Tips for monitoring chat for online and in person sessions

Distance Learner BannerIn this blogpost, we’ll be looking at some tips for monitoring a Teams chat when you’ve also got attendees joining in person and online.

The planning of the synchronous activity and what you want your students to be able to do after they have engaged with the activity shapes the purpose of the chat. Ask yourself: what role do you want the chat to have in your teaching session?

For example, do you want the chat to be used for students joining online to communicate their ideas with you? Do you want it to be used for them to chat with each other? Do you want the chat contributions to be communicated with those joining in person?

In addition to that, you want to think about how you are asking your online students to engage in the session. Do you want them, for example, to use the raise the hand function to attract your attention? Or, do you want them to only use the chat.

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Weekly Resource Roundup – 12/10/2020

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.  

Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol: October Training


Training for research students
The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol will be running several workshops for research students throughout the year as part of their Research Skills Programme. Here is a copy of the full programme for 2020/21. You will need to register in advance for each workshop and you can do so through the following link.

Here is a look at the workshops that will be running throughout October:

Tuesday (13 October), 11:00-11:30 – ‘Cyfres Iechyd a Lles myfyrwyr ôl-radd (Edrych ar ôl eich hun)’ – Andrew Tamplin

Friday (16 October), 14:00-16:00 – ‘Sgiliau Addysgu ar gyfer Myfyrwyr Ôl-radd’ – Dyddgu Hywel

Tuesday (20 October), 11:00-12:00 – Rheoli amser a phwysau gwaith (gyda ffocws ar weithio o bell)’ – Mari Ellis Roberts

Friday (23 October), 11:00-12:00 – ‘Rheoli’ch goruchwyliwr (gyda ffocws ar weithio o bell)’ – Nia Gwynn Meacher & Seren Evans.

Training for staff
Also, as part of the Staff Development Programme (2020/21), the series ‘Iechyd a Lles: Chi fel Staff a’ch Myfyrwyr’ continues next Tuesday morning (9:30-10:00). All staff members are welcome to register and you can do so through the following link.

Additional MS Teams Drop-in Sessions

Following the success of our drop-in sessions on using MS Teams for Learning and Teaching Activities, we have decided to run these sessions throughout October.

These sessions are an informal opportunity to speak with our Online Learning Specialists and to address any queries that may have arisen during the first weeks of term. You’re welcome to ask us for advice on any aspects relating to using MS Teams – from technical advice to advice on using MS Teams for students who are unable to join face-to-face sessions.

*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:

09.10.2020 (10:00-11:00):Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

13.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

14.10.2020 (14:00-15:00):Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

16.10.2020 (10:00-11:00):Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

20.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

21.10.2020 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

23.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

27.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

28.10.2020 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

30.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting *

MS Teams: Drop-in Sessions

We would like to offer all staff members at the University the opportunity to join us in our drop-in sessions on using MS Teams for Learning and Teaching Activities. These will be an informal opportunity to speak with our Online Learning Specialists and to address any queries that may have arisen during the first weeks of term.

All drop-in sessions will be held via MS Teams and there is no need to book, just click on the links below.

These drop-in sessions will take place on:

06.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

07.10.2020 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

09.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

13.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

14.10.2020 (14:00-15:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

16.10.2020 (10:00-11:00): Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

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

Academy Forums 2020/21


The Academy Forum provides a platform for sharing good practice in learning and teaching. The Forum is open to members of the University community: teaching staff, postgraduate tutors, support staff, and students are all welcome. All forums will be held online for the year 2020/21 and you can click here to book your place.

The Academy Forums for the year 2020/21 are:

07.10.2020 (14:00-15:30): Creating a Learning and Teaching Community

19.10.2020 (11:00-12:30): Creating Podcasts in Panopto

19.11.2020 (10:00-11:30): Why and how to help students to reflect on their learning?

30.11.2020 (14:00-15:30): Motivation strategies for Online Learning Engagement

27.01.2021 (15:00-16:30): How can I plan online and in person activities?

19.02.2021 (10:00-11:30): How can I make my teaching more inclusive?

We hope that you will be able to attend these forums. Please contact us with any questions (lteu@aber.ac.uk).

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.

Image showing the three components of self-determination theory: competence, autonomy and relatedness, all contributing to motivation.

 

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

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Weekly Resource Roundup – 5/10/2020

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.  

MS Teams: 10 Common Questions

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.

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6 October 2020: ‘Introduction to Research’ with Dr Elin Royles (Welsh-medium session)


Join Dr Elin Royles on 6 October 2020 between 11:00 and 12:30, where she will give an introduction to postgraduate research. This will be an online live session and you can register through the following link. Please note that this is a Welsh-medium session.

This workshop forms a part of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Research Skills Programme, and here is a copy of the full programme for 2020/21.