What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023

Pedagogy, , ,

From 5th September to 7th September, Tim Ellis and I (Liz Walkden) attended the Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Conference. ‘Student Voices: Shaping the Post-Pandemic Campus’ was day two’s keynote session. The purpose of the session was to emphasise the importance of the student voice and to encourage collaboration between policy makers, educators, and learners. It gave us first-hand insights into the experiences of learners following the pandemic. The students studied at three different universities so their opinions and views may not reflect the views of all students or those studying at Lancaster. We heard from a second-year student, a third-year student and a recent graduate. They gave candid accounts into the difficulties that students faced during their time at university. I wanted to share with you three takeaways that I had from listening to the panel’s experiences which readers may find ‘food for thought’.

One of the things that most stood out was the students’ discussions around ‘digital shock’. The panel acknowledged that the technological understanding and knowledge required at university is much more advanced than what was required of them only a couple of months before when they were finishing their A-levels. One member of the panel wanted lecturers to know that most of their previous learning had been done on pen and paper and that they only received their first laptop when they went to University.  To this student, typing was hard and so they used a notebook instead of a laptop in lectures. The student felt this was isolating because everyone else was using an electronic device. The student also then said that engaging with the learning materials and the assignments was also very difficult and that there was an assumption that students would be able to use technology easily.

In addition to the lack of ‘know-how’ when it came to the technology required, students also felt isolated by the access that they had to technology. The student who had recently graduated was frustrated by the fact that she wasn’t told about the possibility of borrowing a laptop earlier and she had been struggling to work on a slow and unreliable device. Another student was frustrated that the Chromebook they had been able to afford to buy did not actually have the right processing power for the technology that they were required to use on their course. One student said, “you feel silly when you don’t have the right technology”. We want students to be digitally literate and able to use technology in their future career with confidence but how do we encourage this and help students to navigate this digital world? The students had some suggestions:

  1. Make the technological requirements of a course clear very early on. Students will be buying new devices before they join the University and should be forewarned if the software they need to use has certain device specifications or needs a certain level of technical ‘know-how’. This would help prepare students and prevent a sense of digital isolation.
  2. Signpost where students can get help. Students struggled to find the information on central websites or portals and often felt lost. The panel suggested that lecturers put up a slide at the start of a lecture while waiting for everyone to sit down which could highlight help, important opportunities, or give answers to frequently asked questions.
  3. Don’t assume that all young people are confident in their use of technology.

The second thing that students were keen for us to understand was how difficult and intimidating they find it to ask questions and get support not only from their lecturers but also from each other. They felt there was an expectation that they would be able to contact other students, work together and speak to the lecturers easily. Some students did manage to set up WhatsApp and/or Snapchat groups. However, they knew that not all the students in their cohort were in these groups and that they didn’t know all their fellow students. A variety of suggestions were made that could help students to collaborate and feel supported at university:

Continue reading What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023 →

Training Sessions Available!

Events, ,

In addition to my last post about training sessions in September, we are now offering more sessions on Panopto Lecture Capture, Moodle quizzes and assessment.

The dates, times, topics and sign-up links for our upcoming training sessions can be found below. Some of the events can be attended online or in-person as indicated.

  1. Introduction to Moodle for Staff (hybrid), Tuesday 19th September at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076794
  2. Introduction to Panopto Lecture Capture (hybrid), Thursday 21st September at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076796
  3. Moodle for Course Administrators (hybrid), Thursday 28th September at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076797
  4. Assignments Part 1 – Moodle Assignments (in-person), Tuesday 24th October at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076798
  5. Quizzes Part 1 – Questions and Question Bank (in-person), Thursday 2nd November at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076800
  6. Assignments Part 2 – Peer Moderation and Assessment (in-person), Friday 3rd November at 10am, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076799
  7. Quizzes Part 2 – Quizzes and Quiz Management (in-person), Monday 6th November at 10am, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076801
  8. Quizzes Part 3 – Quiz Grading and Reports (in-person), Thursday 9th November at 2pm, https://lancaster-uk.libcal.com/event/4076802

Book a space as soon as you can to avoid disappointment. Please spread the word on these events to other departments and colleagues!

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

Sharing Practice, Uncategorized, , ,

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 →

10 ‘Top Tips’ On Improving Accessibility

Pedagogy, ,

Yesterday, the Inclusive Learning Network at Lancaster University met via Teams, led by Dr Ann-Marie Houghton, Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). The Inclusive Learning network is an open network that meets regularly to hear from colleagues across the University. The network includes representatives from a range of areas including Learning Developers, the Global Experience Team, Careers, Counselling and wellbeing, LGBTQIA+ Allies, the Disability Service and many more! It provides an opportunity to share good practice to improve the experience for staff and students at Lancaster. It has a broad remit and the group is passionate about making the University a place that is open and inclusive. Stephen Owens and I (Liz Walkden) were delighted to be invited to speak alongside other speakers including Amanda Pharaoh, who spoke about the Student Money Advice Service, and Heath Boffey, who shared updates on Digital Accessibility.

