As we begin another academic year, we’d like to highlight the features of Vevox, the university’s polling software, and how they can be used in student induction activities.
Vevox Induction Activities
Turnitin and User License Agreement – an update
The Digital Education Team is providing an update on Turnitin and User License Agreements.
You may have heard about concerns regarding Turnitin user license agreements and Generative AI.
When you log in to use Turnitin, staff and students need to accept the terms of agreement to use the platform.
Over the summer, we received a notification from Turnitin that they were updating its license agreement, with the intention that this will be applied to all users (staff and students).
As part of this license agreement, it was proposed that student submissions and staff feedback would be used to train large language models.
We, along with the rest of the sector, had concerns over this. We were unhappy with how Turnitin planned to introduce this update, without warning, and over the security of student work and staff feedback.
Working alongside UCISA, the professional membership body for digital, IT, and information systems in UK higher education, and other universities, we lobbied against this change.
Following this, Turnitin did not introduce the updated license agreement.
You might have seen that other universities are starting to move away from Turnitin. For the year ahead, we are continuing to use Turnitin.
In terms of our own license, we renew on an annual basis, and we are contracted up until July 2027.
We ran a pilot a couple of years ago to look at the feasibility of moving away from Turnitin, but at that point the tools in Blackboard didn’t meet all our requirements. We do keep a close eye on both text-matching and submission tools in Blackboard to see whether they offer a viable alternative to Turnitin.
We meet our Turnitin Customer Account Manager regularly throughout the year, and we’re able to feedback our concerns and issues. We were in touch with them about the proposed changes to the licence agreement. We also work with sector bodies who lobby and advocate with software vendors on behalf HE institutions.
If you’d prefer not to use Turnitin, Blackboard Assignment has submission and marking tools which you can use – all the guidance is available on our web pages, and we’d be happy to work with anyone who would like to switch to using it. It does offer a number of benefits that Turnitin doesn’t have – for example, multi-part submissions and group assignments. However, there are some limitations – the biggest 2 are that marks aren’t released automatically on a ‘Post Date’ and it’s not possible to submit work on behalf of students.
If you have any concerns about this update, you are welcome to contact the Digital Education Team on elearning@aber.ac.uk.
Welsh-English Module Partners
Do you teach a course in Welsh that’s been merged with its English equivalent? Or maybe you’re the coordinator of an English module that has been merged with its Welsh partner?
This year’s Blackboard Required Minimum Presence encourages staff to use the bilingual Welsh template for merged Welsh / English courses.
To make this easy, we have a template course that you can use to copy the bilingual template items into your course. If you’d like to be added, email us on elearning@aber.ac.uk. Information about how to copy content is in our FAQ How do I copy material in from one Blackboard module to another?
You could also include bilingual elements using the Learning Object Repository – here’s a list of the items that are available in the Learning Object Repository.
Gwybodaeth am y Modiwl / Module Information
- Cipio Darlithoedd (Panopto) / Lecture Capture (Panopto)
- SgiliauAber
- AberSkills
Asesu ac Adborth / Assessment and Feedback
- Canllawiau Cyflwyno / Submission Guidance
Information about using the Learning Object Repository is in our FAQ How do I add an item from Blackboard’s Learning Object Repository to my course?
Guidance on Panopto pausing
Staff should be aware that Panopto keeps recording even when you click Pause. Students cannot access what is recorded during a paused section, but other instructors on the course and system administrators can.
Mute your microphone if you do not want anything you say during a pause to be recorded. Please remember to un-mute it before continuing your lecture.
Also, when you edit and delete part of a Panopto recording, that part is hidden from students rather than permanently deleted.,
If you need to permanently remove part of a recording, use the Save As option (see Panopto’s How to use Save As guide – only available in English).
Continuing to record during pauses can be helpful if you forget to restart the recording, as you can make that content available to students later by editing the recording.
14th Annual Education and Student Experience Conference – Materials Available
Between the 8-10 September, Library Academic and Digital Services hosted the 14th Annual Education and Student Experience Conference.
The materials from the conference are now available on our webpages.
We would like to thank all of our contributors and attendees. The sessions were of such high quality.
We’re already heading into planning our 15th Annual Education and Student Experience Conference which is scheduled to take place in July 2027 (date TBC).
We hope to see you at a forthcoming event.
Welcome to the Academic Year 2026-27: Updates to Blackboard for returning students
A warm welcome to new students joining us and those who are returning to study at Aberystwyth University.
