Author: WordPress User [jbw]

AI Generated Questions now available in Vevox Polls

WordPress User [jbw] Generative AI, Polling Software, Vevox Leave a comment

In the latest update to Vevox, our polling software, an AI Question Generator has been added. Colleagues can now create questions using the AI Question Generator.

Further information (including how to use it) is available on Vevox’s webpage.

As with all AI generated material, checking for accuracy and editing content is key before releasing it to students. See LTEU’s Generative AI support materials for further information.

There are also a number of blogposts focused on AI that you can take a look at.

There is another change coming to Vevox. The PowerPoint add in has been updated. We will be contacting all colleagues who make use of the PowerPoint add in via email before the start of September.

If Vevox is new to you, we’ve got a whole host of support materials on our Vevox webpage.

Departmental Training Sessions: Introduction to Blackboard Ultra

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit has now completed their cycle of departmental training sessions for E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Blackboard Ultra.

This training session was designed to ensure that staff had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with Blackboard Ultra and achieve the Blackboard Required Minimum Presence.

Since May, we have trained over 300 members of staff in both in person and online sessions.

For those of you at the first day of the conference you will have seen the exciting features that are coming to Blackboard Ultra over the next few years.

If you haven’t managed to attend one of your departmental sessions or would like a refresher, then we are running the sessions in English and Welsh online.

You can book onto our training sessions and view other sessions on the booking page.

If you have any questins about Ultra then email elearning@aber.ac.uk

Annual Learning and Teaching Conference Materials Available

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2023, Conference Leave a comment
Photograph of think tank during conference opening.

Between the 4 and 6 July, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit hosted the 11th Annual Learning and Teaching 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.

Across two in person days and one online day, delegates heard about the developments for Blackboard Learn Ultra, Chat GPT and AI, and creative approaches to assessment design.

We’re already heading into planning our 12th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference which is scheduled to take place in September 2024 (date TBC).

We hope to see you at a forthcoming event.

Blackboard Ultra Project Update

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2023, Blackboard, Conference, Ultra, Uncategorised Leave a comment

The big news since our last update on the Blackboard Ultra project is that we have started departmental training sessions. It’s been great getting to meet staff and demonstrate the basics of using Ultra. To date 200 people have attended a session, and we’ve got more sessions lined up over the summer.

If you’re not able to attend your departmental training session, then we’ve got a number of centrally organised ones for you to join.  

In addition to this, and to make sure that colleagues have access to full Ultra functionality, we’ve got the following sessions scheduled (available in Welsh and English): 

  1. E-learning Enhanced: Using Tests
  2. E-learning Enhanced: Designing Wiki Alternatives
  3. E-learning Enhanced: Using Discussions
  4. E-learning Enhanced: Using Journals
  5. E-learning Enhanced: Designing Blog Alternatives

You can view our sessions and book your place on the course booking page.  

We’re also working behind the scenes on our integrations with other tools. At the moment, we are working on making it easier for you to find the correct academic year Panopto folder when you create recordings. We think that this is going to make things much easier when teaching starts again. Keep an eye out for news on this.

We’re looking forward to welcoming colleagues from Anthology / Blackboard and Bangor University to the annual learning and teaching conference. We’ve got a whole day of Ultra-related events on 4th July. If you haven’t booked your place at the conference, you can do it on our conference webpages.

If you’ve got any questions about Ultra, contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).  

External Speakers at this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference: Part 2: Bangor University

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2023, Blackboard, Conference Leave a comment

To complement the keynote sessions from Blackboard, we’re delighted to welcome colleagues from Bangor University: Bethan Wyn Jones and Alan Thomas.

View our full programme and book your place online.

One thing that we were keen on having as part of the conference is to hear about colleagues’ experience of moving over to Blackboard Ultra. Bangor have been using Ultra since 2020.

