Good practice for Group Work online: 7 practical tips

Group work provides students with a valuable opportunity to foster important transferable skills in communication, leadership, group dynamics and reinforces learning and understanding. With limited face-to-face interaction, online group work can provide students with an opportunity to both learn and form relationships with their peers.

Although students can gain a lot from group work, some may feel anxious about potential issues, such as imbalances of contributions by different group members, difficult group dynamics and scheduling issues (Smith et al., 2011). However, there are steps that you could take to alleviate these issues and here are 7 practical tips on how you could make online group work a more enjoyable and meaningful experience for your students:

1. Starting on the same page.
Ensure that before the group work begins, all students are provided with clear instructions relating to how you expect the project/assignment to be completed. For example, how do you expect tasks to be divided?
It is imperative that you establish clear learning outcomes. What knowledge and skills are the students expected to acquire through undertaking the group work? This can be useful to demonstrate to students the benefits of engaging in group work.
If the group work is graded, provide students with detailed marking criteria.

2. Keep group numbers small.
Arranging a time to meet as a group can be challenging, especially if meetings must be conducted online. Large groups can make scheduling meetings extremely difficult so try to keep group numbers small.
You can also encourage students to use free online tools, such as Doodle, to assist them with scheduling their meetings.

3. Provide guidance on how to conduct online meetings.
With online sessions being delivered through MS Teams, students should be familiar with how to attend meetings in Teams, but they won’t necessarily know how to set up a meeting themselves. Provide students with clear instructions on how to do this (FAQ – How do I set up a Teams Meeting?)
You could also provide students with instructions on how to use the useful collaborative features within Teams, such as the Whiteboard and how to share collaborative documents.

4. Create a virtual workspace.
Provide students with a virtual space to work within their groups, to connect with each other and to share ideas.
If you want your students to be able to work collaboratively on a Word document, you may wish to consider setting up a private team for each group within MS Teams. All assessments however should remain in Blackboard. So that each group have their own space to work, you could set up a group for the students within Blackboard. It is important to provide students with tips on how to make the best use of their virtual workspace.
You could also set up a discussion board for each group or you could create a general discussion board for the whole module in Blackboard so that students can ask you questions (FAQ: How do I add a discussion board to my Blackboard module?)

5. Share leadership responsibilities.
Instead of getting one student to lead the group, how about asking the students to take their turns in facilitating and leading the discussion at each meeting. This can help ensure that every group member takes an equal responsibility in leading the group and allows everyone the opportunity to develop important leadership skills.

6. Grading.
Ensure that your students understand how the group work will be assessed. Group work can either be marked as a whole, individually or a combination of the two (e.g. marking the work as a whole but taking into account individual contributions through self- and peer-evaluations).

7. Be available for support.
Some students may find group work challenging. It is therefore important that students know what to do if they need to discuss any issues with you confidentially or if they have any questions relating to the group work in general.
Provide students with details on how and when they can contact you. You may also wish to set up optional MS Teams drop-in sessions for the students which they can join if they have any questions.

Smith, et al. (2011) ‘Overcoming student resistance to group work: Online versus face-to-face’, The Internet and Higher Education, 14, pp. 121-128.

How to make asynchronous recordings engaging and interactive

Pre-recorded asynchronous content has become a key factor in delivering courses and enabling the best learning experience for students at Aberystwyth University. There are several strategies that lecturers can use to make these recordings both engaging and interactive.

The benefits of asynchronous pre-recorded lectures are manifold, and most students – as the so-called YouTube generation – know this mode of learning extremely well (Scagnoli, Choo & Tian, 2019). Benefits include that students control their engagement with the content and value the convenience and flexibility that asynchronous recordings provide them with, in particular regarding the pace of their learning, and the repeatability of their engagement (Dale & Pymm, 2009; Ramlogan et al., 2014; Scagnoli, Choo & Tian, 2019). It is therefore essential that staff outline what is expected of students in terms of engaging with learning materials, both in pre-recorded videos and in-person sessions.

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Drop in sessions: E-learning tools

We would like to offer staff members at the University the opportunity to join us for our drop-in sessions on using e-learning tools (Blackboard, Panopto, Turnitin and MS Teams) for learning and teaching activities. These will offer an informal opportunity to speak with our Online Learning Specialists and to address any problems or queries you may have.

All drop-in sessions will be held via MS Teams and there is no need to book, just click on the links below. *Please note that sessions with an asterisk (*) will be bilingual sessions, and all sessions without an asterisk will run as English-medium sessions.  

These drop-in sessions will take place on:
19.01.2021 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting*
21.01.2021 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
26.01.2021 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting*
28.01.2021 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting
02.02.2021 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting*
04.02.2021 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

We hope that these sessions will provide you with an opportunity to clarify any questions about your teaching needs.