In this blogpost, we will outline the changes that have been made to your digital learning environment, Blackboard, ready for the start of the academic year 2026-27
If you need help using Blackboard, see our Student Guide which contains all kinds of useful information.
We’ve also got FAQs available for the other tools that we support, including Turnitin for e-submission and Panopto for lecture capture.
AI Use Statement
Across the university, there will be new requirements for declaring the use of generative AI in assignments in the 2026-27 academic year. Students will now be expected to include this AI Tool-Use statement at the end of their assignments. The AI Tool-Use statement comes in the form of a tick box table and asks students to declare the type of tools that were used to help with their assignment.
Vevox
Vevox is Aberystwyth University’s polling tool. Vevox offers an interactive and collaborative experience for learners and teachers and can be used for activities such as gauging opinion or to provide participants with question & answer opportunities. As Vevox is used throughout the university, we would encourage students to bring a mobile device or tablet to their classes in order to participate in the Vevox activities.
Turnitin in Blackboard Assignments
Recently, an update has been rolled that allows Turnitin to be integrated into Blackboard Assignments at Aberystwyth University. During 2026-27 we are encouraging all staff currently using Blackboard Assignment to enable Turnitin on appropriate assignments. The submission, marking and feedback workflows will be the same as previously. All aspects of the process, apart from the Turnitin report, will be available in Welsh. Guidance on setting up and using Turnitin in Blackboard Assignment can be found in our Guide. For more information on Turnitin in Blackboard Assignment, have a look at our blog post.
Blackboard Ally
Following last years’ progress in stipulating a minimum accessibility score on all modules, work is continuing to ensure that content is as compatible with Blackboard Ally as possible. Blackboard Ally is a tool available to staff and students at Aberystwyth University to improve the accessibility of materials and content on Blackboard. From the instructor’s perspective Ally has features which allow you to assess the accessibility of materials and will provide recommendations for alternative formats to improve any weak areas. From a student’s perspective Ally has a number of tools available to make content easier to read, understand, and engage with.
Pronouns
For the upcoming academic year, an integration has been developed between the student record and Blackboard. This means that the pronouns you select on the student record will automatically update in Blackboard. The clearer visibility of staff and students’ gender expression strengthens the university’s commitment to gender diversity and inclusivity, in the classroom and online.
Course Access
Students will be able to gain access to their Blackboard courses once they have completed their enrolment. This webpage contains more details about the enrolment process.
Welcome new staff joining Aberystwyth University, 2026-27
A warm welcome to new staff joining Aberystwyth University.
In this blogpost we aim to provide you with information related to technology in learning and teaching, our training provision, support channels, and events that we run.
All the information that you need is on our webpages.
We write a blog full of the latest updates, details on events and training sessions, and resources.
If you need to get in touch with us, you can do so using elearning@aber.ac.uk.
Introduction to E-learning Tools
Virtual Learning Environment: Blackboard
Each module has its own dedicated course in Blackboard. Students can expect to find information about the module, learning materials, and e-submission guidance, as well as links to reading lists and lecture capture.
The University has a Blackboard Required Minimum Presence policy for all modules.
Please see our staff guide for further information.
Lecture Capture: Panopto
When teaching in person, be aware that all lectures (that is, teaching where the focus is on information being transmitted from staff to students) should be recorded using Panopto, our Lecture Capture software.
See details of our Lecture Capture Policy.
E-submission: Turnitin and Blackboard Assignment
At Aberystwyth University, students must submit all text-based and word-processed work electronically as outlined in the University’s E-submission policy.
For this, we use our e-submission tools: Turnitin and Blackboard Assignment. Turnitin provides an automatic text matching functionality. We use Blackboard Tests to run online exams.
Polling tool: Vevox
Vevox is Aberystwyth University’s polling tool.
Polling can be used in learning and teaching activities as well as meetings to make the session interactive and collaborative with many different possibilities for use.
Resources and further help
We have a number of Guides and FAQs to help you use our software.
Training Provision
To support all staff with their teaching, we run a series of training sessions across the following strands:
- E-learning Essentials: designed for colleagues new to the university, teaching, or who would like to get a refresher. The aim of these sessions is to ensure that colleagues can meet the university’s digital learning and teaching policies.
- E-learning Enhanced: designed to build on the skills gained in our e-learning essentials series, colleagues will create an activity or assessment unique to their learning and teaching contexts.
