Category Archives: Moodle

10 Things that you probably didn’t know about LinkedIn Learning

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Written by Andy Holgate, Library Digital Skills Developer

In this blog post I’ll be talking you through some aspects of LinkedIn Learning that you may not know, and if you did know them, you get a bonus point for each (no prize unfortunately) but before that let me explain what LinkedIn Learning is.

LinkedIn Learning provides access to over 18,000 online learning courses, taught by industry experts. It is video based, and courses range from a couple of minutes to several hours. It is available to staff and students at Lancaster Bailrigg, Ghana and Leipzig campuses.  LinkedIn courses support skills and personal development across a broad range of topics, particularly in the areas of technology, business, and creative skills.

You can access the ASK LinkedIn Learning Guidance or go directly to the Lancaster LinkedIn Learning Sign in page.

  1. You do NOT need a LinkedIn Account to access LinkedIn Learning.

Just because they share the same name, does not mean they are the same platform. Ask yourself does a Red Panda look the same as Giant Panda? They are however both called Pandas. LinkedIn is the social media platform; LinkedIn Learning is a learning platform – they both do very different things and provide different services.
You can of course connect your LinkedIn social media profile with your learning profile if you wish or you can take courses without posting to the world about it.

  1. There is a quality control process for content.

One of the questions I’ve faced when I’ve been speaking to staff about LinkedIn Learning is “How do we know the quality is good before we take or recommend a course?”, and it’s a very valid one. First of all those who are teaching courses have to apply, they then go through an interview process and if successful are assigned a producer and script editor (remember it’s video learning).
They are then flown to the company studios in Geneva or Chicago and recorded, they receive payment and royalties based on how many people watch their courses so it is in their own interest to make it engaging.

Have a look at some courses, check out the teachers background, ultimately you have the choice (like you do with reading an academic textbook) of deciding if it meets your high standards.

  1. You can learn a wealth of new skills.

Now you probably guessed that you could visit LinkedIn Learning for your professional development and learn how to create pivot tables in Excel, create amazing presentations, or start coding with Python but did you know that you can also learn how to play acoustic guitar , use your phone to take creative photos of your pets,  learn how to paint or learn to speak Spanish and much more.

  1. Keeping up to date with the latest trends.

Let’s face it, in the summer of 2023 there is probably nothing more terrifying than being in a work team meeting and hearing “Right what are we doing about AI?”. If you are anything like me (and old like me) your palms will start to sweat as you nervously look at your feet and instantly think of a Terminator movie.
LinkedIn Learning updates and adds over 50 courses each week and it has loads of easy to understand and digest content on AI. Have a look at the course AI Trends which was updated on the 24th August and stop looking nervously at your feet.

  1. Supplementing curricular teaching.

You can enhance your students experience by letting LinkedIn Learning work for you.
LinkedIn Learning is a great all-in-one solution for enhancing all types of education. From soft skills to software, there’s a course to add (not replace) value to any academic program.
It can be used to teach technical and presentation skills outside of the classroom, flipping the classroom and supporting hybrid learning. Maybe think about using it with pre-arrival students? Courses and videos can be linked to from Moodle.

  1. Save the department some money?

If you are a line manager, it may come up in a staff member’s PDR that they would like some development, rather than send them on an external course, why not first have a look to see what is available in LinkedIn Learning – the department would save on course fees, travel etc.

  1. Enhance your career prospects.

So I had better whisper this one, if you want to take a step up the ladder or indeed go in a completely different direction have a look at LinkedIn Learning. There are courses on writing your CV, writing a cover letter and mastering common interview questions.

If you decide that you have had enough of being a librarian and you want to be a Social Media Manager then you can follow the Role guide which will give you a variety of courses to start you on your journey and suggest learning groups that you can join on LinkedIn, so that you can interact with peers in that industry. So what are you waiting for, enhance your skills and develop your career BUT please stay, we like you. Continue reading 10 Things that you probably didn’t know about LinkedIn Learning →

Making your Moodle space more interactive with H5P

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At our last DLT event in July, we showcased several plug-ins and activities for Moodle. One of which was the H5P activity. So, for those who missed the session, and want to look at revamping their Moodle spaces for the new academic year, this one is for you!

What is H5P content?

H5P is an abbreviation for HTML5 Package. It is free open-source content that enables educators to create engaging content that can be integrated into Virtual Learning Environments such as Moodle. There are over 50 types of activities to choose from! This includes flashcards, Cornell Notes, interactive videos and books, diagram hotspots, charts and, when we are feeling Christmassy, advent calendars. On the H5P.org website you can find some examples of H5P activities such as an interactive video on smoothie making to show you what is possible. The DLT team have also set up a Moodle H5P demo site which Lancaster University staff can view. Students can access H5P activities easily and quickly through Moodle and you can keep an eye on engagement through activity completion and the reports.

How does it improve engagement?

These activities can also be used as part of a strategy to improve the online experience for distance learners. The H5P plug-in is part of the ‘gamification’ set that is available in Moodle.  It aims to enhance engagement and motivation by creating similar experiences to those when playing online games. For example, H5P activities such as the memory game, virtual tours, interactive timelines and even crosswords and quizzes make learning more enjoyable for students.

