Student Digital Insights Survey Results (2021-2022)

31st August 202231st August 2022 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, Digital Experience Insights, HyFlex, Online Teaching Leave a comment

By Joseph Wiggins

Aberystwyth University has once again run the Students Digital Insights Survey, a survey that asks learners the impact of online and technology implemented learning. This year over 600 students at Aberystwyth University took this survey.

The Key Metrics

81% of students felt supported to use own devices, 74% felt support for access to online platforms / services off site, 83% approved of the quality of the online learning environment, 44% found online learning materials engaging and motivating, 72% found online learning convenient, 80% identified online learning on course as quality, 22% fond that they were provided with reward / recognition for teir digital skills, 72% said they were supported to learn effectively online.

The JISC survey has changed in the last year with some of the key metric questions being changed, for the questions that have stayed very similar or the same we can compare to last year’s results.

Key Metric	2020-2021	2021-2022
Supported use of own devices	60%	81%
Access to online platforms off-site	67%	74%
Online learning environment	40%	83%
Quality of online learning on course	69%	80%

In a majority of these key metrics we saw a positive increase with Aberystwyth University having improved from the previous year. This trend of improvement is mirrored throughout the survey results. In the case of questions which changed in the key metrics a lot of them are incomparable because of the changes made. For example, last year asked about ‘Well-designed’ online learning materials. This was changed to ‘Engaging and motivating’ online learning materials. With online learning trends questions relating to motivation are typically exceptionally more negative, making questions that use these adjectives much more negative.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 25/8/2022

25th August 202226th August 2022 Mary Jacob [mhj] Resources and Webinars, 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

6-8/9/2022 Association for Learning Technology (ALT), Annual Conference (hybrid online and in person)
7/9/2022 Transforming Assessment, Poor feedback and what we can do about it
7-8/9/2022 (in-person at University of Lincoln) RAISE Network: Focused on Research into Student Engagement, RAISE Annual Conference 2022 – Student as Producer: Origins and Impact
19-20/9/2022 International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF), REshaping Teaching Excellence: Pandemic and the New Now
22/9/2022 University of London Centre for Distance and Online Learning, Extended reality and the future of education
26/9/2022 TILE Network, Access is not Inclusion: Strategies for Supporting Inclusion and Diversity in Higher Education
28/9/2022 UDL UK and Ireland Network, Institution-wide adoption of accessible, inclusive and equitable education
5/10/2022 Transforming Assessment, Using individualised assessments to counter contract cheating
14-21/10/2022 UWE Bristol Higher Education Pedagogies, Policy and Practice Research Network (HEPPP), Exploring expertise in teaching in higher education: The artistry of teaching

Resources and publications

Active Learning Network, Publications
Caviglioli , O. (n.d.), Educational Myths: A summary of Paul A Kirschner’s presentation at researchED Malmo in September 2018, Visual Clarity: Posters
Gonzalez, J. (14/4/2014), How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why it Matters, (23-minute audio recording), Cult of Pedagogy Podcast
Greene, J. S. (22/8/2022), Learning to learn: Insights into learning more effectively and efficiently, UNC School of Education
Harris, R., Blundell-Birtill, P. & Pownall, M. (9/8/2022), Development and evaluation of two interventions to improve students’ reflection on feedback, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
Harvard University (n.d.), Online Resources, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Harvard, B. (5/11/2021), Pretesting: The Benefits of Errorful Generation, The Effortful Educator
James, A. (2022), The Value of Play in HE: A Study. Free Book!, engagingimagination: play and creativity for complex learning
King’s Academy (n.d.), Interactive Cover Sheets, Assessment for Learning at King’s
Lent, N. & Harrison, T. (4/8/2022), Feedback: From one-way information to an active dialogic process, Teaching Matters Blog, University of Edinburgh
Nadan, T. (28/4/2022), Changing mindsets to reduce discrimination at work – ft. Dominic Pates (15-minute video), Digital, Equitable & International HigherEd
Pan, S. C., Sana, F., Schmitt, A. G., & Bjork, E. L. (21/12/2020), Pretesting Reduces Mind Wandering and Enhances Learning During Online Lectures, Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9(4), 542-554
Smith, D. L. (24/8/2022), Using Critical Thinking to Address Implicit Bias, Faculty Focus
Wood, J. (20/7/2022), Enabling feedback-seeking, agency and uptake, through dialogic screencast feedback: James Wood (15-minute video), Digitally Enhanced Education Webinars, University of Kent

Other

Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.

