The Digital Education Group in partnership with the Careers Service are pleased to announce the theme for our next Mini Conference.
Building on the success of last year’s Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, we will be revisiting the topic of employability with the theme Employability and the Inclusive Curriculum.
The mini conference will take place online on the morning of Tuesday 8 April.
The full line up will be confirmed in due course but we are pleased to announce that the Careers Service will be launching their new toolkit for embedding employability in the curriculum.
Bookings for the event are already open. You can book your place online.
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.
28/2/2025 EmpowerED Webinars, A Webinar Series for Embracing Innovation in Teaching and Learning “an opportunity to celebrate and share success stories, showcase good practice exemplars and discuss the adoption of innovative approaches within teaching and learning with colleagues across the wider education sector.”
6/3/2025 Centre for Innovation in Education, University of Liverpool, Pedagogical-Informed Gamification Workshop: Integrating learning aims, objectives, and assessment into game-based solutions (hybrid in-person and online event)
11-12/3/2025 Jisc, DigiFest (hybrid online and in person in Birmingham, online access free of charge)
Agarwal, P. K., & Bain, P. M. (2019), Powerful teaching: unleash the science of learning, Jossey-Bass. Also see Agarwal, P. (n.d.), Retrieval Practice and Free resources, PowerfulTeaching.org
Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning, Dead Ideas in Teaching and Learning (podcast series) “Our mission is to encourage instructors, students, and leaders in higher education to reflect on what they believe about teaching and learning.”
Compton, M. (8/2/2025), Old problem, new era “What is cheating, anyway?”, HEducationist
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
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. Social media: X.com, BSky.
In the February update, Blackboard has improved the workflows for Assignments and Tests and further enhanced the AI Design Assistant. Additionally, there are new options for managing and creating content and some improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback.
Assignments, Tests, Marking and Grades
Conversion of existing assignments to new assignment workflow
The Create Test and Create Assignment workflows used to share the same content settings, but the workflows have been separated since last August. This month’s update will run an automatic bulk conversion of any assignments created before August 2024 to ensure that all assignments past and present will benefit from this new workflow. See the August 2024 Blog for details on the workflow differences.
Assignments following the conversion: There will be no option to add questions to assignments and attempts will only be created with students interact with the assignment, such as submitting a file or adding content. Clicking on the assignment will not create an attempt.
Tests following the conversion: Tests with questions will remain the same. Any tests without questions will be set to Hidden from students. When you copy tests over from previous modules, they will also be set to Hidden from students. Some assignment-specific options have been removed from the test settings menu:
Collect submissions offline
Use grading rubric
Maximum points
2 grades per student
Peer review
Additionally, the functionality for student visibility options and release conditions for tests have been updated. Now, instructors must add one or more questions to their test to make it visible to students or to add release conditions. This ensures that students only see assessments that they can actively engage with.
Image 1: Settings panel with assignment-specific options removed.
Masking access codes for Tests
In the past, when an exam invigilator entered an access code for an online exam using Blackboard Tests, the code was visible on the screen when entered. This compromised the security of the testing environment. Now, the code is masked (******) to ensure enhanced security. An option to view the code is available but the default state keeps it hidden which provides better privacy and protection during exams. Image 2: Masked Access Code.
Improved accuracy when uploading grades and feedback
Instructors can now upload grades and feedback for assignments, journals, and discussions with improved accuracy. Previously, uploaded grades were always stored at the override level, which left any underlying attempts or submissions ungraded. This caused the Needs Grading and New Submission flags to remain visible, even when grading had been completed offline. Uploaded grades and feedback are now correctly mapped to the corresponding attempt or submission which reduces confusion and provides better clarity for instructors. See guidance on Working Offline with Grade Data for further information.
AI Design Assistant
More generated questions and Learning Modules
When using the AI Design Assistant, instructors can now set the number of questions generated for tests and question banks to a maximum of 20. The maximum number of learning modules that the AI Design Assistant generates also increased to 20. There is also an added option to exclude descriptions from learning modules generated by the AI Design Assistant. Instructors now have the option to write their own descriptions.
Image 3: The Auto-Generate Questions page displays a new maximum number of questions of 20.
Blackboard have added a new image block to Documents. Image blocks are used to upload your own images, use the AI Design Assistant to generate images, or select images from Unsplash. Image blocks can be moved throughout a Document, just like other block types. You have the option to resize images, set height, and maintain aspect ratios in image blocks.
Image 4: The new image block option in Documents.
A dedicated image block makes adding images more apparent. Adding images via the image block also reduces white space around images and provides greater control over content design. For more information on using Documents in Blackboard see Enhancements to Documents.
Changing Folders to Learning Modules
Instructors can now change a folder to a learning module or a learning module to a folder. Benefits of changing a folder to a learning module include:
Thumbnail images: Learning modules come with thumbnail images, which provide a visually appealing course experience.
Forced sequencing: Instructors can force students to navigate learning modules in linear paths.
Progress bar: Learning modules have a progress bar for students that highlights the number of items that they need to complete and their progression on those items.
Previous and next navigation: Students can quickly navigate to the next or previous item in a learning module.