- E-learning Excellence: designed to offer colleagues the opportunity to create exemplary learning and teaching opportunities – often unique and sector leading.
You can find details of our annual CPD programme and book your place to attend via Book a Course page.
Events
We run a range of events, including the Annual Learning and Teaching Conference and Mini-Conferences
All of these are great opportunities to meet people from across the university and discuss Learning and Teaching issues and developments.
We look forward to seeing you at a forthcoming event. In the meantime, feel free to get in touch with us via elearning@aber.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Generative AI Assessment Good Practice Event: Call for Assessment Practices
Generative AI has created a particular challenge for assessment practices.
On the afternoon of Wednesday 25 November, Library Academic and Digital Services will be hosting a special good practice event focused on assessment design within the context of Generative AI.
We are inviting submissions from colleagues to share their innovative assessment practices in short 10–15-minute talks.
We’re looking for a mix of assessments that are either designed to:
- Incorporate the use of Generative AI or
- Prevent the use of Generative AI and enhance assessment validity
It would be great to have an example from each department.
If you would like to submit a proposal, please complete this short form: Generative AI Assessment Good Practice Event: Call for Assessment Practices – Fill out form
Booking for the event is already open on the staff training booking system.
If you have any questions, please contact the event organisers on elearning@aber.ac.uk.
Digital Education Policies Review (2026-27)
We revisit and revise all the policies relating to digital education 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
This year’s update has clarified what is expected for AberOnline courses in Canvas. All points apply to Blackboard and Canvas unless otherwise mentioned. Any queries about AberOnline should be sent to aberonline@aber.ac.uk
Blackboard Required Minimum Presence (RMP)
The RMP outlines to staff and students the minimum standards for a Blackboard Course.
Welsh Language:
- Guidelines for providing Welsh language materials in merged Welsh and English modules.
To help students plan and manage their studies:
- Assignment briefs, along with a Generative AI statement for each assessment should be uploaded at the start of the semester that the course is taught in
- Clarification of timescales for uploading materials for students with a Record of Support Provision
- Guidance on availability of materials in a Blackboard course
To help staff managing courses:
- Copy of any Turnitin rubrics to be uploaded into the External Examiners folder
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:
- Clarification of guidance on returning marks and feedback for work not submitted electronically
Responding to system outages:
- Clarification of how outages on AU and non-AU systems will be managed.
Lecture Capture Policy
The Lecture Capture Policy outlines that all transmission style presentations are recorded electronically for students to access.
To help students with accessibility requirements
- Inclusion of guidance on downloading transcripts
- Inclusion of guidance on recording whiteboard notes
To help staff managing courses:
- Clarification of when and how lecture summaries should be used
Use of recordings:
- Guidance on when and how recordings may be used in the AU complaints process
Panopto 2026-27
Panopto has now been set up ready for 2026-27. This includes automatic captioning.
Automatic Captions
Automatic captioning has now been set-up for all 2026-27 folders in Panopto. The language for captioning matches the language of your Blackboard course template.
For bilingual courses we recommend creating a sub-folder to hold the recordings for one of the languages of your course delivery (see FAQ).
When you make your recordings, you must select the correct language folder before pressing record. This is because Welsh captions cannot be added to recordings copied or moved from other folders.
You can find information about automatic captioning in the AU Lecture Capture Policy (section 12).
Linking to All Panopto Recordings
You can create a link to the Panopto folder in your Blackboard course. This means that students will be able to see the recordings for the course all in one place.
Finding your Panopto folder
Panopto folders for all this year’s modules are in the 2026-27 folder.
To find the Panopto folder you want to record into:
- Click the dropdown button on the right-hand side of the Folder box.
- Click the dropdown arrow to the left of the academic year folder to expand it.
- Select the Panopto folder you want to record into.
You can also search for the Panopto folder you want to record into:
- In the Folder box start typing the module code or name of the Panopto folder you want to Record into.
- Select the folder you want to record into.
What to do if you can’t see your Panopto folder
In a small number of courses, the Panopto folder wasn’t created over the summer. If you can’t find your Panopto folder using the steps above, you can create a folder from Blackboard:
- Login to Blackboard and find your course
- Click on Books and Tools [Llyfrau ac Offer] > View course and institution tools [Gweld cwrs ac offer sefydliad]
- Click on Holl Fideo Panopto / All Panopto Videos
You should then be able to find the Panopto folder to make a recording.
If you have any questions, please contact the Digital Education Team on elearning@aber.ac.uk.