By using H5P activities, course content can be broken down into manageable pieces and learners can complete the activities at their own pace. This is important to ensure that learners don’t feel overwhelmed and feel a sense of achievement as they work their way through their course content.

These types of activities are also particularly good in higher education as retrieval practice (the practice of remembering) and feeds into teaching learners how to learn and what works for them. They can also be used in the lead up to exams to help students with their revision. For more information on retrieval practice, Tom Sherrington’s ‘Kitchen Pedagogy 2:2’ video is a great introduction and you can find lots of information on his website.

How do I start creating some material?

H5P activities are created and stored in the content bank area of Moodle. It acts as a repository and allows individual H5P activities to be reused multiple times. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel and can use resources that you already have. For example, you could use a YouTube video and make this interactive or use some presentations that you already have and turn these into an interactive book.

Continue reading Making your Moodle space more interactive with H5P →

User Experience: What do students like to see in a Moodle space?

Moodle,

The Digital Teaching and Learning Team are currently in the process of engaging students and staff in a range of discovery activities to find out about their experience of using Moodle. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been conducting focus groups with students to find out more about their interactions with our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). As a new member of staff, I really enjoyed having my first proper interactions with students over a slice of pizza! They had some wonderful things to say about staff and the campus; for example, every student saw the library as a wonderful calm space which they were eager to utilise for independent study (a testament to all staff who work in and with the library!).

The inside of the University library showing an indoor tree and students studying.
Lancaster University Library

Most students are accessing Moodle everyday during term time and engaging with the resources designed and recommended by their tutors. Students recognise the importance of Moodle in their learning seeing it as “a platform for getting all the information we need to study”.

The students were asked several questions around their interaction with Moodle which included questions on where to find support, notification frequency, accessibility and preferences of layout and activities.

I thought I would share with readers the top 3 things that students like to see in a Moodle space as we come into the summer months and staff will be thinking about how to layout their courses for the coming year:

  1. Collapsible topics

Students found collapsible topics to be one of the features that could improve Moodle user experience the most. One student said “it really helps if you have got modules divided by week or in sections”. Scrolling through a lengthy Moodle course page is difficult via a mobile or tablet and students struggled to find the content they required even on a desktop/laptop when spaces weren’t organised into clear sections, topics or weeks. A special shout out from students to the ‘Politics of Ireland’ (a brand new module with Dr Brian Garvey), ‘Europe and the World, 1450-1650’ (with Dr Alexander Wragge-Morley) and ‘Content-Based Approaches to Language Education modules’ – students love your course layout and design! Dr Diane Potts who has put together the course on Content-Based Approaches to Language Education modules would like to thank Paul Harness and Phil Tubman for their help in incorporating video into pedagogic practice as video is essential to the module’s design.

If you are interested in rethinking your course design, Embrace Digital has some information on Moodle course design with handy instructions and useful tips! The upcoming Moodle 4 upgrade offers some alternative options when it comes to course layout and if you need any advice or assistance you can also contact a Digital Learning Facilitator for a chat.

  1. A range of activities

Students really appreciate interactive activities in their in-person and online learning. Teaching tools such as Slido, Mentimeter and Kahoot were highlighted as enjoyable in-person tools that lecturers utilised to engage students. In Moodle, students told us they liked the use of video, quizzes and Leganto. One student also highlighted that they enjoyed activities which gave them a choice, providing the student with more ownership over their learning. It could be a choice of which reading or writing assignment to do that week for example. The ‘choice’ activity is a possibility when trying to set something like that up.

I would also like to highlight the H5P activity, a great way of including interactive content in your courses. If you would like to hear more about H5P activities, there is a session in our upcoming DLT event.

  1. Active forums

Students were keen to have direct contact with their lecturers whether in person, during office hours, or online. Students are confident in using forums to contact staff and some courses even have a new forum for every week to group questions and answers together. Students like forums as a quick method of getting questions across and the fact that answers can be shared with all students. It is worth noting that the ‘staff alerts’ role may need to be given to staff so that they can receive notifications via email when a new post appears in the announcements forum or any forum with ‘forced subscription’ enabled.

Over the next few weeks, we hope to begin sessions with staff to look at their experience of using Moodle in more detail.

New Features in Moodle

Moodle, ,

The Moodle upgrade is fast approaching and I thought now would be a good time to highlight a few of the new features that you can expect.

  1. Collapsible course index and ‘block drawer’
  2. Moving activities and resources just got easier!
  3. Starred modules option
  4. Main menu for easier navigation
  5. New layout option

Why not take a look at what your course content looks like in the new version? Use this link to https://moodletest.lancaster.ac.uk/uat/ (staff only) to view your course. If you would like to add a course to this page, get in touch with a member of the team.

For more information on these changes, continue reading below:

Continue reading New Features in Moodle →

Moodle 4.1 – The Upgrade is Coming!

Moodle,

Moodle logoOn 24th July 2023, we will be updating Moodle here at Lancaster University to version 4.1.

This upgrade will hopefully make your modules easier to navigate and give you a better user experience.

Watch the video below to find out more…

https://estream.lancaster.ac.uk/View.aspx?id=66545~5n~GQQbHenNm5

If your department has not yet had a demo of the new Moodle 4 features, please do get in touch with a Digital Learning Facilitator to arrange this.