A recent DELT Forum was a great impetus for collecting some new examples of what works with online/blended learning here at Newcastle University as the current situation has meant that lots of colleagues have been doing lots of really great stuff to make student learning experiences rich and meaningful.
There are 9 new case studies to explore right now and more to come soon at the case studies site.
A team drawn from LTDS and FMS TEL drew together examples of effective practice in action on three themes:
Supporting and promoting a sense of community for students in online environments.
Providing pathways for students through online modules/programmes to help them structure their studies and learning.
Achieving, promoting and maintaining student engagement with online learning.
It contains examples from all three Faculties together with supporting resources and pointers to more developed case studies and contact details for colleagues.
If you have something you’d like to share please let us know by emailing ltds@ncl.ac.uk and we will get back to you.
2. Use Canvas modules to set a flow through your course
Use your Canvas modules to direct student’s activity week by week or topic by topic. Every Canvas course has a sample structure that you can adapt to match your teaching pattern. You can hide or lock materials that aren’t yet relevant and even set requirements so that student need to view or complete certain conditions before they can move on.
Without the normal structure of face to face time on campus it’s harder for many students to structure their time.
HSS8007 indicationg timings on activities
Add a weekly overview to give students an idea of your expectations for how much time to spend on the activities for a given week. This will help them plan their time, and make sure they give their attention to the things that you signpost as being most important.
From overwhelmed to ordered
It will take a bit of time to consider ordering, signposting, and setting a flow in your modules, but this need not be onerous and it’s one way you can help your students feel less overwhelmed in these strange times.
Videos have become an important medium for remote learning. Video is a great way to communicate with students and an excellent learning resource. Information and guides to support you with the creation and editing of videos that can be found on the digital learning website. But once you have created our video content, where do you host it?
ReCap
When it to comes to choosing a platform to host your videos, it is personal preference. However, we recommend that you use ReCap wherever possible. ReCap is centrally supported by Newcastle University, it’s free to use, and all videos are hosted online. Importantly ReCap is also fully integrated into Canvas which makes the process of embedding videos into a Canvas course very straight forward.
ReCap allows you to add embedded questions (e.g knowledge checks and quizzes) within the video. Videos can be sorted in group teaching folders that will make it easy for all teachers even if they didn’t create it, to embed the video content into a canvas course if you are unavailable.
Microsoft Stream
You may use Microsoft Stream to host your videos, this option comes with a couple more considerations. Embedding a video from Microsoft Stream into your Canvas course is only a few extra steps, please be aware Microsoft Stream is not fully integrated into Canvas and will required using embed codes as you will see in the video below. Students will also need to be logged into Microsoft Office 365 for any Stream videos to play. It is also worth pointing out that at this moment (December 2020), Microsoft Steam is having difficulty functioning on Safari.
Captions and Transcripts
Accessibility is essential, and ReCap and Stream will auto caption your videos quickly and with a good level of accuracy, however it is important to review them for any errors. There is more information about captions and transcripts available at the digital learning website.
Additional Resources
How or where to host your video is a very important consideration and there are various options available to you. The following page will give you more information on the three options we recommend with how to guides for using these systems including how to publish and embed a ReCap recording as well as content about streaming videos through Stream.
The videos below are a quick step by step guide to using ReCap and Microsoft Stream.
ReCap
Stream
If you want further information and guidance on ReCap and how to use it, please see our guides and videos.
With increased emphasis on online and remote learning, and the need to focus on innovative ways to support students, Newcastle University is currently reviewing the use of student data to support students’ learning, and how to incorporate reflective learning as part of staff and student practices.
We need your input…
The University is running focus groups that will offer you the opportunity to contribute to two topics that impact on the student learning experience and provide you with the tools to enhance student engagement and attainment. Please see below for details.
Using data to support student learning
We would like to invite you to take part in an online focus group on the use of student data to support teaching and learning. Newcastle University aims to understand whether staff and students would benefit from the use of a learning analytics system to enhance teaching, personal tutoring and student attainment.
Learning analytics can be understood as the process of making meaning of students’ participation in online content and activities with the aim of providing informed feedback to optimize learning.
The focus groups give us the opportunity to share ideas, needs, and challenges with the use of learning analytics, and your valuable opinions will help inform the University’s investigation into the use of student data to enhance the student learning experience.