Stephen and I spoke about the work of the DLT team and particularly about the Moodle upgrade and how the changes had improved accessibility. At the end of the session, Dr Ann-Marie Houghton asked Stephen and I what are top tips were that could help staff improve the accessibility of their courses for students. So, I thought I would write this blog post to spread the word a bit more and share out 10 ‘Top Tips’ for improving accessibility.

  1. Use accessibility checkers

Microsoft programs, Adobe and many others have accessibility checkers. Next time you open a Word document, check the bottom of the screen and you will see an accessibility rating alongside the word count, language and page number. You can get to the checker on a Word document by clicking the ‘Review’ tab at the top and you will find the ‘Check Accessibility’ option on the banner.

The banner and tabs at the top of Microsoft Word. With the 'Review' tab open and 'check accessibility' highlighted with a red square around it.

 

 

Mamuna Hussain recommends opening the Accessibility Checker before you begin typing and that way you can review accessibility as you go along. This will save you time as you won’t have to address all the issues at the end.

  1. Explain acronyms, jargon and key words

I am often guilty of assuming people understand the acronyms I use, VLE, VR, AR…the list goes on! For the first few hours I started working at the University, I was convinced LUSI (‘Lucy’) was a person who knew loads but only seemed to share the information at night? I was very confused about our Lancaster University Student Records System (LUSI)! To make sure everyone can fully understand the information we convey we should aim to use simple, easy to understand language where appropriate and explain what we mean. For example, I can still use the acronyms VLE, VR and AR but it is good practice to say at the start that they stand for Virtual Learning Environment, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

  1. Use ALLY to monitor and improve the accessibility of your resources.

Blackboard ALLY is an accessibility tool that integrates with Moodle. It provides you with guidance on how to improve the accessibility of your resources as well as giving your resources a rating using a coloured dial.

Writing which reads 'Week 2 - Lecture Slides' with an ALLY score provided on a green dial next to the writing.

If your resources on Moodle have a low rating, you can click on the dial and this will review your document. Issues that need to be addressed will be outlined with a thick red bar and guidance on what the issues are is also provided.

A PowerPoint slide with an image that is outlined in red by the Blackboard Ally tool. The Ally score and guidance is on the right hand side of the image.

  1. Add alternative (ALT) text to the images.

This is one of the easiest and quickest ways to improve accessibility (and your ALLY score) on Moodle. When you include an image in a document, write a brief description of the information the picture conveys. For example, the image above has the ALT text “a PowerPoint slide with an image that is outlined in red by the Blackboard Ally tool. The Ally score and guidance is on the right hand side of the image.” If the image is purely for decoration and does not convey anything meaningful you can mark these images as ‘decorative’, and they will be ignored by software such as screen readers. Accessibility checkers will prompt you to include ALT text where appropriate.

  1. Choose appropriate colours

Poor colour contrast between text and background colours can make resources difficult to read for everyone! Have you ever tried to read white text on a light blue background or yellow text on a white background? Readers should find the information you present easy to see. If you are unsure of what colours are best to choose when it comes to having the right colour contrast, Lancaster University AppsAnywhere gives staff access to the Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA) which is easy to use and shows you whether your colour contrast meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and even shows you whether it meets the AA or AAA criteria (resources should meet AA standard).

Continue reading 10 ‘Top Tips’ On Improving Accessibility →

Moodle Training Courses Available in September!

Events

Time is flying by and the start of the new academic year is nearly upon us (eek!). Many of you are starting to look at your online teaching and learning provision and especially, your Moodle spaces. The DLT team are hosting a series of training workshops to help Lancaster University staff make the most of our virtual learning environment (VLE). The first two training sessions will happen in September. These are hybrid sessions that are free for staff to attend. The in-person sessions will be held in Library Training Room 1 and links will be shared with all registered attendees to join via Microsoft Teams.

The links below show the topics we will be covering in each of the sessions and will take you to the sign up page to register for your place.

  1. Introduction to Moodle – a 30-minute introductory session looking at Moodle, which is Lancaster University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This session covers what Moodle is, what it does, and how staff can access and interact with it.
  2. Course administration in Moodle – this 60-minute session looks at the management of Moodle spaces and will detail Moodle’s links with LUSI, the student records system, as well as how to manage materials and participants (staff and students).

