Information on Assessments – Tips from Students (Student Learning Ambassadors)

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Written by Elisa Long Perez, Department of Law & Criminology 

Assessments are the predominant way for lecturers to test students’ knowledge in a module or subject. To make that possible, students need to know what criteria they are expected to adhere to, as well as where and when to submit. In some modules, this essential information are not as easily accessible as needed.  

During the usability testing activities, I completed as part of the Student Learning Ambassadors project, I noticed that some modules either had no marking criteria or had marking criteria that were not easily accessible to students. The absence of this key document often leaves students confused as to how they should approach their assignments, leading to lower marks. Other issues I found were to do with submission points and deadlines. Submission points were often included at the bottom of the Assessment and Feedback section or in a different section altogether which may lead to students either not submitting their assignments on time or they don’t submit them at all. Secondly, if the deadline isn’t emphasised enough or is easily missed the same thing happens; students won’t know when they are due to submit their assignments and may end up rushing to submit at the last minute or fail to submit on time.  

My suggestions to teaching staff would be to: always include the marking criteria in the Assessment and Feedback section and the module handbook; make sure the submission points are on top of the section and highlight the deadline in bold; send a reminder one month, one week and one day before the deadline.  

Written by Gabriele Sidekerskyte, Aberystwyth Business School 

Being a part of the Student Learning Ambassadors group was one of the most interesting projects I have participated in at the University. I am very glad that I was able to use my student experience as a tool to improve Blackboard and other students’ experience at Aberystwyth University. The fact, that students are the ones deciding how Blackboard modules should look like and what they should contain is amazing because students are the ones that are and will be using it, so their opinion is most important.  In the past years, especially during the pandemic, Blackboard played a very important role in my student life. I came across some issues like accessing reading materials and assignments. The reading lists provided by module coordinators are great, however, sometimes not all reading is accessible to students. Making sure that all materials on the reading lists are available in an electronic version is essential.  

In terms of the Assessment and Feedback section, the most important information included there are: the submission deadline and submission point, assignment requirements, marks and feedback. Although some modules include this information in the module handbook, it is much easier and more intuitive if they are included in the Assessment and Feedback section. It would be ideal if the submission deadlines for all assignments would be provided as early as possible so students can plan their time effectively. If the deadline has been extended, that should be announced clearly for everyone. Assignment topics, requirements, literature if available and weight of the assignment on the overall module mark should also be included in the Assessment and Feedback section, in the same place where students will have to submit their work. Similarly, it should be clearly communicated when students can expect their marks and feedback, especially if it changes. I think it would be great if students would get notified once the mark and feedback are available. Feedback should be clear and detailed, with examples and explanations of the mistakes made and suggestions for improvements as only then students can get better.   

I hope these words will be taken into consideration. I enjoyed this experience and I hope this project will improve the Blackboard experience for everyone. The teamwork and organisation side of the project were great, the meetings were just perfect length, and the activities were interesting. Thank you for the experience. 

Mini Conference Programme Announced

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On Thursday 16th December, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting the second Academy Mini-Conference online of this academic year.  

The theme will be ‘Using Polling Software to Enhance Learning and Teaching Activities’. Since we procured Vevox earlier this year, we’ve seen a proliferation in the use of polling software in learning and teaching activities.  

The Mini-Conference will run from 10:30-15:00. We’re excited to confirm our programme:  

Dr Christina Stanley – keynote (Chester University): Polling to boost student confidence and promote inclusivity
Joe Probert & Izzy Whitley: Vevox
Dr Maire Gorman (Physics & Graduate School): Inter & Intra-cohort bonding (and peer learning) in statistics teaching
Bruce Wight (Aberystwyth Business School): How much does a Polar Bear weigh? Enough to break the ice! Using Vevox for Icebreaker Activities
Dr Jennifer Wood (Modern Languages): Is there anybody out there? Using Polling Software in the Language Classroom: Breaching the void.  

For session abstracts and timings, please see the programme on our webpages.

We hope that you will be able to join us.

You can register to attend the Mini-Conference by clicking on this link.  

If you have any queries, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Component Marks Transfer

As December starts to approach, we thought it would be useful to outline the support available for  the Component Marks Transfer process. This process transfers marks from the Blackboard Grade Centre columns into AStRA’s Assessment marks per Module (STF080) page. 

The tool is available in each Blackboard module and also in the Component Marks tool in MyAdmin. Departmental Administrative Staff are able to view and transfer modules for each module in their department whereas Module Co-ordinators are able to view and transfer marks for their modules.

To support the Component Marks Transfer process, we have:

  • Training Sessions on:
    • Monday 13th December, 11am-12pm
    • Wednesday 5th January, 1pm-2pm

Book your place online.

If you have any questions about this process, email elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Academy Forum 2: Designing Blended Learning

Our next Academy Forum will be taking place online on Thursday 2nd December, 10am-11.30am. In this Academy Forum, participants will be sharing their experiences and approaches to designing blended learning.

