2020

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.

18/11/2020 University of Bolton, “Centre of Pedagogy Creative Teaching in a new educational climate”
19/11/2020 Learning Technologies, “How to use Microsoft Teams for Learning”
26/11/2020 Future Teacher, “10. Working with Rich Media 1 – Images”
14-18/12/2020 Staff and Educational Development Association, “SEDA Winter Festival”
15-16/12/2020 Association for Learning Technology, “ALT Winter Conference”
Bowness, S. (28/11/2019) “How to bring students into the feedback loop“, University Affairs
CDE University of London, “Supporting Student Success blog and video links”
Chen, K-C. & Jang, S-J. (11/2/2010) “Motivation in online learning: Testing a model of self-determination theory“. Computers in Human Behaviour 26(4)
Howard, J.L., Bureau, J.S., Guay, F., Chong, J.X.Y., Ryan, R. M. (in Press). “Student motivation and associated outcomes: A meta-analysis from self-determination theory“. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Niemiec, C. P. & Ryan, R. M. (2009) “Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom Applying self-determination theory to educational practice“. Theory and Research in Education 7(2)
Piatt, K. (11/11/2020) “The Trials and Tribulations of Playing Online“. Playful Learning Association Blog
Woolfitt, Z. (5/11/2020) “Camera on? Camera off?“. Media & Learning

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.

Welsh-Medium Continued Professional Development – What’s on?

13th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [sil12] Blackboard, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, Online Teaching, Panopto, Training and Support, Turnitin Leave a comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit offers several sessions for Continued Professional Development (CPD) covering a range of topics. We offer sessions in both English and Welsh and Welsh-medium sessions will appear in Welsh on the staff training website. Here is an overview of the Welsh-medium sessions that we are offering throughout the rest of the semester:

November 2020

16.11.20 (11:00-12:30): CDU: Datblygu eich arferion addysgu (D & A: Ar-lein)

17.11.20 (14:00-15:30): CDU: Defnyddio MS Teams, Offer yr Ystafell Ddysgu ac Addysgu syncronaidd (D & A: Ar-lein)

20.11.20 (14:00-15:00): Hanfodion E-ddysgu: Cyflwyniad i Turnitin (D & A: Ar-lein)

25.11.20 (11:00-12:00): Hanfodion E-ddysgu: Cyflwyniad i Panopto (D & A: Ar-lein)

Continued Professional Development – What’s on Offer?

10th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [lak22] Resources and Webinars, Training and Support Leave a comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit offers a number of sessions for Continued Professional Development (CPD) covering a range of topics. We offer sessions in both English and Welsh. Welsh-language sessions will appear in Welsh on the staff training website.
In this blog post, I will detail the range of sessions on offer for you between now and January, who to contact to find out more about them, and how to book a place for a session.
Here is what’s on offer in the coming months:

November:

Sessions aimed at Graduate Teaching Assistants, both on Developing your Teaching Practice and on Using MS Teams, Teaching Room Equipment & Synchronous Delivery (English and Welsh language sessions available)
A session on Facilitating Intrinsic Motivation in Students – the Self Determination Theory Perspective (English language only)
Sessions on E-Learning Essentials: Introductions to Blackboard, TurnitIn, and Panopto (the former in English, the latter two in Welsh)
Sessions on Creating Accessible Learning Materials, Learning Environments, and Techniques for Teaching Scientific Subjects as well as Using Jisc Online Surveys (all English language)
Two Academy forums on Why and How to Help Students to Reflect on Their Learning, and on Motivation Strategies for Online Learning Engagement

Weekly Resource Roundup – 9/11/2020

9th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [mhj] Training and Support, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

23-27/11/2020, International Virtual Meeting of Teaching, Learning & Assessment in Higher Education – “Speakers include David Boud, David Carless, María Assunção Flores, Liisa Postareff, Ana Remesal, Pete Boyd, Phil Dawson, Daniela Bruna, Carlos González, Ernesto Panadero, Gavin Brown, Verónica Santelices, Gonzalo Cifuentes, Stephen Darwin and Verónica Villarroel.“
26/11/2020, Future Teacher Talks, “Working with Rich Media 1 – Images“
ACUE (5/11/2020), “New Resource for Inclusive and Equitable Teaching“
Education Technology, “Streamlining the virtual student experience webinar recording”
Enhancing Digital Teaching and Learning, “The Student Perspective of Online/Remote Teaching webinar recording”
Future Teacher Talks, “Inclusive Practice“
Gettin’ Air – the Open Pedagogy Podcast
Pedagodzilla, “The pedagogic podcast with the pop culture core: This podcast is an elaborate effort to boost and broaden our knowledge of pedagogic theory, practice and research. It’s a heck of a dry subject though, so we have a bit of fun by clumsily slapping geeky analogies over the top from our favorite bits of pop culture nerdery. Each episode we’ll skim just enough information to blag a chunk of pedagogy, and then give it a damn good kicking.”

Potential disruption to Blackboard labels and titles

9th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [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 WordPress User [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.

Helping Students to Make Most of Recorded Lectures – Using Discussion and Notes in Panopto

5th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [aeu] Information for Students, Online Teaching, Panopto 1 Comment

Panopto recordings have been heavily used by students even before the move to partly online delivery. This year they rely on pre-recorded content even more. Facilitating active learning using asynchronous materials such as lecture recordings can be challenging. We have previously shared with you the guide on using lecture recordings for students outlining six key strategies helping them to make most of the recordings. In one of our previous posts we have also explored the use of Panopto captions and quizzes which enables your recordings to be more accessible and interactive. Today we would like to introduce you to two additional Panopto functionalities – discussion and notes.

The image shows where the Discussion function in Panopto is located. It is between the Contents and Notes tabs on the left hand side of the Panopto editor.

Using Podcasts for Teaching

4th November 202028th April 2021 WordPress User [aeu] Academy Forum, Panopto, Podcasts Leave a comment

The second Academy Forum session this year focused on creating podcasts in Panopto. The discussion emphasised podcasts’ unique potential for facilitating a sense of connection. Usually based on informal monologues, interviews and discussions podcasts provide their users with opportunities to listen in to unconstructed reflections and conversations. As explained by Street (2014) audio storytelling creates a ‘partnership between imagination and memory’ triggering a unique and personal reaction to it (as cited in McHugh, 2014, p.143). Podcasts can provide us with company; unlike with videos or written texts, we can listen to them during other daily activities.

These unique properties of podcasts hold great potential for its use in education. University of Cambridge created a collection of short podcasts from various subject areas. Podcasts are also used by individual educators, Ian Wilson, a Senior Lecturer in Education at York St John University Ian Wilson created a series of podcasts aimed at supporting learners on placements. His podcast focused on providing students with instructions on what the students should be doing the following week, answering any of their questions and providing some motivational advice. Although podcasting may not necessarily be the best solution for delivering the key learning material, as discussed during the Academy Forum session, it can complement your current teaching practice by fostering reflection, increasing learner’s engagement and foster a sense of community.