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.

Welcome to new staff joining Aberystwyth University

25th August 202225th August 2022 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, E-submission, Events and Networks, Panopto, Training and Support Leave a comment

We’re the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit. Based in Information Services, we work with staff across the university to support and develop learning and teaching. We run a wide range of activities to do this.

All the information that you need is on the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit webpages. Our Supporting your Teaching webpages will help you with various teaching solutions.

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 one of two email addresses:

lteu@aber.ac.uk (for pedagogical and design questions, or to arrange a consultation) or

elearning@aber.ac.uk (for technical queries regarding our e-learning tools listed below)

Academy Forums 2022-23

22nd August 202222nd August 2022 James Woolley [jbw] Academy Forum, Events and Networks, Training and Support 2 Comments

We’re really excited to announce our forthcoming Academy Forums for 2022-23. Building on the success of last year’s sessions, and based on feedback, we’ve increased the number of Academy Forums on offer, with 10 running across the academic year.

For those of you unfamiliar with Academy Forums, they’re informal discussions that bring colleagues together from across the University. In each session, we’ll look at a particular topic related to Learning and Teaching. We’ll facilitate the discussion and also provide resources and guidance following the Academy Forum. We then make these available on our webpages. Take a look at last year’s Academy Forum topics:

This year, we are seeing a return of some in person Academy Forums as well as having some run online via Teams. You can view the dates, session descriptions, and book your place on our booking page for the first three sessions – keep your eye out for future sessions.

We’ll be starting our Academy Forums with a discussion around Student Induction. We’ll be thinking about how you prepare students to study. What types of activities do you run in week 1 of your module to familarise your students with the content? Also, we’ll be asking colleagues to share with us how you might use technology in these interactions.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 19/8/2022

19th August 202219th August 2022 Mary Jacob [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

Online events and webinars

August Equity Unbound, MYFest Choose-your-own-learning journey of openness, digital literacies, community building, critical pedagogy, wellbeing & joy, see programme for details
22/8/2022 Ulster University and ALT network, International Workshop on Technology-Enhanced Learning: Digital Pedagogies, Student Engagement, Assessment and Feedback
6-8/9/2022 Association for Learning Technology (ALT), Annual Conference (hybrid online and in person)
7-8/9/2022 (in-person at University of Lincoln) RAISE Network: Focused on Research into Student Engagement, RAISE Annual Conference 2022 – Student as Producer: Origins and Impact
19-20/9/2022 International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF), REshaping Teaching Excellence: Pandemic and the New Now
22/9/2022 University of London Centre for Distance and Online Learning, Extended reality and the future of education
26/9/2022 TILE Network, Access is not Inclusion: Strategies for Supporting Inclusion and Diversity in Higher Education
28/9/2022 UDL UK and Ireland Network, Institution-wide adoption of accessible, inclusive and equitable education
14-21/10/2022 UWE Bristol Higher Education Pedagogies, Policy and Practice Research Network (HEPPP), Exploring expertise in teaching in higher education: The artistry of teaching

