The Learned Society of Wales would like to invite you and a guest to join us at a drop in ‘meet and greet’ session being held at Aberystwyth University on Tuesday 13th February 2024.
Tea, coffee and light refreshments will be served and you are welcome to join us for as long as you wish between 12.30 and 1.30pm.
You will be able to meet and talk to staff from the Learned Society including Olivia Harrison (CEO) and Helen Willson (Strategic Engagement Manager) as well as our University Representatives at Aberystwyth University – Emeritus Professor Eleri Pryse and Professor Iwan Morus. We will also be joined by the President of the Learned Society of Wales – Professor Hywel Thomas.
It will be an opportunity for Fellows of the Learned Society to come together and for all those who attend to meet others who are interested in research and its impact in Wales as well as network and find out more about the Learned Society of Wales including its work with Early Career Researchers.
Who is this event for?
Current Fellows of the LSW
Anyone interested in research in or about Wales and its impact on policy
People interested in learning more about becoming a Fellow of the LSW
Early Career Researchers who would find benefit from joining an interdisciplinary network to engage with and learn from
You can find out more about the LSW and our work here. This is a drop-in session and there is no obligation to sign up or formally accept this invitation. However, we would appreciate an indication of numbers so If you know you’ll be coming along or if you would like further information please email us on lsw@wales.ac.uk
Please find below some of the latest enhancements from the January update of Blackboard Learn Ultra that the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit would like to highlight to Instructors.
Batch Edit: Change to specific date and/or time.
Instructors often want to change the date and time for several selected items in their course at the same time. The problem with making that change is that it would be very tedious if you had to do one item at a time.
Using Batch Edit, instructors can now override the existing date and/or time for selected items. The same feature also works on show on and hide after dates and times.
Note: Batch edit of dates/time only works with items that have pre-existing date and time values. Items without a date or time value will not have one applied.
Image below: Accessing Batch Edit from Course Content.
Image below: Change to a specific date and/or time option for Batch Edit.
Total and Weighted Column Calculations
Instructors need a gradebook that supports diverse grading scenarios. The gradebook supports the creation of calculated columns and an overall course grade. We are expanding gradebook functionality to also support total and weighted calculated columns. These types of calculations are helpful for specific events or periods, such as midterms or finals.
Total calculated columns can be point-based or weighted calculations. Like setting up the Overall Grade, instructors may link/unlink items in a category in the calculation. They may also choose to exclude categories from the calculation. For an included category, instructors may edit the calculation rule. The calculation rule allows instructors to drop scores or to include only the lowest or highest score in the category.
Instructors may wish to define a total calculated column for their own use. In this case, they can choose to hide from students. If desired, instructors can include a total calculated column in the overall grade calculation.
Image below: Add a Total Calculation column from the Grid view.
Image below. Add a Total Calculation column from Gradable Items view.
Image below: Editing a Weighted Total Calculation Column.
Image below: Define rules for the Weighted Total Calculation column.
Attempt logs for enhanced assessment integrity for Blackboard Tests and Assignments.
The Attempt Logs prove to be an indispensable tool for validating issues students may encounter during an assessment. The logs also help instructors identify signs of academic dishonesty.
Note: Attempt logs can be used with Blackboard Tests and Assignments, not with Turnitin.
For Tests, the logs provide the following:
Detailed information, including the date and time of the start and answers to each question.
Question-specific details, such as question number, a preview of the question, and estimated time spent on each question.
Submission receipt number, final grade, and attempt grade.
Easy toggling between all in-progress and submitted attempts for comprehensive assessment tracking.
Image below: Test attempt log with multiple attempts made by the student.
For Assignments, the logs offer:
Start and submission date and time.
Submission receipt number.
Seamless toggling between different attempts for a holistic view.
Image below: Assignment attempt log.
Instructors can access the Attempt Logs from two primary areas:
Context Menu on Submission Page – exclusive to individual assessments.
Grades Tab under Student Overview Page – available for both group and individual assessments.
Image below: Access from the Submission tab.
Image below: Access from the Grades tab from the student overview.
For anonymous assessments, the report becomes active after grades are posted, and the anonymity is lifted. This ensures that the Attempt Logs report is a robust tool even in scenarios where student identities are initially concealed.
Grade visible to students in Gradebook when item is hidden by release conditions.
Release conditions provide options for custom learning paths through course content. When instructors set release conditions, content is unavailable until students meet those conditions. An option to ‘Hide’ selected content from students is available. This setting also hides the grade from the student view of the gradebook.
Now, instructors can set release conditions without concern of hiding grades. Regardless of the setting in “When will content appear?”, students can see the grade. All other functionality of release conditions is unchanged.
Image below: Release conditions settings with date/time release condition set in combination with Hide state in “When will content appear?”
Image below: Student Gradebook view with display of student’s grade regardless of the release condition setting in the image above.
Note: It is still possible for Instructors to hide grades and Gradebook columns should this be necessary for exam boards or moderation purposes. Once the associated Test or Assessment is complete; Click on the column in the Gradebook, select Edit, then adjust the Release Conditions to Hidden from Students.
Image below: Changing Release Conditions to Hidden from Students.
Unused files management tool.
To help instructors understand the usage of files in their course and reduce their digital footprint Blackboard have created the Unused Files tool. This tool helps instructors find and delete course files that are not in use. Instructors can locate the Unused Files tool in the three-dot menu on the Course Content page.