Please see below for their biographies:

Read More

External Speakers at this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference: Part 1: Blackboard

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Conference, External Speakers, Ultra, Uncategorised Leave a comment

We’re delighted to welcome a number of external speakers at this year’s Learning and Teaching Conference.

View our full programme and book your place online.

On Tuesday 4 July, we’ll be joined in person by colleagues from Blackboard.

Colleagues will have the opportunity to hear about future developments, work on and enhance their blackboard ultra modules, and provide feedback to the company on enhancements.

Please see below for our speakers’ biographies.

Read More

Annual Learning and Teaching Conference: Stands at the conference

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2023, Conference Leave a comment

The Annual Learning and Teaching Conference is fast approaching (4-6 July). We’re delighted to have a couple of stands during the second day of the conference, 5 July.

Located in the Think Tank, colleagues can speak to the Tell us Now team about upcoming changes to the MEQ process and Student Services about the plans for teaching and learning through a trauma-informed lens.

Our full programme is available on our webpages and you can book your place online.

Collaborative Documents available in Blackboard Ultra

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Blackboard Blogs, Blackboard Wikis, Interactive Tools, Technical Updates, Ultra Leave a comment
Icon Blackboard Ultra

One of the great new enhancements that we’ve got in Blackboard Ultra is the ability to embed collaborative documents.

For those of us who did much of their teaching online during the Covid pandemic, you will recall us espousing the benefits of loading a collaborative document in the chat. We’ve now been working to enable this on our Blackboard Courses and we are pleased to say that they are available for you to use on your 2023-24 courses.

This means that your students will be able to collaborate together outside the classroom, on Blackboard in their own time. There are 3 types of document available for students to collaborate on:

  • Word
  • Excel
  • PowerPoint

We’re going to be using the collab docs for blog and wiki alternatives. But, if you want to maybe get your students to mind map, generate ideas, or build on each other’s notes, take a look at the collab docs. You could also use it to get students to sign up to groups. You can use the group feature in Ultra courses to limit the item to a specific student or group of students. 

Want to know how to do it? Take a look at Blackboard’s guidance on Microsoft OneDrive and collaborative documents.

Required Minimum Presence 2023-24: Updated for Ultra Courses

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Ultra Leave a comment
Icon Blackboard Ultra

In preparation for our move to Ultra, the University’s Blackboard Required Minimum Presence has been updated and approved by Academic Enhancement Committee.

We revisit all our policies annually, but the move to Blackboard Ultra has meant that we have spent longer preparing the RMP.

The full RMP 2023-24 is now available on our webpages.

Some of the changes to the RMP are listed below:

  • The Module Information folder should contain:
    • Link to all Panopto recordings on a module
    • Staff contact details
  • An organised location for Learning Materials
    • We have not specified a Learning Materials folder owing to the two-level of folder restrictions in Ultra
    • Colleagues have the option to create a structure that meets their needs.
  • The Assessment and Feedback folder remains the same as before and is pre-populated with:
    • Guidance for students on submitting their work and finding their feedback.
    • Regulation on Unacceptable Academic Practice
    • Link to the Referencing and Plagiarism LibGuide
    • Link to Past Exam Papers
  • The Aspire Reading List link should be on the content page of the module and no more than 6 folder levels down. If you have questions about your reading lists, please contact your Subject Librarians.

We have now started our Departmental Ultra training programme and hope to see you over the coming weeks. If you can’t attend your session then we are running a series of centrally organised sessions for all staff to join.

If you’ve got any questions about Ultra, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).

Annual Learning and Teaching Conference

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2023, Conference, Uncategorised Leave a comment

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the 11th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, which is just over a month away, 4-6 July.

This year’s conference theme, Transformative Teaching: Creating Opportunities for Learning, aims to reflect the commitment that AU staff have to enhance the student learning experience.

We’re pleased to confirm our full programme.  We will have 2 days in person (Tuesday 4 July and Wednesday 5 July) and 1 day online (Thursday 6 July).

We look forward to seeing you at the conference, and please remember to register for the conference by completing this online form. 

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.