Date
Time
Monday 30 November 2020
10.00 – 11.30
Monday 30 November 2020
13.00 -14.30
Tuesday 1 December 2020
10.00 – 11.30
Tuesday 1 December 2020
13.00 -14.30
Wednesday 2 December 2020
10.00 – 11.30
Dates and times of analytics focus groups
If you are able to take part in a learning analytics focus group, please complete the following form by Thursday 26 November 2020: data focus group sign-up sheet
Re-defining ePortfolio
We would like to invite you to take part in a focus group on how best to incorporate student reflective learning, both academic and personal, within your practice.
Driven by a need to engage better with reflective practice, the University’s current ePortfolio system is under review. We are returning to a baseline of what we need to achieve to support students and staff to understand, undertake, provide evidence for, and in some cases assess, reflective practice.
This gives us the opportunity to share ideas, needs and challenges with reflective practice in order to identify what is needed from a ‘system’ that is relevant to all students. Furthermore, we aim to identify technology that will work in parallel with current University systems to ensure streamlined working processes for staff and students.
We need your valuable opinions to help shape the University’s ePortfolio review process. If you are able to take part in a focus group, please complete the following short form by Thursday 3 December 2020: ePortfolio focus group sign-up sheet
Date
Time
Tuesday 8 December 2020
10.00 – 11.00
Tuesday 8 December 2020
15.00 – 16.00
Wednesday 9 December 2020
10.00 – 11.00
Wednesday 9 December 2020
15.00 – 16.00
Dates and times of ePortfolio focus groups
If you have any questions about the focus groups, please contact ltds@ncl.ac.uk
We’ve just rolled out a new way you can control how your students and colleagues interact with content stored in Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365).
From this week, module and community enrolments appear as Security Groups in Microsoft 365. You can use these groups to apply permissions to content or add members to a Microsoft Team.
To look up a module or community in a Microsoft app use the following naming conventions:
Module-ModuleCode-AcademicYear e.g. Module-ACC1011-2021
Communities-CommunityCode e.g. Communities-COMMUN68
Easily control who can view your Microsoft Stream content
Over the last few months, we’ve seen an increased use of Microsoft Stream for sharing video content with colleagues and students. Up until now to share you either had to:
make your Stream videos visible to everyone in the organisation
manually add people to a permissions group
share content with an existing Microsoft Team
Now you can share your videos with a Canvas Course by typing the relevant module or community code.
If you’d like to find more about how colleagues are using Teams in teaching or have questions about setting up for certain scenarios why not join our Teams@Newcastle community.
Collaborate on files in OneDrive and SharePoint
You can use security groups to give view/edit access to files or folders stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. For example, you could create folder where students can view content, but the teaching team can edit. This can be useful if documents will change regularly over time such as a live data set.
Note: Module and community enrolments are based on SAP data. Users manually added to a Canvas Course will not be part of the group and will need to be granted permissions separately.
In 2014 University Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Committee agreed a set of principles which stated that all appropriate assessments should be submitted through Turnitin.
Now we have moved to Canvas as the Virtual Learning Environment, this has opened up some new options for online submission. Alongside the Turnitin tool it is now possible to create Canvas assignments, which offer features like double blind marking, group submission and moderated marking, whilst still using the Turnitin similarity checker.
Given the new functionality now available, this is an appropriate time to revisit the principles. The updated Online Assignment Submission Principles were approved by University Education Committee in August 2020.
These principles are guidelines for how to get the most from submissions, advising that the Turnitin Similarity checks are carried out on Canvas and Turnitin assignments. If you allow students to submit multiple drafts they should not be allowed to see the similarity score, unless the assessment is focused on improving the students’ academic writing. Where appropriate the students’ work should be added to the Turnitin repository.
The principles recommend that Schools communicate to their students when their work is going to be put through the Turnitin similarity checker.
All functionality has now been restored and the ReCap Service is running as normal. It is therefore possible to:
View recordings – recordings are available to use and share with students
Process recordings including the generation of automatic speech recognition (ASR) files for the addition of captions
Make recordings – recordings can be made using the Personal Capture Software and Panopto Capture
Upload media created elsewhere – if you have created recordings using other software while the ReCap service was unavailable these can now be uploaded to the system if you wish to do so
Edit recordings – editing functionality is available including the import of automatic captions.