It is also possible to convert a learning module to a folder, though we would not recommend this, as it will remove the added benefits of using learning modules as listed above.
Image 5: The new option to change a folder to a learning module in the dropdown menu.
Idea Exchange
This section aims to keep you updated on progress of enhancements requested on the Blackboard Anthology Idea Exchange. The following three items have changed their status to ‘Planning to implement’:
Support for a Dark Mode in Ultra Courses
Ability to add metadata to questions in tests and banks
Organising Pools
If you have any enhancements to request from Blackboard, please get in touch with the Digital Education Group.
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.
28/2/2025 EmpowerED Webinars, A Webinar Series for Embracing Innovation in Teaching and Learning “an opportunity to celebrate and share success stories, showcase good practice exemplars and discuss the adoption of innovative approaches within teaching and learning with colleagues across the wider education sector.”
6/3/2025 Centre for Innovation in Education, University of Liverpool, Pedagogical-Informed Gamification Workshop: Integrating learning aims, objectives, and assessment into game-based solutions (hybrid in-person and online event)
11-12/3/2025 Jisc, DigiFest (hybrid online and in person in Birmingham, online access free of charge)
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
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. Social media: X.com, BSky.
Blackboard has some options that you can use make sure students get any individual assessment arrangements they may need.
Accommodations are applied to a student on a course level and will apply to any Blackboard Assignment or Test in the course. However, it does not apply to Turnitin assignments. Accommodations are good for students who have an ongoing arrangement that does not vary between assignments on the same course.
Students can have a Due Date accommodation or Time Limit Accommodation.
With a Dute Date Accommodation, work will never be marked as late in gradebook, although you are able to see when it was submitted. A Time Limit Accommodation gives the student extra time on any assessment with a timer.
Students with accommodations have a flag which is visible only to staff in the Grade Book, Roster, and on the Assessment. If a student with an accommodation is part of a group assignment, all students in the group will have the accommodation applied for that assignment.
Exceptions are made for students at a course level for individual assignments. Again, they do not apply to Turnitin assignments. Exceptions are good for students who may have a deadline extension for an individual piece of work. Exceptions can be used for additional attempts, rescheduled due dates, or extended access. Exceptions can only be applied to non-anonymous submissions – this means that they are useful for multiple choice tests that don’t require manual marking. They are visible only to staff through the Gradebook or Test Submission page.
All the information about Accommodations and Exceptions is available on the Blackboard Support site.
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.
28/2/2025 EmpowerED Webinars, A Webinar Series for Embracing Innovation in Teaching and Learning “an opportunity to celebrate and share success stories, showcase good practice exemplars and discuss the adoption of innovative approaches within teaching and learning with colleagues across the wider education sector.”
6/3/2025 Centre for Innovation in Education, University of Liverpool, Pedagogical-Informed Gamification Workshop: Integrating learning aims, objectives, and assessment into game-based solutions (hybrid in-person and online event)
11-12/3/2025 Jisc, DigiFest (hybrid online and in person in Birmingham, online access free of charge)
Centre for Innovation in Teaching, University of Liverpool (ongoing), Treasure Island Pedagogies Podcast Series, “In this series, 3-4 guests share what they would take to their Treasure Islands: a lightbulb moment (when you feel your students ‘are getting it’), a teaching prop or a pedagogy, and a luxury item.”
EmpowerED: A Webinar Series for Embracing Innovation in Teaching and Learning (includes recordings of past webinars)
Harland, J. (2/12/2024), S1Ep1 with Jo Harland (1-hour audio recording), The ConnectED Podcast series, University of East Anglia, “In Series 1 we speak to educators from across the higher education sector to get their thoughts on all things connected to relational pedagogy […] Jo is a Senior Lecturer and the Deputy Director of Education at Bristol medical school. Their work focuses on co-production with students and the public, representing the voices of marginalised identities in healthcare curriculums, with a focus on LGBTQ+ identities.”
Monthly series European Network for Academic Integrity, ENAI monthly webinarsfree open webinars on various topics related to academic integrity.
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.
In this blogpost, we’re going to introduce the Blackboard Activity log which is available on all Blackboard Ultra Courses.
From this activity log, you can take a look at specific students and see which items they’ve engaged with on the course. The log shows all activity on the course – from learning materials, through to Turnitin submission points, and Talis Aspire Reading Lists.
This also includes the date and time that students accessed those materials.
To view the students’ activity on a course:
Go to the module in Blackboard
Click on the class register:
Search for the student that you need to find the information for:
Click on the students’ name:
Choose the Activity Log:
You’ll then see time and the item that the student has engagement with:
You can change the date parameters at the top and choose to specify specific events. Additional tools such as Turnitin submission points, Talis Aspire Reading Lists, and Panopto recordings are referred to as LTI Items.
If you have any questions about the Activity Log or need any help with interpreting it, please contact elearning@aber.ac.uk.
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.
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.
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 Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit are excited to announce the date for the 13th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference. The conference will be taking place between Tuesday 8 and Thursday 10 July 2025.
Look out for Calls for Proposals and the announcement of the conference theme. As usual, we will be updating our Learning and Teaching Conference Webpages and also our blog to keep you up-to-date with how things are progressing.
