Support for Teaching In Person

14th September 202124th September 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Teaching Continuity, Teaching Rooms Leave a comment

As we look towards teaching in person again, we want to remind staff that they are not alone in re-adjusting to in-person delivery, which may yet face some changes with regards to group sizes, delivery modes, distancing, and masks.

This blog post will address standard teaching room equipment and managing student expectations, and point staff in the direction of relevant resources for those topics.

Standard Teaching Room Equipment

Information Services has developed a guide to using the standard teaching equipment in the central teaching rooms. You can watch a playlist of teaching room equipment demonstrations.

Enhanced hygiene and Health & Safety protocols may still be in place in September, so please keep up to date with them, including one-way systems in buildings, staggered arrival/ departure times for staff and students, sanitation stations, and seating plans.

We also want to remind staff of the university’s lecture capture policy – returning to in-person teaching may require a return to live lecture recordings. Making lecture recordings will have a number of benefits as we return to face-to-face provision. Students unable to attend lectures because of illness will be able to catch-up with their work more easily. And if students know that lecture recordings are available, they can avoid in-person situations if they are feeling unwell. All this helps with work across the university to protect everyone’s health and wellbeing.

If in doubt, revisit our playlist on Panopto.

It may be that your teaching is not in a central teaching room, and other equipment than the central standard is available. Please make sure you are aware of the relevant risk assessments for your teaching spaces and check how to best implement them with the appropriate person in your department.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 8/9/2021

8th September 20218th September 2021 WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Uncategorised, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

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

Ongoing MOOC, Open University, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in STEM
Ongoing MOOC, University of Derby, Flexible Learning Toolkit
9/9/2021 Media & Learning, How accessible are higher education video services one year on from the Directive?
13/9/2021, Practical Pedagogy conference
14/9/2021 TILT, TILT Annual Learning and Teaching Conference
15/9/2021 Amnet, Accessibility: Matching Image Description to the Content
16/9/2021 Active Learning Network, Creative Universities: Global Challenges and Alternative Futures
16/9/2021 Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching, UEL Learning and Teaching Symposium
6/10/2021 Transforming Assessment, Using video in assessment and feedback
13/10/2021 Tile Network, Supporting Neurodiversity in Education

Resources and publications

ALT (2021), Framework for Ethical Learning Technology.
Bayne, S., Evans, P., Ewins, R., Knox, J., Lamb, J., Macleod, H., O’Shea, C., Johnston, K. (2020), The manifesto for teaching online, MIT Press.
Callaghan, D. & Collins, H. (2021), Adaptive action learning in an online community: facilitating a large cohort to deliver results, Action Learning: Research and Practice, 18:1, 20-37
Cormier, D. (30/8/2021), Facilitating Online Breakout Groups (7-minute video)
Dieste, T. (1/9/2021), 75% of university lectures are inaccessible for students with auditory impairments, Media & Learning
Drysdale, T. (7/9/2021), Innovation in Science Teaching, Teaching Matters Blog
Freelon, D., Bali, M., Chibnall, D., Morris, S., Kuo, R., Tedford, R., & Williams, A. (31/8/2021), How Can Educators Equip Students with the Tools They Need to Combat Misinformation?, Sage Publishing, (4-hour recording and toolkit from 2021 Critical Thinking Bootcamp)
Fripp, D. (3/9/2021), Assessment Feedback Assistant, Jisc Co-Design
Gyurko, J. (26/8/2021), Bringing Faculty into the Student Success Movement, ACUE Community
Hunt, R. (1/9/2021), Inclusive Cultures: What experiences give students a sense of belonging or exclusion? (podcast 15 minutes), Teaching Matters Blog
Jisc (7/9/2021), Students say universities must learn from the pandemic to improve higher education, Jisc News
Misiejuk, K. & Wasson, B. (28/8/2021), Backward evaluation in peer assessment: A scoping review, Computers in Education
Open University Learning Design Team, Resources (including Collaborative Online Activities)
Teaching Enhancement Unit (7/2021), Guidance for moving large class cohorts to the online environment, Dublin City University
Walker, R., Chong, S., & Chong, J. (2021). Facilitating peer-led group research through virtual collaboration spaces: an exploratory research study. Research in Learning Technology, 29.

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.

Vevox update – new question types available

6th September 20216th September 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Polling Software Leave a comment

Vevox will have an update on 13th September which will introduce a couple of new question types involving images.

Pin on Image Poll

You can upload an image as the question type and ask your students to mark on the image the solution. This will be great for diagrams, maps, or graphs:

Multichoice on Image poll

Another image type question, but this time give your students the opportunity to select the correct answer from a number of distractors:

A reminder that we’ve got Vevox running training sessions on:

09.09.2021, 11:00-12:00
28.09.2021, 14:00-15:00
06.10.2021, 10:00-11:00

These sessions will cover:

How to gain access to an account
How to create a session
Create and Run polls
Vevox Q&A – display, moderation
Surveys
Data & settings
MS Team Integration Setup
Q&A – any questions from participants

Book your place online.

For a list of all updates coming on 13^th September, check out Vevox’s blogpost.

