Content Organisation in Blackboard

11th January 202128th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, Exemplary Course Award, Interactive Tools, Teaching Continuity, Training and Support, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) 1 Comment

Distance Learner Banner As we are using more and more functionality in Blackboard modules, how they are organised has become increasingly important. We receive quite a number of queries from students struggling to locate various items or submission points in Blackboard.

To assist with navigation, we’ve pulled together our top tips on content organisation.

If you’ve got any questions about this or want to request a module MOT, please email elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Tips for Organising Blackboard Content

Before you start creating content on your Blackboard modules, think about how it can best be arranged so that students can easily access it and that learning resources and activities are in a logical place.

Quick Guide to Students Success

11th January 202128th April 2021 Anna Udalowska [aeu] Information for Students Leave a comment

To support students in this particularly challenging year, we created a Quick Guide to Students Success with tips on time management, most effective study practices and staying motivated. Please share this interactive version of the guide with your students (which is also compatible with screen readers).

Quick Guide to Student Success

Weekly Resource Roundup – 11/1/2021

11th January 202128th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Uncategorised 1 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.

11/1/2021 start, FutureLearn MOOC, Blended and Online Learning Design with Diana Laurillard
15/1/2021, Digitally Enhanced Education webinar series
18/1/2021, Enhancing Digital Teaching & Learning in Irish Universities, Student Feedback on Online Learning
3/2/2021, Institute of Education Observatory, Teaching, Learning and Assessment in a Digital World
Brown, N. & Leigh, J. (2021) Ableism in Academia: Theorising experiences of disabilities and chronic illnesses in higher education, UCL Press
Developing Academic Practice journal, Liverpool University Press
Guest, J. & Riegler, R. (2021) Knowing HE standards: how good are students at evaluating academic work?, Higher Education Research & Development
Kukulska-Hulme, A., Bossu, C., Coughlan, T., Ferguson, R., FitzGerald, E., Gaved, M., Herodotou, C., Rienties, B., Sargent, J., Scanlon, E., Tang, J., Wang, Q., Whitelock, D., Zhang, S. (2021). Innovating Pedagogy 2021: Open University Innovation Report 9. Milton Keynes: The Open University
Li, X., Yang, Y., Chu, S.K.W., Zainuddin, Z., Zhang, Y., 2020. Applying blended synchronous teaching and learning for flexible learning in higher education: an action research study at a university in Hong Kong, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 0, 1–17.
University of Rochester Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Learning Activities for Synchronous Online Classes

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. You may also wish to follow my Twitter feed, Mary Jacob L&T.

CPD Training (January) – What’s on?

8th January 202128th April 2021 Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Online Teaching, Training and Support, Uncategorised, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

Here is an overview of all the CPD sessions that the LTEU will be offering to University staff throughout January.

Please visit the Staff Training Website to book a space and for more information.

CPD January 2021

Kate Exley Workshop: Taking your (PowerPoint) Lectures Online

6th January 202128th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Events and Networks, External Speakers, Online Teaching, Training and Support Leave a comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce a special online workshop run by Dr Kate Exley on Wednesday 17^th February.

The workshop will be useful for colleagues who are modifying and transferring their traditionally delivered lectures for on-line learning.

Please book your place online [link].

So that as many colleagues as possible can attend, we are running the workshop twice (11am-12pm and 1pm-2pm). Please select which session you want to attend when booking.

Places are limited so please book as soon as possible.

Session Overview:

Many colleagues have been involved in providing blended or on-line learning for many years but the Covid pandemic has meant that we have all needed to quickly provide much of our teaching and learning at a distance. This has involved moving our lectures, previously delivered in large lecture theatres and classrooms, to online platforms. The speed at which this huge change has happened has in itself caused significant challenges for staff and students alike. This blended workshop aims to provide some guidance, examples and a forum for colleagues to share their experiences and ideas for enhancing this provision.

This workshop is presented in two parts:

A set of 3 short videos will be made available on or before the 5th February 2021 and should be viewed independently before joining discussion forum – approximately 45 minutes independent study.
A discussion forum hosted via Teams on the 17th February, in which participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and discuss the topic – lasting 1 hour.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 5/1/2021

4th January 202128th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Events and Networks, Training and Support, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

Happy new year!

As lecturer in learning and teaching responsible for the PGCTHE, I keep an eye out for new resources to help our staff teach effectively online. This includes externally-provided webinars, toolkits, publications and other resources. Because active learning is high on our university agenda, I’m particularly keen to share guidance for moving active learning online. 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.

15/1/2021 Active Learning Network, Maximising student engagement in online and blended learning: a survey of learner preferences
11/2/2021 SEDA, Establishing a Wellbeing Equilibrium: Student Wellbeing
Aberystwyth University, Good Supervisory Practice Framework
Annenberg Learner, Neuroscience & the Classroom: making connections,
Active Learning Network
Canning, J. (14/10/202) “The Problem with Learning Styles“, John Canning, thoughts on higher education
Dreon, O. (30/8/2016) “What’s your teaching metaphor?“, The 8 Blog
Easy listening – A collection of higher education podcasts
Hinton, D. M. “Let’s talk about reflection in academic practice“, Twitter thread
Jisc (11/12/2020) Blended learning: a synthesis of change – A study based on contributions from universities in Wales, in light of COVID-19
Jisc, Learning & Teaching Reimagined podcast episode 2
Kirschner, P. “3 Questions Answered by an L&D Giant”
Mihai, A. The Educationalist blog
Sansom, C. (30/6/2020) Jumping Online: Sustaining Quality Learning, University of London Centre Distance Education