Content Organisation in Blackboard

11th January 202128th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, Exemplary Course Award, Interactive Tools, Teaching Continuity, Training and Support, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) 1 Comment

Distance Learner Banner As we are using more and more functionality in Blackboard modules, how they are organised has become increasingly important. We receive quite a number of queries from students struggling to locate various items or submission points in Blackboard.

To assist with navigation, we’ve pulled together our top tips on content organisation.

If you’ve got any questions about this or want to request a module MOT, please email elearning@aber.ac.uk.

Tips for Organising Blackboard Content

Before you start creating content on your Blackboard modules, think about how it can best be arranged so that students can easily access it and that learning resources and activities are in a logical place.

CPD Training (January) – What’s on?

8th January 202128th April 2021 Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Online Teaching, Training and Support, Uncategorised, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

Here is an overview of all the CPD sessions that the LTEU will be offering to University staff throughout January.

Please visit the Staff Training Website to book a space and for more information.

CPD January 2021

The Exemplary Course Award – Streamlined Application Process

30th November 202028th April 2021 Lara Kipp [lak22] Blackboard, Exemplary Course Award, HyFlex, Online Teaching, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

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.

Interactive Blackboard Tools Series – Journals and Blogs (Part 1)

23rd November 202028th April 2021 Anna Udalowska [aeu] Blackboard, Blackboard Blogs, Blackboard Journals, Blogs and Journals, Online Teaching, Other Tools, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) 3 Comments

Teaching staff at Aberystwyth University make excellent use of basic functions of Blackboard keeping it consistent and easy to navigate, meeting the needs of their students. Some staff go beyond Blackboard Required Minimum Presence, using additional, interactive functions in many different creative ways. Considering the current emphasis on online learning and the use of asynchronous online activities we would like to introduce you to some of the more advanced (although still easy to use!) tools in Blackboard:

Journals and Blogs
Wikis
Tests

We have already written about discussion board – perhaps the most versatile of all the Blackboard tools. In this blog post we will focus on blogs and journals and the value these tools could bring to your teaching.

Both journals and blogs, typically written in an informal way, are tools conducive to reflection and personal expression. The difference in their use is determined by whether or not they are aimed at being shared with others. Journals in Blackboard can be set up in two ways:

Private journals cannot be anonymous, are seen only by the lecturer and the student who wrote it, if enabled other students may view them but not comment or edit.
Group journals enable students to write individual entries into one group journal, group members can view and comment on all entries.

Watch a tutorial on creating journals

Alternative activities to in-person teaching

19th November 202028th April 2021 Sioned Llywelyn [sil12] Blackboard, HyFlex, Online Teaching, Other Tools, Panopto, Polling Software, Teaching Continuity, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

There may be occasions where it is not practically possible for you to simultaneously deliver non-lecture activities (e.g. seminars, workshops, etc.) to students in-person and students joining via MS Teams.

In this blog post, we will explore some different options for delivering alternative activities for those students that cannot join in-person sessions. Before you begin to design an alternative activity, consider the following points:

Which alternative activity will best emulate the experience that students in the original in-person session are getting?
What are my intended learning outcomes and which activities will best achieve these?
How long will it take me to plan an activity and do I have the capacity to do this?
Think carefully about your assessment criteria – will the alternative activity that you provide allow the students to undertake the module assessments successfully?
Clarity and focus are at the heart of any well-designed online activity. Ensure that students using your alternative activity know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it. If you ask students to use any technology, you must provide students with clear and concise guidance on how to use these.

Potential disruption to Blackboard labels and titles

9th November 202028th April 2021 James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, Technical Updates, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

You may notice some changes to Blackboard labels whilst we update our language pack tomorrow morning (Tuesday 10.11.2020).

This will affect menu items and My Modules. Blackboard functionality and access will remain during this time and you will still be able to create content, access materials, and submit assignments. This work is scheduled to take place as part of Information Services’ Tuesday morning maintenance: https://faqs.aber.ac.uk/94.

New Content Editor in Blackboard

6th November 202028th April 2021 Kate Wright [kaw] Blackboard, Technical Updates, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment

A small number of users are having problems with the new Content Editor in Blackboard. This may stop you being able to add or edit text.

We are working closely with Blackboard to resolve this problem as quickly as possible.

An Updated Content Editor for Blackboard

3rd November 202028th April 2021 Robert Francis [rsf09] Blackboard, Technical Updates, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) 1 Comment

On November 5th, 2020 Blackboard is rolling out an update to the Content Editor (aka WYSIWYG editor). This is the primary input method in Blackboard.