All of our guidance for Vevox is available on our polling webpages.

Vevox Training Sessions

31st August 202131st August 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Training and Support, Vevox Leave a comment

Last year, the University procured Vevox as its Polling Tool solution. Since then, we’ve seen lots of fantastic in-class polling activities taking place across the University.

For those of you who haven’t used Vevox before or would like some guidance, Vevox will be running some training sessions in September and October:

9^th September 11:00-12:00
28^th September 14:00-15:00
6^th October 10:00-11:00

Book your place on our Courses Booking site.

This training session will be taking place online via Teams. A link will be sent to you prior to the start of the session.

For more information on Vevox, take a look at our Vevox Polling Tool webpage.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 27/8/2021

27th August 202127th August 2021 WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

Online events and webinars

1/9/2021 Transforming Assessment, Making post-pandemic assessment authentic and engaging
22/9/2021 Quality Conversations by Views, Dilemmas in Contemporary Creative Arts Education
7/10/2021 AdvanceHE, Introduction to EDI in Teaching and Learning Workshops

Resources and publications

Agarwal, P. (11/5/2018), Boost note-taking with Retrieve-Taking!, Retrieval Practice
Bjork, R. (n.d.), Applying Cognitive Psychology to Enhance Educational Practice, UCLA Bjork Learning and Forgetting Lab (collection of videos and resources)
Centre for Distance Education, University of London, Research in Distance Education (RIDE) conference 2021: Learning through disruption conference blogs and recordings
Fawns, T. (16/8/2021), An Online Teaching Mindset, keynote talk Cardiff University Learning & Teaching Conference (75 minute video)
Feedback for Learning, Closing the Assessment Loop (resource collection from Australia)
Harvard, B. (5/5/2020), Pillars of the Cognition Conscious Classroom (1 hour video)
Healey HE Consultants, publications and resources
InnerDrive, The Cognitive Science behind Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction
Pates, D., Rutherford, J., & Sikora, I., Teaching Here and There podcast series
Sambell, K. (n.d.), Assessment for Learning, Heriot-Watt Learning & Teaching Academy
Sundar, K. & Agarwal, P. (2021), Effect Sizes and Meta-analysese: how to interpret the “evidence” in evidence-based
Wood, J. (3/1/2021), A dialogic technology-mediated model of feedback uptake and literacy, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
Young, C. & Perovic, N. (23/7/2021), Introduction to ABC Learning Design (8 minute video)

Other

1/9/2021 deadline call for proposals, Creative Academic Magazine

Resources from the Annual Learning and Teaching Conference

23rd August 202123rd August 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2021, Conference, Uncategorised Leave a comment

Hector, our AberForward who has been working with us to support the Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, has pulled together a list of resources inspired by the talks at the conference. If you want to watch any of the sessions again, then you can do so on our webpages.

Conference Keynote: Dr Chrissi Nerantzi

Our conference keynote was definitely a highlight. Chrissi asked conference attendees the following questions. Below are the results from our conference delegates:

Mentimeter poll result outlining how much colleagues agree with the following statements:

I am feeling more creative since the pandemic broke out (3.8)

My students react more positively to create tasks since the pandemic broke out (3.2)

I find it easier to be creative in my teaching practice during the pandemic (3.3)

Being creative means risk lowering my evaluation scores linked to my teaching (3)

Mentimeter word cloud results answering the following question: What is your main driver to innovate in your practice?

Most common answers:

Engagement
Student engagmeent
Fun
Curiosity
Inclusivity
Learning

If you’re interested in reading more about Chrissi’s work, then take a look at the following webpages:

Reflections on running the Student Learning Ambassadors Pilot Project

12th August 202120th September 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Students as Partners Leave a comment

By Anna Udalowska

Pedagogical literature emphasises the importance of students’ active involvement in all initiatives which impact their learning experience. As we, the LTEU, work so closely with teaching staff advising them on best practices in learning and teaching, we felt that our provision would benefit from students’ direct involvement. We decided to partner with a group of students, acting as Student Learning Ambassadors, to focus on one of the most frequently raised issues in student feedback – Blackboard modules’ design.

A lot has been done already to improve navigation and consistency of Blackboard modules, e.g., we introduced departmental Blackboard menus and Blackboard Required Minimum Presence. There are some excellent examples of Blackboard modules out there, some of which are showcased in our Exemplary Course Awards. Nevertheless, comments on difficulties in navigation and lack of consistency of the Blackboard module still appear in student feedback (e.g., Digital Insights Survey).

Before starting the project, our Unit had an opportunity to attend a workshop on student-staff partnership delivered by Ruth and Mick Healey who are the leading consultants in this aspect of student engagement. The session as well as follow-up consultation focusing specifically on the Student Learning Ambassadors project was invaluable. Although our project was focused mainly on consulting students, we did our best to implement underlying values of student-staff partnerships, empowering students to take ownership of the project, helping them to realise the impact of their work and reflect on how it benefited their growth.