Image below: Unused Files tool.
There are two views available; unused files (default view0 or all files. The file name, upload date, and file size display along with an option to download a copy of the local file. Instructors can easily delete unused files.
As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. 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.
Online events and webinars
January
25/1/2024 Future Trends Forum, Higher Education for Good with Bryan Alexander, Laura Czerniewicz & Catherine Cronin
11-15/3/2023 Active Learning Network, Global Festival of Active Learning: Back to the future – looking ahead for active learning (Call for proposals open until 26/1/2024)
12-13/3/2024 Jisc, Digifest 2024: Imagining the future of education and research (hybrid in-person in Birmingham and online)
London School of Economics (2023), Practice and perspectives from LSE (video playlist featuring example of AI use for university teaching), Eden Centre, LSE
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE. I often find out about good resources for the Roundup from the chat.
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.
As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. 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.
25/1/2024 Future Teacher Webinars, Wonderful world of Webinars (including Supporting deaf participants, human elements that make webinars inclusive and engaging, and creating and managing a large community of practice)
11-15/3/2023 Active Learning Network, Global Festival of Active Learning: Back to the future – looking ahead for active learning (Call for proposals open until 26/1/2024)
12-13/3/2024 Jisc, Digifest 2024: Imagining the future of education and research (hybrid in-person in Birmingham and online)
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE. I often find out about good resources for the Roundup from the chat.
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 University has a Vevox licence for all staff and students to use.
Vevox is Polling Software that allows participants to use their mobile devices to respond to questions.
In Semester 1, over 300 Vevox sessions ran, with over 10,000 participants and 1,500 polls.
In learning and teaching contexts, you can use Vevox to make your teaching more interactive, giving students the opportunity to reflect on their learning, respond to questions, provide ideas, and consolidate their understanding.
Vevox is not limited to learning and teaching activities. You can also use Vevox in meetings and outreach activities to canvas opinion, help with decision making, and give colleagues the opportunity to feedback.
There are variety of question types available:
Multiple choice
Word cloud
Text Ranking
Numeric
Rating
XY Plot
Pin on image
You can also run surveys.
The Q and A feature gives colleagues the opportunity for their attendees to ask questions and for you to respond to them live in the session.
This feature is useful for classroom assessment techniques, such as muddiest point and revising key concepts.
With the Q and A function, participants can also upvote comments so you can address questions. This useful feature can also be used for external presenters and conference activities.
You can run analyses on your polls to see participant response.
As an institution, we have several case studies. See our previous blogpost on Vevox case studies.
If Vevox is new to you, then we have a training session on 26 January at 11:00 online via Teams. You can book your place via our CPD booking page.
Have you ever wondered what the dials next to your content mean in Blackboard?
Have you seen the Ally Accessibility Report in your Blackboard course but weren’t sure what to do with it?
Do you want to make your Blackboard content more accessible, but aren’t sure where to start?
If the answer to any of these questions is Yes, then our new Introduction to Ally course is one for you.
And if you are wondering what Ally even is, then this course is definitely one for you.
The E-learning Essentials: Introduction to Blackboard Ally course (26 February) will take you through the basics of using Ally to check and fix accessibility issues in documents you have uploaded to Blackboard. Ally was introduced back in September (view the blog post introducing Ally) and is available in all 2023-24 Blackboard courses.
If you are interested in creating accessible documents using tools in Microsoft Office packages like Word and PowerPoint, we also have a Creating Accessible Learning Materials session running on 7th March.
As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. 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.
25/1/2024 Future Teacher Webinars, Wonderful world of Webinars (including Supporting deaf participants, human elements that make webinars inclusive and engaging, and creating and managing a large community of practice)
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE. I often find out about good resources for the Roundup from the chat.
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.
As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. 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.
25/1/2024 Future Teacher Webinars, Wonderful world of Webinars (including Supporting deaf participants, human elements that make webinars inclusive and engaging, and creating and managing a large community of practice)
Advance HE (2023), DVC Dialogues “bring together Deputy Vice-Chancellors and other senior university leaders from across the globe to discuss the issues impacting their institutions, staff and students”, Advance HE (series of short video recordings). See Episode 1: AI Current Challenges and Episode 2: AI Future Impact
Brunton J., Bennett L., Drumm L., Flavin M., Honeychurch S., Thomson S., & Varga-Atkins T. (2023). Research in Learning Technology: making friends and influencing people, Research in Learning Technology, 31 (survey of key articles in Research in Learning Technology over 30 years)
Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell University, A Teaching and Learning Blog (recent posts include useful articles on active learning)
QAA (30/11/2023), Exploring multimodality in higher education with Sam Elkington, Andrew Middleton, Maggie Gibson, Jimmy Lo, QAA Membership Podcast (47-minute audio recording)
QAA (24/10/2023), Towards neuro-inclusivity with Liss Chard-Hall and Graeme Pedlingham, QAA Membership Podcast (57-minute audio recording)]
Qu, S. (30/11/2023), Inclusive Teaching and Learning, (resource collection including presentation at Cambridge Teaching Forum 2023)
Other
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE. I often find out about good resources for the Roundup from the chat.
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.
![Screenshot of the Blackboard Ally tool showing 4 dials: Needs help! A little better. Almost there. Perfect!]](https://wordpress.aber.ac.uk/e-learning/files/2024/01/ally-indicators-en.png)
