackboard. 

This year’s course template will include some new items which we hope will help both staff and students:  

  • An item about Panopto recording and captions (see our caption blog post for more information)  
  • A link to the AberSkills web pages  
  • Information about AI and Unacceptable Academic Practice  

Putting this information into the course template means that all students see the same information. It also means that staff don’t have to include the information when setting up their courses for the new academic year.   

All AU Blackboard course sites use an agreed template with areas for core information along with agreed content for university-level policies. The course template is agreed by the Quality and Standards Committee annually. Module Coordinators have responsibility for the organisation of materials in their courses. Staff should not delete template content.  

Consult the Required Minimum Presence for what should be included in the course.  

If you need any assistance with Blackboard courses, see Staff Blackboard Guide.   

Once courses have been created, we will run a weekly feed between the Module Management System and Blackboard to reflect any updates or changes.  We have made some changes to course roles this year, and more details are available on our blog post.  

Students won’t come onto courses until registration has been completed in September.   

E-learning Policies Review (2025-26)

WordPress User [kaw] Accessibility, Blackboard, E-submission, Panopto, Training and Support, Turnitin, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

We revisit and revise all the policies relating to e-learning tools annually. All the changes are approved by the Quality and Standards Committee. The new policies are now available, and here are the details of the main changes. If you have any questions about the new policies, please get in touch with us using elearning@aber.ac.uk

Blackboard Required Minimum Presence (RMP)

The RMP outlines to staff and students the minimum standards for a Blackboard Course.

Two of the changes in the RMP are designed to improve the accessibility of course materials:

  • All courses should have an Ally score of 70% or above (see the Ally Score information)
  • Requirement for materials to be uploaded 1 working day in advance of the session (see the Uploading Material in Advance information)

To help staff managing courses:

E-submission Policy

The E-submission Policy outlines that all text-based word-processed work is submitted, marked, and has feedback released electronically.

To improve student access to marks and feedback:

To improve the consistency of e-submission across the university:

  • Requirement for research postgraduate work being submitted electronically include Graduate School Research Training assignments.

For staff who want to use SafeAssign as part of their Blackboard Assignments:

  • Addition of information about SafeAssign

Lecture Capture Policy

The Lecture Capture Policy outlines that all transmission style presentations are recorded electronically for students to access.

The most significant change in the Lecture Capture policy is designed to improve the accessibility of recordings:

  • Automatic captioning will be turned on for all recordings made after 1st September 2025 (see our blog post)
  • Recommendation that summaries are made for sessions that are not recorded

To help staff managing courses:

  • The Blackboard template will include centrally provided information about Panopto, including a statement that recording will take place, information about what is and isn’t recording, and information about the quality of captions (see our Course Creation information).

Organisation Policy

All departments make use of their Organisations to provide access to key administrative information. To make sure that materials are accessible and up to date, we have developed an Organisation RMP, based on the Blackboard RMP. This does not apply to staff Practice Courses.

All other Organisations should include:

  • Contact Information.
  • Information about the purpose of the Organisation and how participants are expected to use it.
  • Content is organised clearly, and all materials are named clearly and consistently.
  • Content is up to date.
  • Clear instructions for participants on what to do with materials 
  • All materials must be as accessible as possible.

Ally Score

For the first time, our Blackboard Required Minimum Presence includes an Ally score. This recognises and builds on the work that staff have already done to make sure that teaching materials are as accessible as possible.  

The RMP sets an Ally score of 70% – the good news for both staff and students is that 87% of all 2024-25 courses have a score of 70%. And overall, the Ally score for 2024-25 is 72.5% which is 3% higher than last year. 

Making Blackboard content as accessible as possible benefits all our students.  Having materials in a format that students can use easily means that they can focus on their learning rather than struggling with inaccessible formats. The choices that staff make to design accessible materials, as well as the Ally Alternative Formative tools, help us to make sure that all students can engage with their studies. 

It’s particularly important here at AU, as the latest HERA data show that over 28% of our students have a declared disability (compared to 16.7% nationally).  

To check your course Ally score, have a look at the guidance on the Blackboard help pages.  And you can find out more about designing accessible materials with our online training materials.  

Ally will give you help and guidance to address common issues. One of the most common issues at AU is handwritten documents that have been scanned. We’ve written some guidance to help staff who do use this type of material. And if you wanted to use scanned articles in your course, contact the Digitisation Service.

Uploading Materials in Advance

Giving access to teaching materials in advance of a session makes them more accessible for students. It gives students a chance to prepare before attending so that they can concentrate on the content of the lecture when they attend. For sessions that include discussion or group work it can allow students to consider how they may engage with these activities. A research paper from Oxford Brookes provides information about the value of making materials available in advance,

Feedback from students over the last few years has asked for this change, and the issue was discussed at Academic Board in summer 2024. And it’s standard in a number of other universities, for example at Edinburgh University and Oxford Brookes.

AU has decided that teaching materials should be released at least one working day before the event takes place:

  • For a session taking place on Thursday, materials should be available by Wednesday morning
  • For a session taking place on Monday, materials should be available by the previous Friday morning

You can use the Blackboard release conditions to make sure that materials are available at the right time. If you already make all your materials available at the start of term, you are welcome to continue with this.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 30/5/2025

WordPress User [mhj] Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery. 

Online events and webinars

June

July

Resources and publications

Other

  • Call for proposals (open dates) Unfiltered by EmpowerED: A Podcast Series where educators share unedited stories of inspiration and challenge
  • Call for proposals (open dates) Future Teacher Webinars
  • Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinars free open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. Social media: BSky, X.com.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day

WordPress User [kaw] Accessibility, Blackboard, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

Providing accessible learning materials helps everyone to learn. Using some basic tools and making some small changes to your documents can make a big difference to students with disabilities.

Today (15th May) is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, so it’s a good day to see what you can do to improve the accessibility of materials in Blackboard.

You can access tools in both Blackboard and Microsoft Office to help you create accessible documents:

If you have 5 minutes today, look at the Ally Course Accessibility Report in one of your Blackboard courses. The section on content with the easiest issues to fix is a good place to start. This will guide you through some quick changes you can make straightaway.

Or you may find some things that you want to improve over the summer, as part of the annual course creation process.  One of the biggest issues we see in Blackboard courses is non-OCR scanned documents. A good way to make sure that scanned documents are accessible is to speak to our Digitisation Team who can advise on scanning book chapters and journal articles.

Here at AU nearly 30% of our student population has a declared disability, so any improvements you make to the accessibility of your content will make a big impact on how students engage with them.

Find out more about Global Accessibility Awareness Day (this is an external site and not available in Welsh).