Further sessions will be held in October and November on assignments and quizzes. These will be in-person workshops where you will get a chance to work with the DLT team on setting up assessments, online marking and more! Keep an eye out for future posts on these sessions.

All the sessions that we offer are not just for new staff at the University. They are also suitable for staff who have used the VLE before but want to build their confidence and explore more of what Moodle can do!

We look forward to welcoming you at the sessions as well as the Moodle drop-ins we are currently running throughout the rest of August and September. You can see all of the sessions the DLT team are running via the Events page on the Staff Intranet.

If you have any specific questions about your Moodle spaces or online teaching and learning, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of the Digital Learning Facilitators.

Making your Moodle space more interactive with H5P

Moodle, , ,

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 →

Need some help or advice on Moodle? Drop-In Sessions Available!

Events,

Following the Moodle 4 upgrade on 24th July, the team are holding regular drop-in sessions throughout August and September. We will be available should you have any questions or concerns. We can also discuss any ideas that you have for developing your Moodle spaces.

The sessions will be held online via Microsoft Teams and you will be sent a link after you register for a place. You can view the available dates and book your place on a session via the Events page on the Staff Portal.

How accessible is your Lancaster University WordPress site?

Pedagogy,

What is WordPress and how can it be used for digital teaching and learning?

WordPress (WP) is a popular open-source website builder and Lancaster University hosts 772 active WP sites. One of the advantages of WP is you don’t need any experience using computer programming languages; a great website can be set up quickly and easily. WordPress can be used as a teaching resource where students can collaborate, using their knowledge to present research in an interesting way. Dr Lisa Bradley from Queen’s University Belfast recently presented in the June 2023 EmpowerEd Webinar Series on ‘Breaking Down Barriers to student research using Social Media’. Lisa showcased a group activity where students used Twitter to present their research. Students were then assessed on the content of their posts, the quality of their research, their interactivity with other users, their overall design and their communication. Using an online platform is an excellent way to help students gain skills that are transferable to future graduate careers and can be highlighted by students on a C.V. demonstrating their skills in online editing and communication. WordPress can be used in a very similar way, and it is also used here at Lancaster University by staff to promote departments and research.

However, no matter what platform is used and what it is used for, we need to ensure that any content can be accessed by all and follows accessibility guidance.

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 legislation applies to any website or app which is used by a public sector body in the UK. This includes all websites and web services associated with Lancaster University.

The legislations is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidance (WCAG). The guidance translates to making sure that we consider content and user interactions when we design a product. For example, we should consider colour contrast, content layout, how the website would be navigated with a keyboard and how it responds to the use of speech recognition software. By following the guidance, we are more likely to create logically laid out sites that layout information clearly. It improves the user experience for everyone!

How do you go about checking accessibility compliance?

This Digital Digest blog is very new, and I had no experience in using WordPress let alone ensuring that the content on there followed accessibility guidance. Myself and the DLT team worked together to explore the issues and overcome them with the help of Heath Boffey (thanks Heath!) from the Accessibility Team and using the information that we have available on both the University and Government websites (more details on this later!). Continue reading How accessible is your Lancaster University WordPress site? →

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.

Mentimeter: encouraging participation

Pedagogy, , ,

Written by Susan Armitage, a member of the Educational Development team.

Mentimeter is a way to interactively engage a group of participants either in person or online (or both!).

Mentimeter logoI use Mentimeter as a strategy to keep participants engaged in a session, particularly to quickly share views of a large group in a way that everyone can see, usually for a follow up discussion, to set up the next teaching point, or to encourage reflection on what has just been the focus of the session. 

I have also used it to gather views after a discussion, which is a quicker than going round each group/pair in turn.

For generating discussion between participants, this works equally well online (sending participants into breakout groups) or in person with small group discussion.

I have also just discovered that they have a ‘Spin the wheel’ slide, which is really useful for identifying in a fun and random way which pair or group will present or feedback next.  Previously I have used “wheel of names” for this.  Remember to select the extra option “Eliminate options to prevent repeated results” if you are using it for this purpose!

It’s easy to set up with a few ‘standard’ question types such as multiple choice, word clouds, ranking.  There are also templates available that are helpful for getting new ideas for using it.

I use the free version which has up to 34 slide types with a limit of 2 questions and 5 quizzes per presentation.  So far, I have never needed more than this.

It is well received by participants in terms of generating discussion and/or exposing the range of views within a group.  It is something that they too can use with their students which has been mentioned in feedback on sessions using Mentimeter.

Continue reading Mentimeter: encouraging participation →