The Student Learning Ambassadors project was advertised through the AberWorks scheme and the AberCareers platform as well as among current Peer Guides and Student Representatives. In the week before the project started students completed their induction which included familiarising themselves with health and safety working procedures, information security and data protection guidelines, and introduction to the LTEU.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 11/8/2021

11th August 202111th August 2021 WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Training and Support, Uncategorised, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

Online events and webinars

16/8/2021 ALT, A Framework to Support Problem-Based Learning (mobiPBL)
27/8/2021 ALT, Copyright and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
1/9/2021 Transforming Assessment webinars, Making post-pandemic assessment authentic and engaging (Sally Brown & Kay Sambell)
1-2/9/2021 RAISE Network, Annual conference: Student Engagement in the Context of Covid-19
10/9/2021 Pedagogy and Pancakes, Practical Pedagogy Conference
6/10/2021 Transforming Assessment webinars, Using video in assessment and feedback

Resources and publications

ACUE (2020), Inclusive Online Teaching Webinars recordings and resources (about 1 hour each)
Bartolic, S. K., Boud, D., Agapito, J., Verpoorten, D., Williams, S., Lutze-Mann, L., Matzat, U., Moreno, M. M., Polly, P., Tai, J., Marsh, H. L., Lin, L., Burgess, J-L., Habtu, S., Mercedes Rodrigo, M. M., Roth, M., Heap, T. & Guppy, N. (2021) A multi-institutional assessment of changes in higher education teaching and learning in the face of COVID-19, Educational Review
Bournemouth University Centre for Fusion Learning, Innovation and Excellence, Co-creating Assessment (6 videos, about 3 minutes each)
Bruff, D. (29/9/2010), Tools for Grading – Sample Rubrics and Spreadsheets, Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching
Fisher, K. (11/2003), Demystifying Critical Reflection: Defining criteria for assessment, Higher Education Research & Development, 22(3), 313-325
Healey, M. & Healey, R. (n.d.), Embedding Active Learning into your Teaching Practice, Heriot Watt University Learning & Teaching Academy
Honicutt, B. (27/7/2021), Podcast Episode 95: Case Study Episode: Redesigning an In-Person Lab to an Online Format with Jennifer Wallace (30-minute recording), MSN, RN, CNE, Lecture Breakers Podcast and Show Notes
Lawrence, J., Brown, A., Redmond, P., Maloney, S., Basson, M., Galligan, L., & Turner, J. (8/3/2021), Does Course Specific Nudging Enhance Student Engagement, Experience and Success?: A Data-Driven Longitudinal Tale. Student Success, 12(2), 28-37.
Liberman, B. (18/3/2019), How Learning Works: 10 Research-Based Insights, Getting Smart
Mayes, J. T. (7/4/2015), Still to learn from Vicarious Learning, E-learning and Digital Media 12(3-4)
Nebel, C. (29/7/2021), Unlearning Neuromyths, The Learning Scientists blog
Open University Learning Design Team (4/2021), Planning the Student Journey
Pun, K. (2/9/2016), Dos and Don’ts on Designing for Accessibility, Accessibility in Government, UK government blog post featuring useful posters for accessible design
Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, Teaching Guides
Varwell, S. (5/7/2021). Models for exploring partnership: Introducing sparqs’ student partnership staircase as a reflective tool for staff and students, International Journal for Students As Partners, 5(1), 107–123.

Other

19/9/2021 deadline, call for proposals – SOAS Learning & Teaching Conference, The New Normal and Collaborative Student Learning
OpenLearn MOOC started 5/8/2021, Scholarship of teaching and learning in STEM, Open University

Parent-child modules

11th August 202111th August 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard Leave a comment

Now that the 2021-22 modules are available to staff, we can link them together at the module co-ordinator’s request. This process is known as parent-childing. Linking modules together is an effective way of dealing with separate modules with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different modules.

This process makes one module the parent, whilst the other module(s) become a child. There’s no limit on how many modules you make a child but there can only be one parent.

If you’d like to parent-child your modules, and you’re the module co-coordinator, contact elearning@aber.ac.uk with the module codes for the parent and child modules.

Examples from Aberystwyth

Many members of staff are currently using parent-child modules across the institution. Some examples are:

Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years
Modules with the same content delivered in English and Welsh
Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, for example dissertation modules

Essentially, any module that shares the same content is ideal for parent-childing.

What do students see?

Students will see the name of the module that they are enrolled on (even if it’s the child module) when they log into Blackboard but they will see all the content placed in the parent module. Instructors will not be able to place content in the child module.

Panopto – available in Welsh

10th August 202110th August 2021 WordPress User [jbw] Panopto Leave a comment

If you use Welsh as your default language in your web browser, or use the Welsh version of Windows, you’ll notice that Panopto is now available in Welsh.

To view Panopto in Welsh on the web, in Blackboard, and if you use Panopto Capture – change your browser language (How do I do this?)
To view the Panopto recording in Welsh – change your operating system language (How do I do this?)

To find out more about the partnership between Welsh universities and Panopto which made this happen, take a look at Panopto’s press release. We are pleased to say that in February 2021 Aberystwyth University was part of the initiative organised by Swansea and Cardiff University to lobby Panopto for this important change.