Monthly Archives: February 2024

Making your lecture videos interactive with Panopto

From the Digital Learning Team’s recent surveys and focus groups, we know that students really appreciate when lectures are recorded.

Lecture recordings are useful to support revision and to support students when reviewing difficult concepts. At Lancaster, there are a number of Panopto features that are used consistently such as captioning. It is also common for lecturers to review the viewing statistics which can help identify which parts of a lecture students are watching the most.

However, many people are unaware of the ability to add formative quizzes and also short video clips to recordings. This post, will walk you through how to do this to support student engagement and revision.

Adding a quiz

There are four types of question that can be added to a Panopto video:

  1. True/False
  2. Multiple Choice
  3. Multiple Select
  4. Fill in the Blank

To add a quiz to your chosen video, click the edit button (see below) on the banner across the top of the screen.

Edit button on Panopto

Choose the part on the video editing timeline that you would like to add a quiz to. The red verticle line is where the quiz will be added.

Video editing timeline with vertical red coloured bar.

Then you can either click the quizzes option on the left-hand menu as shown below:

Menu with the 'Quizzes' option highlighted in green.

OR

You can click the plus button above the video editing timeline which gives you a pop -up list of options as shown below:

Pop-up menu with the "add a quiz" option highlighted.

This will then give you the option to add a quiz at the point that you have chosen in the video and the quiz editing screen will appear (see below). You can add as many questions as you like and change the type of question from the drop-down menu on the right-hand side.

Quiz editing screen in Panopto

It is possible to have multiple short quizzes in one video and the video will pause to allow the students to complete the quiz. The screenshot below shows the quiz screen that students would see and the number of questions in the quiz appears in the right hand corner. Students get to review answers at the end of the quiz and can see their total score.

The interactive quiz that appears for students as they play through a Panopto video.

You can also view the quiz results of your students from the settings menu. This will give you an insight into which topics your group feel confident with and which topics they might need support with.

A great way to help your students review complex material!

Adding a YouTube video clip

This can be done by selecting plus button and then the option from the drop-down menu below the ‘Add a quiz’ option.

Pop up menu with "Add a Youtube video" highlighted

This editing screen will then appear:

YouTube video editing screen on Panopto

From here you can add the link (URL) to the YouTube video you would like to include, adjust the time when you want the video to start playing and you can also decide whether you want the whole clip to play or just part of it using the “start” and “end” options.

If you keep “Show YouTube controls” ticked by default, this will allow users to view the subtitles for the video if required due to preference or accessibility needs.

For more information on Panopto,  you can visit the ASK page.

If you need further support on making Panopto videos interactive, get in touch with a member of the Digital Learning Team.

 

 

Getting started with Gen AI

Written by Andy Holgate, Library Digital Skills Developer

Generative AI really is a disruptive technology, and it’s already altering the way we produce content across society: entertainment, education, marketing, and even software engineering.
There are good and bad uses, especially in education, but it is a technology that we can embrace and use well, and more than anything else I want to stress WE DON’T HAVE TO BE SCARED OF GEN AI!

There is so much misinformation out there on the subject (and yes, ironically, most of it has probably been created by Generative AI). I don’t know about you but for me it was difficult knowing where to start. I had so many questions, I’d heard so many things, and I had no clue where to go for answers.

Well ok that’s not entirely true, unless you were living under a rock, you will have been aware that back in 2023 the University issued guidelines on the subject: Principles for the Educational Application of Generative AI in which the University states “Lancaster University promotes a culture of Generative AI (Gen AI) awareness, criticality and expertise. We encourage effective and responsible use of Gen AI technologies in learning and teaching, fostering student and staff digital and academic literacies.” This was further expanded on with guidance on various types of AI, how it could be used, the pitfalls of using it etc. That further guidance is available here: Using AI in your learning and assessment and it’s a really good starting point.

So, let me explain a little more about how I found myself stood at the foot of a sheer rock face called Gen AI. I work in professional services, the library to be exact, and part of my role is to help colleagues with increasing their digital skills. Back in 2023 I was presented with the phrase “We need to run a training session on Gen AI for the library staff. Introducing it, how it could used etc…” I’m not going to lie, I looked at my manager and behind my smile I was thinking “Where do I start?”.

So, I ran some internet searches, read a few blogs and articles and started to get an idea of what it was all about. Turns out it wasn’t as alien as I thought, I’d been using forms of it for years in google translate, MS office products, library databases, that app on my phone that let me edit photos in lots of weird and wonderful ways. Seeing that familiarity suddenly made it less scary.

The tool for me that really brought my knowledge up to speed was LinkedIn Learning. The University had bought a subscription in 2023 giving all students and staff access to over 22,000 training videos and courses. Now cards on the table, I have to admit that part of my role is the promotion of the platform at the University, so maybe I am slightly biased BUT hey I’m not on commission! I looked at LinkedIn Learning and discovered that there was a lot of material available on the subject. I started watching videos to learn more. I was pressed for time and working to a deadline so I deliberately chose videos rather than full courses, meaning I could watch a three minute video from an expert explaining just what Chat GPT was. I watched quite a few on various subjects such as Google Bard, Canva, ethics of AI, brainstorming with Gen AI, searching with Gen AI and a whole lot more. I had massively increased my awareness in a short amount of time, and all the while using a professional, reliable source. Now, you have the opportunity to do the same.

Working with others across the University, we have created a LinkedIn Learning pathway called A beginner’s guide to generative ai.
This is split into sections and the first few are comprised of the short videos I mentioned above, you don’t have to watch them all, you can dip in and out as you please. At the start there is a general introduction which formed part of the training session I ran for library staff – it’s the basics in very plain English, written how I would want to be taught. Next, you get the videos which really will introduce you to most aspects of Gen AI and where it stands as of now in early 2024.
Now don’t be put off when you see the pathway says it contains 22 hours of learning, the first 24 videos ( the short introduction ones ) come in at under 90 minutes total. The final section of the pathway is courses, so if you want to climb further up that AI rock face you can do, but understandably not everyone needs to.

I hope that all makes sense, and if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading. So go have a look at the pathway, quell any fears you may have and embrace the technology (no harm in questioning it either). I’m old enough to remember the dawn of the modern internet (not the original military one) and people feared it, today it’s woven into every fabric of modern life. Gen AI is the next thread in that rich tapestry.

If you have any questions or comments about this blog post or the LinkedIn Learning pathway, please get in touch with me.

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the university.