Engaging students with asynchronous online tasks: Self-Determination Theory (SDT) Perspective

2020 Student’s expectations survey conducted by Wonkhe showed that when presented with a scenario of limited face-to-face teaching, 71 per cent said that in such a scenario they would struggle with motivation to learn and keep up interest.

How can we make sure that our students engage with asynchronous online tasks?

Self-determination theory (SDT) by Deci and Ryan (1985, 2002) is one of the most comprehensive and empirically supported theories of motivation available today. Past research indicated that SDT predicts a variety of learning outcomes, including performance, persistence, and course satisfaction (Deci & Ryan, 1985). The SDT-based strategies may apply to a variety of educational settings including online learning environments (Kuan-Chung & Syh-Jong, 2010). According to SDT, when students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met, they are more likely to internalize their motivation to learn and be more engaged in their studies.

Source: https://ela-source.com/2019/09/25/self-determination-theory-in-education/

MS Teams: 10 Common Questions

2nd October 202028th April 2021 Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Blackboard, HyFlex, Microsoft Teams, Online Teaching, Panopto, Training and Support Leave a comment

Following training sessions that we have conducted over the past few weeks on using MS Teams for learning and teaching activities, here are answers to 10 common questions. Further information on using MS Teams can be found in our Microsoft Teams FAQs, and please do not hesitate getting in touch with us if you have any further queries (lteu@aber.ac.uk).

Q1: If I am sharing my screen can I still see the chat function?
A1: Unfortunately, unless you have two screens then this will not be possible. You could either ask a student to monitor the chat for you or you could stop sharing your screen from time to time to check what has been posted in the chat. There are some advanced share screen options that may enable you to see the chat in some instances, and we’re happy to discuss these with you further.

Q2: I would like to add an external individual from outside Aberystwyth University to one of my ‘teams’ within MS Teams, is this possible?
A2: It is possible to add external individuals who have an Office 365 account with an ac.uk domain, but any external individual who has an email account that is not an ac.uk address will need to complete a request form to have their domain added to AU Teams access. Alternatively, you could set up meetings with external individuals through MS Teams without having to request access.

Q3: After recording a meeting, how would I access the recording and how long is it available for?
A3: After ending a meeting the recording will appear in the meeting’s chat and this will be available to download for 22 days. Please familiarise yourself with the University’s Lecture Capture Policy for details on what type of sessions are appropriate to record.

Changes to Teaching Rooms

30th September 202028th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] HyFlex, Microsoft Teams, Teaching Rooms 1 Comment

Practice Modules

This blogpost is intended to take you through various scenarios that you may wish to use in Teaching Rooms. If you have any questions, please email is@aber.ac.uk.

The following changes have been made to teaching rooms:

There are now two screens in the teaching room. Screen 1 (the one with the web camera on) is the main screen. Screen 2 is directly linked to the projector. Use Screen 2 to display materials to your class and to share with participants via Teams.
Microsoft Teams has been installed and a shortcut is on all desktops.
New desktop microphones have been installed and lapel mics removed.

If you are in a teaching room and require technical assistance, pick up the phone and wait. It will automatically dial through to Technical Support.

Before the session we advise you to:

Set up a Teams meeting for participants who are unable to join the session face to face (How do I do that?)
Have the teaching materials easily available to you – we recommend you use OneDrive and copy your materials to the desktop before beginning the session. Avoid bringing USBs etc. into the teaching room. (How do I use OneDrive?)
Communicate with any students joining via Teams how they will be participating in the session and how you will handle questions from them.

Useful Information: Online Teaching

29th September 202028th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, Microsoft Teams, Online Teaching, Other Tools, Training and Support, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

Setting up sessions through MS Teams:

Unless otherwise agreed, Microsoft Teams should be used to run all online teaching sessions.
Details of online teaching sessions should be posted in Blackboard (see our FAQ how to set up a Teams meeting in Blackboard?).
Please note that for any sessions set up through Blackboard, students will be able to use the link to join the session 15 minutes before the chosen start time. Any time prior to this, students have the option to add the session to their Office365 calendars (see our student FAQ).

