AirServer, the software used to connect mobile devices to teaching room equipment, is being retired.
Over increasing years, AirServer has been unable to cater for different types of mobile devices.
A workaround using Microsoft Teams can be used to link your tablet devices to teaching room equipment.
Take a look at our FAQ: How do I connect a tablet / mobile device to a teaching room machine?
If you have any questions, please contact Information Services (is@aber.ac.uk).
Vevox is the University’s polling software which can be used to make teaching more interactive, engage large groups, check knowledge and understanding, and receive feedback.
In addition to their training sessions, Vevox run a series of online webinars showcasing innovative ways in which polling is used at other institutions.
The next online webinar is from the University of South Wales, where Dean Whitcombe is running a session The Use of Vevox in Simulation-based Education and research. This session is at 2pm on 4 October.
On 11 October, at 2pm, University of Chichester’s James Wilson will be leading a session, Once upon a Time: Using Vevox for Interactive Storytelling.
You can sign up to attend these sessions on this webpage.
Aberystwyth University has run a series of webinars in the past for Vevox which are available on YouTube:
If Vevox is new to you, then take a look at our polling software webpage. Vevox run 15 minute Zero to Hero training sessions on Tuesday afternoons. You can sign up to them on the Vevox webpage.
Please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk) if you have got any questions.
Some of the feedback that we’ve received regarding Blackboard Ultra Courses is that they are not as visually customisable as Blackboard Original Courses. Ultra is created with accessibility in mind which means that some of the features that we previously had, such as textured or coloured backgrounds and text that could result in low colour contrast are no longer available.
In this blogpost we’ll give you some tips that might help make your Blackboard Ultra Courses more visually appealing, including some brand-new features that arrived in the September release.
Learning Modules work similarly to folders and can be placed on the top level of the Content Page. You can use these to arrange your Learning Materials. One of the developments that arrived recently is the ability to upload images to Learning Modules.
To create a Learning Module, click on the + and Create > Learning Module:
From there, you can Add image to upload an image from the file explorer. Select the image from the File Explorer that opens and upload. Alternatively, you can drag and drop your image into the Learning Module editor. Once you’ve added an image to a Learning Module, it will display as below:
In our previous blogpost we outlined some of the changes to Panopto with our move to Blackboard Learn Ultra.
In this blogpost we’ll outline the changes to using Panopto for Assignments. Panopto Assignments are used for students to submit a recording or presentation.
As part of this change, we recommend that you:
The advantages to this new workflow are that:
To support staff with this process, we have a Panopto Assignment guide that takes you through setting up the assignment, student submission, and marking on our Lecture Capture webpages.
We’ve also got a FAQ for staff and students.
If you’ve got any questions, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).
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).
In this blogpost we’ll be taking a specific look at the Gradebook feature in Blackboard Learn Ultra. The Gradebook is the new name for Grade Centre.
It is used to hold all student marks on a Blackboard Course.
The Gradebook is located on every course from the top menu.
Students enrolled on the module automatically appear in the Gradebook.
When you get into the gradebook, you can toggle your view.
Default is a list of markable items on one tab and students on another:
You can toggle your view so that you can see the markable items and the students in one view.
![Grid view of Gradebook]](https://wordpress.aber.ac.uk/e-learning/files/2023/09/image-19.png)
Support materials to assist students with Blackboard Learn Ultra are now available on our webpages.
The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit have produced a Student Guide specifically for Ultra which can be downloaded.
Students were notified of the change to Blackboard before the end of last academic year.
As part of the move to Ultra our FAQs are in the process of being updated.
The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce that Information Services has procured Blackboard Ally as part of our move to Blackboard Learn Ultra.
Blackboard Ally integrates into our Blackboard Learn Ultra environment and focuses on making digital content more accessible.
For colleagues creating content you will be able to amend the accessibility of your content. This means that your content will be more accessible to assistive technologies, such as screen readers.
Another benefit of Blackboard Ally is that content can be downloaded in multiple formats. This means that your lecture notes, PowerPoints, and other documents can be converted into many different formats, including:
There’s nothing that you need to do to enable Ally on your course. It will automatically be enabled on Monday 11 September on 2023-24 Courses onwards and Organisations.
For more information on using Blackboard Ally, take a look at our staff or student FAQ.
If you want to know further information about creating accessible learning materials, take a look at our resources.
Vevox, the University’s supported polling tool, has updated its PowerPoint Add-in.
From September 2023, colleagues making use of the Add-in should use the updated version.
Please see our FAQ for how to use the new PowerPoint Add-in.
In our recent blogpost, we wrote about the new AI question generator.
If Vevox is new to you then take a look at our support materials and our previous blogposts.
We’ve also got a training session taking place on Monday 18 September, 14:00-15:00. This session is run by colleagues from Vevox. Book your place online.
Vevox is a great way to make your teaching interactive and further student’s learning.
One of the benefits of moving to Blackboard Learn Ultra is the increased enhancements to the virtual learning environment.
In this blogpost, we will outline some of the new functionality available in this month’s update.
The location to manage the Groups feature has changed. You can now access this directly from the top menu of your course:
See groups guidance for additional information.
You can now add images to Learning Modules.
Learning Modules offer a way for you to organise your content. For further information, see Learning Modules guidance.
To ensure that your content is as accessible as possible, use the accessibility checker.
As you create your content, your accessibility score will be generated to alert you to any changes that you might want to make.
When it comes to grading tests, you can now grade by question or student in Ultra. See Blackboard’s test guidance and flex grading for further information.
For other updates this month, take a look at Blackboard’s Release notes.
If you’ve got any questions about using any of these features or Blackboard Learn Ultra, contact elearning@aber.ac.uk.