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

Advice on managing face-to-face and HyFlex teaching successfully

Advice on managing face-to-face teaching successfully:
All staff should strive to maximise the amount of time that students are working back to back or side to side, wherever possible. However, where this is not possible, students may turn to one another, for example for seminar discussion, provided other mitigating practices remain in place (ventilation, masks, social distancing).

A short (10 minute) discussion among students can then be opened up by using interactive technologies such as polling software to allow students to pool their knowledge and begin a plenary discussion, for which all students will face forward again. The majority of in-person sessions should take place with students positioned back to back or side to side.

Please note:
• Any activities in which students face each other should be in very small groups (pairs or groups of three) to minimise the overall volume and ensure everyone can contribute.
• Reminding students of good conversational etiquette, in which people take turns to speak, is essential to minimising the volume of conversations, and thus the projection of aerosol droplets.
• In rooms with fixed and/or tiered seating, such discussion may prove difficult, as students are not permitted to change seats.
• In rooms with mobile seating, the layout of the room must not be changed, and staff must ensure that students maintain social distancing at all times when turning to others.

Advice on managing HyFlex teaching successfully:
• Set expectations clearly: what can student joining remotely expect? Will they be in an observer role? Will they be active participants? What are the limits of remote participation?
• Enable interactive tasks that bring remote and in situ students together, e.g. interactive polls that all can access synchronously
• If numbers are very uneven and the majority of students is present in one mode (e.g. only one student is joining remotely from quarantine), invite in situ students to the online session using their own devices, to enable peer discussion

Kate Exley Workshop: Taking your (PowerPoint) Lectures Online

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce a special online workshop run by Dr Kate Exley on Wednesday 17th February.

The workshop will be useful for colleagues who are modifying and transferring their traditionally delivered lectures for on-line learning.

Please book your place online [link].

So that as many colleagues as possible can attend, we are running the workshop twice (11am-12pm and 1pm-2pm). Please select which session you want to attend when booking.

Places are limited so please book as soon as possible.

Session Overview:

Many colleagues have been involved in providing blended or on-line learning for many years but the Covid pandemic has meant that we have all needed to quickly provide much of our teaching and learning at a distance. This has involved moving our lectures, previously delivered in large lecture theatres and classrooms, to online platforms. The speed at which this huge change has happened has in itself caused significant challenges for staff and students alike.  This blended workshop aims to provide some guidance, examples and a forum for colleagues to share their experiences and ideas for enhancing this provision.

This workshop is presented in two parts:

  • A set of 3 short videos will be made available on or before the 5th February 2021 and should be viewed independently before joining discussion forum – approximately 45 minutes independent study.
  • A discussion forum hosted via Teams on the 17th February, in which participants will have the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and discuss the topic – lasting 1 hour.

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Continued Professional Development: E-learning Essentials sessions in January 2021 – What’s on?

Here is an overview of the E-learning Essentials sessions that the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be offering to University staff throughout January. We offer sessions in both English and Welsh and Welsh-medium sessions will appear with Welsh titles on the staff training website and on the table below.

DateTitleTimeDetails
06-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Blackboard (L & T: Online)15:00 - 16:00Details
07-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Turnitin (L & T: Online)11:00 - 12:00Details
08-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Panopto (L & T: Online)14:00 - 15:00Details
11-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Component Marks Transfer (L & T: Online)11:00 - 12:00Details
12-01-2021Hanfodion E-ddysgu: Cyflwyniad i Blackboard, Panopto a Turnitin (D & A: Ar-lein)10:00 - 11:30Details
14-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Moving to Online Teaching (L & T: Online)10:00 - 11:30Details
15-01-2021E-learning Essentials: Using MS Teams for Learning and Teaching Activities (L & T: Online)11:00 - 12:00Details
18-01-2021Hanfodion E-ddysgu: Defnyddio MS Teams a symud i Addysgu Ar-lein (D & A: Ar-lein)14:00 - 15:30Details

For a full list of all sessions throughout the next semester and to book a place on any course, please visit the staff training website. We will also be running a series of E-learning Enhanced session next semester and we will publish further information on this in the new year.

If you have any questions about any of the sessions, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

From everyone at the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit, thank you for supporting our work throughout the year and we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

NEW feature – Breakout Rooms in MS Teams

One of the most anticipated features in MS Teams has finally arrived…. Breakout Rooms! Breakout rooms allow meeting organisers to create and name up to 50 separate rooms within scheduled and ‘meet now’ meetings. Organisers can then assign attendees to those rooms either automatically or manually.

