Author: WordPress User [jbw]

Academy Forums 2023

WordPress User [jbw] Academy Forum, Events and Networks Leave a comment

Thank you to all who have attended Academy Forums in Semester 1. We’ve had some great discussions around wellbeing in the curriculum, student induction activities, how students are using technology at Aberystwyth University, and Digital Capabilities (Part 1).

All our handouts from our Academy Forums are available on our webpages.

You can now book your place on our Academy Forums for Semester 2.

  • 24 January, 14:00-15:30: Academy Forum 5: Strategies for Feedback Engagement (In-person, E3)
  • 16 February, 10:00-11:30: Academy Forum 6: Using Technology for Reflective Activities (Online)
  • 6 March, 10:00-11:30, Academy Forum 7: Designing Group Assessment using Technology (Online)
  • 19 April, 10:00-11:30, Academy Forum 8: Digital Capabilities (Part 2) (Online)
  • 17 May, 14:00-16:00, Academy Forum 9: Equality and Diversity in the Curriculum (In-person, E3)

If you have any questions, then please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (lteu@aber.ac.uk).

Mini Conference Programme Announced

WordPress User [jbw] Conference, Events and Networks, Mini Conference 2022 Sustainability Leave a comment
Accessibility icons showing 3 images: a checklist, a computer workstation, an image

On Tuesday 20 December, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be hosting an Academy Mini-Conference online.

The theme is ‘Sustainability in Higher Education’.

The Mini-Conference will run from 10:15-14:15.

We’re excited to confirm our programme:

  • Dr Georgina Gough – keynote speaker Embedding Sustainability Goals across the Curriculum
  • Marian Gray: Student Mobility and Cross-Cultural Skills – Global and Sustainable?
  • Dr Louise Marshall – Discipline hopping: Interdisciplinary approaches to a sustainable curriculum

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.

Important Information: Blackboard Ultra

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Technical Updates, Ultra Leave a comment
Blackboard Ultra icon

In our previous blogpost, we announced our move to Blackboard Ultra.

Following the meeting of Academic Board, we can confirm that Phase 1 of the Ultra project, Ultra Base Navigation (UBN), will take place between 3 and 6 January 2023.

During this time, you will notice changes to the landing pages of Blackboard. Whilst UBN offers a new feel to Blackboard, course functionality and content will remain the same. We aim to maintain user access to Blackboard throughout this time, but it should be considered at risk for this period.

Further updates about UBN will follow to help prepare staff and students for this change to the landing page.

Once Phase 1 is complete, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will move to Phase 2, preparing for Ultra Courses in September 2023.

We are blogging throughout the project and key messages will be communicated via the Weekly Bulletin and IS news.

We will provide FAQs and have a dedicated webpage which will develop as the project progresses.

If you have any questions, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).

Keynote Announcement: Mini Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education

WordPress User [jbw] Events and Networks, Mini Conference 2022 Sustainability 1 Comment
Accessibility icons showing 3 images: a checklist, a computer workstation, an image

We’re delighted to announce our keynote presentation for this year’s Mini Conference taking place online via Teams on 20 December 2022.

Dr Georgina Gough will be leading a session on embedding Sustainable Development Goals into the curriculum.

Dr Gough is Associate Professor in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) lead at UWE Bristol. She coordinates a cross university, award-winning knowledge exchange for sustainability education (KESE) and mentors academics to incorporate sustainability into their teaching, learning and professional practice. Georgina leads a long-term project mapping academic activity against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is actively involved in city-level work to achieve the SDGs. She was on the expert panel which developed the HE sector guidance on ESD (Advance HE/ QAA, 2021) and works in partnership with colleagues, students and external stakeholders to embed sustainability across higher education and to share good practice both internally and externally. Georgina is programme leader for MSc Sustainable Development in Practice and teaches in geography- and business-based UG modules as well as contributing to cross-university sustainability modules and academic development initiatives.

Booking for the mini conference is currently open – reserve your place online. Our full programme will be announced shortly.

Exemplary Course Award 2023 Submissions Open

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Exemplary Course Award Leave a comment
Exemplary Course Award image

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 30 January 2023. 

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:

  • 15 December, 10:00-11:30
  • 12 January, 14:00-15:30

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).

Blackboard Ultra: Project Board Meeting 1

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

On 3 November, our client support team at Blackboard met with the Ultra Project Board. The board is made up of Information Services members responsible for the move to Blackboard Ultra and academic colleagues.

The meeting’s purpose was to outline the project’s scope, mission, vision, and goals.

Part of the activity involved a Mural board.

On this Mural board we were asked to give an overview of the institutional, departmental, and individual goals we wanted to achieve.

Institutional Goals

We’re looking to maintain our excellent student experience, and making sure that the move is sustainable for all staff. From a pedagogical perspective, we want active learning and student as partners to be an ethos for the project, whilst also focusing on ways that blended distance learning and online assessment can be developed. We want the VLE to be as self-service for our users as much as possible, whilst complying with the accessibility legislation. We want data to flow seamlessly between other systems, and give greater transparency to mark processing. Blackboard Ultra needs to have a clear identity and brand easily identifiable with Aberystwyth. The environment needs to be fully bilingual, easy to navigate, and reviews save users time where possible. Consistency across modules in terms of navigation remains a large driver, with a standardised baseline of best practice and an institutional template. There needs to be opportunities for staff to innovate, with examples of excellent learning and teaching activities. We need to make the most out of our investment and ensure the VLE is GDPR compliant.

Read More

Changes to Blackboard

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

Over the next year you’ll see some changes in Blackboard. This is because we are starting the move to Blackboard Ultra.

The first phase of this move will be to Ultra Base Navigation (UBN) – this will change the Blackboard homepage.

UBN has no impact on individual Blackboard course sites. These will remain unchanged until the next phase of moving to Blackboard Ultra Courses (planned for Summer 2023).

Moving to UBN gives us a head start on training and familiarisation with Blackboard Ultra. The date for moving to UBN will be announced very soon.

You can find out more about Blackboard Ultra via the LTEU blog.

We will use the Weekly Email to Staff and Students, as well as emails to departmental contacts to keep you updated on Ultra news.

Vevox Webinar: 16 November 2022, 2pm

WordPress User [jbw] Polling Software, Resources and Webinars, Vevox Leave a comment

The next Vevox pedagogy series webinar is taking place on 16 November at 2pm. In this webinar, Guy Aitchison, Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at Loughborough University will be looking at using Vevox successfully in different classroom settings.

Further information on the session is on Vevox’s webpage and you can book your place online.

Our AU guidance webpage provides guidance on how to use the software and you can sign up for Vevox 15-minute introductory training sessions every Tuesday afternoon.

Call for Proposals: Mini Conference – Sustainability in Higher Education

WordPress User [jbw] Conference, Mini Conference 2022 Sustainability 1 Comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce our next Mini Conference.

On 20 December, we will be hosting an online event to look at Sustainability in Higher Education.

At this year’s L & T Conference, we welcomed Dr Alex Hope from the University of Northumbria to talk about ways in which we might embed Sustainability in the Curriculum. You can catch up with Alex’s talk from the conference online.

If you would like to contribute to the event, please complete this Call for Proposals by Friday 18 November 2022.

Potential topics might include:

  • Sustainability in the Curriculum
  • Assessment and Sustainability
  • Developing Sustainably Conscious Students
  • Mapping the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Booking for the one-day event is already open – book online.

We’ll be joined by some external presenters at the event so keep an eye on our blog as we announce our programme. If you’ve got any questions, let us know: lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Learning and Teaching Conference 2020 Logo