This is what it looks like:

The new Blackboard Content Editor

Weekly Resource Roundup – 19/10/2020

19th October 202028th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Online Teaching, Training and Support, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE), 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.

20/10/2020 AbilityNet, “How to do accessible social media”
20/10/2020 Jisc, “Online teaching: overcoming the challenges”
21/10/2020 Centre for Distance Education (CDE) “Autumn 2020 Supporting Student Success event”
21/10/2020 Learning & Teaching in HE Tweetchat, “#LTHEchat187: The Value of Fiction in Learning and Teaching”
22/10/2020 ACUE, “Examining and Mitigating Implicit Bias”
27/10/2020 Faculty Focus, “Engaging College Students Using Active Learning Techniques”
28/10/2020 Chronicle of Higher Education, “Campus Wellbeing Post-Pandemic”
28/10/2020 Future Teacher, “Inclusive practice”
5/11/2020 Centre for Distance Education (CDE) “Adventures in synchronous online teaching”
6/11/2020 National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education “Developing feedback literacy in both staff and students and redesigning assessment to build on this new-found understanding”
16/12/2020 LTEU Aberystwyth University Mini-conference, “Advice for Action: Promoting Good Feedback Practice” proposal and booking
Clark, D. (12/10/2020) “Practice – mostly forgotten yet where most learning takes place…“, Donald Clark Plan B
Crook, A. & Crook, T. W. (26/8/2020) “6 tips for Teaching Online and In Person Simultaneously“, Inside Higher Ed
EdTech VoiceNotes podcast series
Dyer, S & Harris, L. (16/10/2020) “Let’s take the remote out of online learning“, WonkHE blog
Hiscox, T. J. (11/10/2020) “E-learning in the face of a pandemic through the eyes of the students” Post-Pandemic University
Penn, P. (16/10/2020) “How to plan your essays: key advice from psychology”
Thomas, (16/10/2020) “Learning theories timeline: key ideas from educational psychology“, myBRAINisOPEN
RAISE Researching, “Advancing & Inspiring Student Engagement Partnership Special Interest Group Resources”
Retrieval Practice, (11/5/2018) “Boost note-taking. Try Retrieve-Taking!” Weekly Teaching Tips
Sundar, K. (17/9/2020) “The Student Engagement Trap, and How to Avoid It” Edutopia
Swansea University, “Resources for Teaching”

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.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 5/10/2020

5th October 202028th April 2021 Mary Jacob [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE), Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

20/10/2020 Inspera. “The Pedagogical Impact of Online Assessment”
23/10/2020 SEDA. “Decolonising the curriculum: why the concept requires a wider conversation and how do educational developers bring about effective change?”
Agbonifo O. C., Sarumi O. A., & Akinola Y. M. (2020). “A chemistry laboratory platform enhanced with virtual reality for students’ adaptive learning“. Research in Learning Technology, 28.
Buckley, C. (29/9/2020) “Transforming Solent’s Learning Delivery during covid-19 – Adapting our teaching and learning provision was key to Solent continuing to provide an excellent learning experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. This case study highlights the work done by the SLTI team in building the Transformation Academy.”
Clark, A. (2014) “Blogging Student Essays”. University of Edinburgh Case Studies.
Future Teacher Talks, “Social media for teaching and learning – Resources and recording now available”
Khuri, S. & Reed, M. (1/10/2020) “Tips and tools for making your online meetings and workshops more interactive”
Mehta, Neil. “Pedagogy in the Age of Zoom – Application of key education and learning theories and concepts to teaching in a virtual classroom”
Learning technologist at the University of London. myBRAINisOPEN. “The main aim of this website is to synthesise some of the key ideas and research findings from the fields of instructional design, learning design and multimedia learning and to show how they can be applied to the design and development of blended and online learning in higher education.”
Morris, N. (3/4/2018) “Blogging and innovative assessment practice at Edinburgh“. Teaching Matters Blog.
Pearson, J. “Vlogging in student-led seminars“. Assessment for Learning at King’s College London.
Penn, P. “Psychology of Effective Studying YouTube Channel“.
Penn, P. (2020). The psychology of effective studying: How to succeed in your degree. London; New York, NY: Routledge.
Practitioner Research in Higher Education
Sambell, K. & Graham, L. (21/9/2020) ““We need to change what we’re doing.” Using pedagogic action research to improve teacher management of exemplars.” Practitioner Research in Higher Education 13(1)