Resources and publications

#CreativeHE Community
Cambridge University Libraries (n.d.), Reflective Practice Toolkit
Centre for Teaching and Learning, Oregon State University, Pedagogical Pragmatics: Writing a Warm Syllabus,
Clark, D. (9/10/2020), Engagement – most used yet most misunderstood word in learning?, Donald Clark Plan B
Cook-Sather, A., Bahti, M., & Ntem, A. (12/2019), Pedagogical partnerships: A how-to guide for faculty, students, and academic developers in higher education, (Elon, North Carolina: Elon University Center for Engaged Learning)
Dawson, P. (11/9/2018), Defanging Feedback by Rewriting into Action Items, CRADLE News
Dinsmore, D. L., Fryer, L. K. & Parkinson, M. M. (8/8/2022), The learning styles hypothesis is false, but there are patterns of student characteristics that are useful, Theory Into Practice
Duke University Learning Innovation (n.d.), Foster an Active Classroom, Duke University Learning Innovation Teaching Guides
Hinton, D. (n.d.), Teaching Enhancement Resource Curation
Kuepper-Tetzel, C. (15/8/2022), TILE Seminar Talks | Autumn/Winter 2022, University of Glasgow TILE Network
McVitty, K. (24/01/2022), Building back learning and teaching means changing assessment, WonkHE
Nordmann, E. (5/8/2022), How to Study 2022, Dr Emily Nordmann
Schwartz, H. L. (2019), Connected teaching: Relationship, power, and mattering in higher education, ProQuest
Schwartz, H. L. (2019), Connected Teaching (40-minute audio recording), Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast series
Turnitin, Integrity Matters by Turnitin (YouTube playlist, videos approximately 30 minutes each)
Winstone, N., Bourne, J., Medland, E., Niculescu, I. & Rees, R (2021), “Check the grade, log out”: students’ engagement with feedback in learning management systems, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46:4, 631-643

Other

Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 9/8/2022

9th August 20229th August 2022 Mary Jacob [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

Online events and webinars

August Equity Unbound, MYFest Choose-your-own-learning journey of openness, digital literacies, community building, critical pedagogy, wellbeing & joy, see programme for details
11/8/2022 Sage Psychology, Common challenges in Thematic Analysis and how to avoid them with Virginia Braun & Victoria Clarke
7-8/9/2022 (in-person at University of Lincoln) RAISE Network: Focused on Research into Student Engagement, RAISE Annual Conference 2022 – Student as Producer: Origins and Impact
19-20/9/2022 International Federation of National Teaching Fellows (IFNTF), REshaping Teaching Excellence: Pandemic and the New Now
22/9/2022 University of London Centre for Distance and Online Learning, Extended reality and the future of education
28/9/2022 UDL UK and Ireland Network, Institution-wide adoption of accessible, inclusive and equitable education

Resources and publications

Advance HE (9/06/2022), Student Academic Experience Survey 2022
East, M., & Wood, J. (5/8/2022), Active Online Reading: Infographics (Version1), National Teaching Repository.
McDougall, J. (7/2022), Critical Approaches to Online Learning, Media & Learning
Means. B. (1/8/2022), Making insights from educational psychology and educational technology research more useful for practice, Educational Psychologist, 57:3, 226-230
Miller, M. D. (2/8/2022), Ungrading Light: 4 Simple Ways to Ease the Spotlight Off Points, Chronicle of Higher Education
Naiminen, J. H. & Carless, D. (5/8/2022), The making of feedback literacy: a critical review of an emerging concept, SlideShare
Rossiter, M. P. (13/7/2022), ‘What you mean versus what you say’ – exploring the role of language and culture in European students’ interpretation of feedback, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education

Other

Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.

UKCGE Research Supervision Recognition Programme

5th August 20225th August 2022 Keziah Garratt-Smithson [ksg2] Uncategorised Leave a comment

Graduate School/Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit

Are you an established research degree supervisor?

Would you like your supervisory practice acknowledged at a national level?

The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) has developed the Good Supervisory Practice Framework and the Research Supervision Recognition Programme to allow established supervisors to gain recognition for this challenging, but rewarding, role.

In May 2022, Professor Stephen Tooth from the Department of Geography & Earth Sciences became the first member of academic staff across the University to receive recognition for their approach to graduate supervision.

We are keen to support supervisors who wish to achieve this accreditation. For further details about the framework and how to apply please visit our web page https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/grad-school/supervisory-framework/ or contact Annette Edwards via the Supervisory Framework (sfastaff@aber.ac.uk).