Over the last three years there have been huge changes in the external framework within which English universities operate. The creation of the Office for Students (OfS) in 2018 has had significant impacts that are still working their way through the sector. One of these was to change the focus and nature of the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).
QAA still has a place in the external regulatory framework. It carries out reviews of higher education in England on behalf of OfS. It also supports development of the UK Quality Code (i.e. the things all higher education providers need to do to maintain and enhance educational quality).
The volume of this work for QAA has significantly decreased though over the last two years. In its place QAA has established a membership scheme to (as QAA put it) ‘improve quality and secure standards by giving exclusive access to expert advice, insight and valuable resources based on our extensive expertise’.
Newcastle is a QAA member. This means that we get access to a range of webinars, workshops and resources to help us in our work to give our students an outstanding educational experience while they are studying with us.
There’s an overview at https://www.qaa.ac.uk/membership/programme-2020-21, of what we have access to as QAA members. Not all of it is for everyone, but the opportunities and resources (https://www.qaa.ac.uk/membership/resources) cover a wide range of areas – including some you might not normally associate with QAA. To access these all you need is your Newcastle email address.
This post provides some further information on how the move to Canvas affects Numbas tests.
Will my Numbas tests roll over to Canvas automatically?
Numbas tests are attached to a particular course in a VLE, and therefore will not be moved across when we change from Blackboard to Canvas. Tests will need to be set up again for the new academic year, which is no bad thing as you will need to make some decisions about the set up in Canvas. See the section How do I create a Numbas test in Canvas? below.
Remember that Numbas tests are prepared on the Numbas Editor (the Public Editor is at numbas.mathcentre.ac.uk). This means that you can redeploy your existing test in Canvas.
How can I access scores from Numbas tests deployed in Blackboard?
If you require scores from Numbas tests deployed in Blackboard then you should access these before the close down of Blackboard on July 31st.
However, the Numbas LTI tool will continue to have a record of attempts. A request can be sent to numbas@ncl.ac.uk if you need access to data after the close down of Blackboard.
How do I create a Numbas test in Canvas?
Numbas can be deployed in Canvas in two ways:
as a module item, alongside other learning resources; or
as an assignment.
Numbas module item
Numbas assignment
Add Numbas content
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Record student scores
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Hide from calendar, to do list, etc
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Restrict by date
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Add scores to Gradebook
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Use as a pre-requisite
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The following videos demonstrate the set up of each. For full step-by-step instructions see the Canvas Orientation Course.
Adding a Numbas test as a module item
In the following video, I add a Numbas test as a module item in Canvas:
Adding a Numbas Assignment
In the following video I set up Numbas as an assignment in Canvas:
The e-Assessment Association has announced the shortlisted finalists for its international awards programme, The e-Assessment Awards.
We are delighted to announce that the Newcastle University Digital Exams Service has been shortlisted in the ‘Best Use of Summative Assessment’ category.
The e-Assessment Awards programme holds a unique position, as it encompasses all sectors of education: from schools, through further and higher education to workplace training and professional exams. The Awards programme was launched in October 2016 to highlight and celebrate the outstanding and positive contributions that technology makes to all forms of assessment, and has gone on to showcase the best practice, research and innovation in the sector.
Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education, recognised this excellent acheivement:
“The nomination reflects the fact that we are a leading institution in the sector for digital exam provision. It also recognises our commitment to ongoing innovation, exemplified by the recent introduction of digital written exams that students can take using their own devices.
The Digital Exams Service plays a pivotal role in providing our students an educational experience supported and enhanced by technology, which is one of the four key themes of the University Education Strategy. Delivering a diverse range of summative exam types in a secure online environment enables authentic assessment, enhances the accessibility of exams for all of our students, and supports the University’s commitment to lowering its environmental impact by reducing the amount of paper required for exams.
The success of digital exams at Newcastle University is founded on collaboration between academic and professional services colleagues in academic units across the institution, together with the Learning and Teaching Development Service, IT Service, and Exams and Awards Office. This commitment to collaboration and innovation provides a strong foundation as we prepare to meet the challenges of delivering rigorous, authentic, and accessible assessment in the new educational landscape resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