Keeping students informed:

Use the announcements feature in Blackboard to communicate with your students. (See our FAQ How do I add an announcement to my Blackboard module?)
Ensure that your Blackboard contacts page has your contact information and clear instructions on how and when students should contact you.

Delivering online sessions from the University:

If required, you may come into the University to deliver your online session from the teaching rooms in the allotted timetabled slots. Please ensure you are using the correct room and time allocated to your activity.

CPD sessions:

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be running a number of CPD sessions for staff members over the coming weeks, focusing specifically on online learning and teaching and associated E-learning tools.

For any technical assistance with using MS Teams or any of the E-learning tools, please email elearning@aber.ac.uk. If you wish to discuss any aspect of learning and teaching, please email lteu@aber.ac.uk.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 28/9/2020

28th September 202028th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Events and Networks, Online Teaching, Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

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.

6/10/2020 RAISE reading group. “We will be discussing Tai Peseta and Amani Bell, ‘Seeing Institutionally: a rationale for “teach the University” in student and staff partnerships’, Higher Education Research & Development, 39, 1, 2020, pp.99-112.”
14/10/2020 Jisc. “Student experience experts group”
18-19/10/2020 CRADLE online conference “University Assessment, Learning and Teaching: New Research Directions for a Postdigital World”
22/10/2020 Durham University. “Intercultural reflection on teaching – hands-on experience of the innovative reflective methods, step-by-step guidance on implementing them, and access to practical resources, as well as opportunities for networking”
25/11/2020 Centre for Research in Digital Education. “Digital Transformation of Higher Education online research symposium”
Aberystwyth University. “Referencing & Plagiarism Awareness”
Garnham, W. “Active Learning Network – Online Active Learning Resources Padlet”
Bali, M. et al (2020). “Community Building online activities -open resource for teaching”
Lukes, D. “Online Course Development Checklists based on Instructional Design principles”
University of Mary Washington. “ReFocus Online at UMW – This is the hub for the ReFocus Online initiative. Each week will focus on a different topic for course design. Each week offers self-directed and community-engaged learning resources.”
Willingham, D. T. (2020) “Ask the Cognitive Scientist: How Can Educators Teach Critical Thinking?” American Federation of Teachers

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.

Learning and Teaching Updates – September 2020

21st September 202028th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, E-submission, Online Teaching, Teaching Rooms, Training and Support, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

Distance Learner Banner

We would like to provide you with an overview of recent developments and support materials that we have worked on for the past few months.

This information is also available at: https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/is/it-services/elearning/continuity/

Scheduling MS Teams meeting from Blackboard

All teaching sessions held in MS Teams should be scheduled in Blackboard. This includes timetabled online activities.

Setting up a meeting: https://faqs.aber.ac.uk/3067

Information for students: https://faqs.aber.ac.uk/3061

Recording seminars and Teams activities

There are privacy concerns which need to be considered when recording a meeting in MS Teams.

Further information: Guidance on recording seminars and Teams activities

Using teaching rooms

Information about using teaching rooms this academic year, including how to use MS Teams in an in-person teaching session is available at Teaching Room Guide 2020-21

Support materials for students

Supporting your Learning resources for students are now available at https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/important-info/living-and-learning-in-aberystwyth-2020-21/students/supporting-your-learning/. We will add to this page during the semester as things change or we approach key points for students.