We will be releasing guidance on how to create and manage breakout rooms (for staff) and how to participate in breakout rooms (for students) next week. For the time being, here is a guide from Microsoft on how to create and manage breakout rooms in Teams.

What does the icon for breakout rooms look like?
The icon for breakout rooms is displayed as two boxes (as is highlighted below by the blue box). This should appear on your control bar.
Breakout Room Icon

Why can’t I see this icon?
If you are not able to see this icon, there are two likely reasons:

    • 1. Only meeting organisers can create and manage breakout rooms. If you are not the meeting organiser, then you will not be able to create and manage breakout rooms in Teams and you won’t see the icon during that meeting.

 

    2. MS Teams might not have automatically updated. To do this yourself, click on your image from the top-right hand corner of the screen (see yellow box on image below) and then select ‘Check for updates’ (see orange box).

Settings bar in Teams
If you have any questions about using Teams, please contact Information Services (is@aber.ac.uk). [:cy]Mae un o’r nodweddion mwyaf disgwyliedig MS Teams wedi cyrraedd o’r diwedd…. Ystafelloedd Trafod (Breakout Rooms)! Mae ystafelloedd trafod yn caniatáu i drefnwyr cyfarfodydd greu ac enwi hyd at 50 o ystafelloedd ar wahân, mewn cyfarfodydd sydd wedi’u hamserlennu ac o fewn cyfarfodydd ‘meet now’. Gall trefnwyr yna benodi mynychwyr i’r ystafelloedd hynny naill ai’n awtomatig neu â llaw.

Byddwn yn rhyddhau canllawiau ar sut i greu a rheoli ystafelloedd trafod (i staff) a sut i gymryd rhan o fewn ystafelloedd trafod (i fyfyrwyr) yr wythnos nesaf. Am y tro, dyma ganllaw gan Microsoft ar sut i greu a rheoli ystafelloedd trafod o fewn Teams.

Sut mae’r eicon ar gyfer ystafelloedd trafod yn edrych?
Mae’r eicon ar gyfer ystafelloedd trafod wedi’i arddangos fel dau flwch (fel y nodir isod o fewn y blwch glas). Dylai hyn ymddangos ar eich bar rheoli.
Breakout Room Icon
Pam na allaf weld yr eicon hwn?
Os na allwch weld yr eicon hwn, mae dau reswm tebygol:

    • 1. Dim ond trefnwyr cyfarfodydd all greu a rheoli ystafelloedd trafod. Os nad chi yw trefnydd y cyfarfod, yna ni fyddwch yn gallu creu a rheoli ystafelloedd trafod o fewn Teams ac ni fyddwch chwaith yn gallu gweld yr eicon yn ystod y cyfarfod hwnnw.

 

    • 2. Efallai fod MS Teams heb ddiweddaru’n awtomatig. I wneud hyn eich hun, cliciwch ar eich delwedd yng nghornel dde uchaf y sgrin (gweler y blwch melyn ar y ddelwedd isod) ac yna dewiswch ‘

Check for Updates

    ‘ (gweler y blwch oren).

Settings bar in Teams
Os oes gennych chi unrhyw gwestiynau am sut i ddefnyddio Teams, cysylltwch â Gwasanaethau Gwybodaeth (gg@aber.ac.uk).

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Weekly Resource Roundup – 2/12/2020

Weekly Resource Roundup with Mary Jacob, Lecturer in Learning and Teaching As lecturer in learning and teaching responsible for the PGCTHE, I keep an eye out for new resources to help our staff teach effectively online. This includes externally-provided webinars, toolkits, publications and other resources. Because active learning is high on our university agenda, I’m particularly keen to share guidance for moving active learning online. 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.   

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.  

The Exemplary Course Award – Streamlined Application Process

Annually, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit run the Exemplary Course Award, which recognises the very best practice in using Blackboard. This blog post details changes we have made to the process, when dedicated training sessions will be run, how and why to apply, and when the deadline for applications is.
To get an idea of what an ECA-winning module might look like, you can view last year’s winners’ module walk-throughs here (Lara Kipp, in English only, and Rhianedd Jewell, in Welsh and English).

Recognising the particular challenges of this academic year, we have put our heads together to streamline the process in the hopes that even more applicants submit their modules for consideration. The process is still rigorous and detailed, but we have made some key changes to encourage as wide a range of applications as possible.

What has changed?
• You can now submit in two different formats: either a written narrative of up to 500 words, or a Panopto recording up to 4 minutes in length.
• We have streamlined the form in such a way that applicants only need to tick whether a criterion is fulfilled or not – no need to agonise over how many points to award yourself.
• We have integrated the criteria weighting into the form, meaning applicants do not need to calculate scores anymore.

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