In response to the pandemic, many of us had to adapt our teaching practices considerably. For most, this relied on an increase in the use of technology and online activities for students to undertake in their own time asynchronously. Blended Learning design looks at how you might approach or integrate online interactions with face-to-face teaching.

Participants will be reflecting on their current approaches to teaching and how they design online and face to face activities. We’ll be looking at some frameworks that will be helpful in planning for blended learning and be thinking about strategies for successfully and gracefully integrating online teaching into face to face interactions, and face to face interactions into online teaching.

Take a look at our overview of forthcoming Academy Forums and book your place online.

If you have any questions, then please contact us: lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 22/11/2021

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

Resources and publications

Other

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.  

Exemplary Course Award 2022 Submissions Open

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We’re really pleased to announce that this year’s Exemplary Course Award is now open for submissions with a deadline of 12 noon on Monday 31st January 2022. 

Continuing with the same process as last year, we’ve got a streamlined approach to the award.

Applicants will be asked to outline their 3 standout practices in relation to their module, before identifying which criteria the module meets. Applicants are welcome to submit a Panopto recording including a module tour.

If you’re considering submitting an award, we’ve got training for applicants on:

  • 8th December, 2pm-3.30pm
  • 14th January, 11am-12.30pm

You can book your place at these training sessions via the Course Booking page. 

Further information, including the criteria, is available on our webpages, where you can also access an application form.

If you’re looking for ideas, then check out a recording of last year’s winner and highly commended winners.

If you’ve got any questions, then do not hesitate to contact us (elearning@aber.ac.uk).

Weekly Resource Roundup – 8/11/2021

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

Resources and publications

Other

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.  

Changes to Teaching Rooms: Re-introduction of Neck Mics

Information Services is working to re-introduce neck microphones in teaching rooms.

For those who are new to the institution or would like a refresher, neck mics are hooked up to the audio systems in teaching rooms, worn around the neck of the presenter, and can be used for Panopto recordings and Teams Meetings. Take a look at our FAQ on how to use the Neck Microphones.

Health and Safety Information

The reintroduction of neck microphones means that some additional hygiene guidance needs to be followed:

  • Regular hand hygiene helps to reduce transmission of illnesses and diseases; please wash hands regularly and use the hand sanitisers on entry to buildings.
  • To reduce contact points, only one person should use the neck microphone in a teaching session
  • The neck microphone should be wiped down with wipes effective against COVID-19 as per other equipment before and after its use
  • Although the neck mic gives staff greater freedom to move around the teaching room, staff are encouraged to maintain physical distancing of at least 2 metres, where possible, and maintain good hand hygiene practices before and after handling the neck mics (as noted in the Aberystwyth University COVID Risk Assessment October 2021).
  • In most rooms, the lectern microphones will also stay in place and can still be used (provided staff stay near the lectern). In a small number of rooms, only a neck microphone will be available.

How will the rollout be managed?

Changes to the teaching rooms will be taking place gradually so you may notice the reintroduction of the neck mic imminently. All neck mics will be in place ready for the start of teaching in Semester 2.

Use the neck mic in Panopto

The neck mic can be used on your Panopto recording. When you start Panopto, change the microphone to Neck Mic by clicking on the dropdown menu to the right of the Audio field in the Panopto recorder:

Use the neck mic in Teams Meetings

The neck mic can be used as the microphone Teams meetings. To change your microphone in the Teams meeting:

Select the more options button:

Screen Grab of Teams Meeting Options

This screen grab shows the options on the top right handside of the screen available in a Teams meeting.

Highlighted is the ... option which stands for more options.

And then Device Settings

Under microphone select Neck Mic.

Further Help

We’ve got our Teaching Room Guide 2021-22 which outlines how to use the teaching room equipment. If you are having difficulties with the teaching room equipment in a centrally timetabled teaching room, pick up a phone and it will come through to the workshop.

Contact us if you have any questions (is@aber.ac.uk).

Our top tips for organising Online Conferences

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Since the pandemic, many conferences have shifted from face to face to online events. Here in the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit we’ve run two annual learning and teaching conferences online as well as some mini conferences and Academy Forums. In this blogpost, we’ll be offering you some of our top tips to help you organise your event.

1.      Choose the right platform

There’s a lot of video conferencing software to choose from, but here at AU we use Teams as our default video conferencing tool. We do have a limited number of licences for Zoom but these are reserved for functionality that can’t be achieved in Teams. For example, for simultaneous translation, or for sessions with more than 250 participants.

You can set up Teams meetings for the sessions from a calendar. Alternatively, you can set up a Teams site but this will be limited to .ac.uk domains so be aware of that, especially with External Speakers.

We like to put our links on a webpage so that we can quickly pass the sessions onto anyone who signs up late. Alternatively, you can use a word document or an email that has the links embedded.

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