Two guides: a Video Recording Checklist and Video Recording Tips

10th September 202028th April 2021 Lara Kipp [lak22] Online Teaching, Panopto, Training and Support Leave a comment

As more and more materials are made available online, including pre-recorded lectures, it is easy to become overwhelmed: in addition to adapting teaching materials for this different type of delivery and streamlining information into shorter instalments, the practical aspects of recording videos for teaching can be daunting. But fear not! The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit has created two guides, a Video Recording Checklist and Video Recording Tips.
It is important to remember that no one expects a perfect greenscreen or Minority Report– style, interactive multi-stream extravaganza. If you follow the checklist, you will ensure your videos will be of a consistently solid standard, without much hassle. The tips offer you extra help with improving your video recording skills.
If you have any further questions, want additional guidance, or seek clarifications, remember that the LTEU is only an email away, at lteu@aber.ac.uk and elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 7/9/2020

7th September 202028th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Events and Networks, Online Teaching, Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

18/9/2020 Faculty of Education, University of Education, “The Post-Pandemic University”
24/9/2020 Advance HE, “Progressing race equality: Action, Allyship and Anti-Racism”
7/10/2020 Transforming Assessment, “Examiner judgement in competency based assessment – The session explores the consistency of examiners’ judgements on the robustness of the decisions made in high-stakes summative competency-based assessment (CBA). Strategies for mitigating inconsistencies are explored. Examples from medical education are used.”
Advance HE. “Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates”
Armellini, A. (17 July 2019) “An update on Active Blended Learning at the University of Northampton” and “Active Blended Learning – a definition”
Healey, M., Matthews, K., and Cook-Sather, A. (2020) Writing about Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Creating and Contributing to Scholarly Conversations across a Range of Genres. “The book arises from an article we published last year on “Writing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Articles for Peer-Reviewed Journals” (Healey, Matthews, and Cook-Sather 2019). Our aim in the book”
Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, University of Northampton, “Active Blended Learning – a definition”
Jisc. (27/8/2020) “Digital learning rebooted – From fixes to foresight: Jisc and Emerge Education insights for universities and startups”
Palmer, E., Lomer, S and Bashliyska, I. (2017) Overcoming barriers to student engagement with Active Blended Learning
University Teaching Academy, Manchester Metropolitan University. “Peer Observation for Teaching and Learning”

Weekly Resource Roundup – 31/8/2020

31st August 202028th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Online Teaching, Resources and Webinars, Training and Support, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

7/9/2020 FutureLearn, “Making Blended Education Work – free online course starting on 7 September”
17/9/2020 University of East London, “Learning and Teaching Symposium: Advancing Futures in HE”
22/9/2020 Pedagogy and Pancakes, “Formative assessment using Socrative and Zoom for physiology teaching during COVID-19 crisis” and “What’s the problem? Consider using Problem-based Learning in Higher Education”
Amrane-Cooper, L. (11/8/2020) “Putting 110,000 examinations online – how are we doing?” University of London News and Opinion
Denworth, L. (12/8/2020) “Debate Arises over Teaching “Growth Mindsets” to Motivate Students“, Scientific American
Gibbs, B. & Wood, G. C., eds. (2020). Emerging Stronger: Lasting Impact from
Crisis Innovation. Godalming: Engineering Professors’ Council
Headleand, C. “Pedagogy and Pancakes webinar series”
Jisc (27/8/2020) “Digital Learning Rebooted: From fixes to foresight: Jisc and Emerge Education insights for universities and startups”
Munday, D. “Digital Education – Looking to support the educational community with advice, guidance and support to develop teaching, learning and assessment using educational technology”
Thomas, A. (12/8/2020) “How the SAMR learning model can help build a post-COVID digital strategy“, Jisc Blog

Additional online learning support for teaching staff

26th August 202028th April 2021 Anna Udalowska [aeu] Online Teaching, Training and Support Leave a comment

Recent months brought an expected rapid demand for high-quality online teaching. As in the upcoming academic year a large part of teaching will continue to be delivered online, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit will be joined by three Online Learning Specialists. They will support the LTEU in designing and delivering an ambitious programme of training for all teaching staff at AU. This programme aims to make sure that all AU staff are able to deliver pedagogically effective teaching and learning activities, in our new learning and teaching conditions.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new team members.

Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit