Roles and Responsibilities<\/h2>\n
Getting everyone to participate in group work is a difficult task for every educator or facilitator. One recommended, tried and tested method is to establish roles and responsibilities within the group. The roles themselves can be varied and may be specific to the project or task that you set your students. For example, you might have a team leader, a note-taker, an external stakeholder manager, a proof-reader, a meeting chair\u2026the possibilities are endless! AdvanceHE has some excellent guidance<\/a> with top tips and resources on how to set up groupwork. They too suggest giving students roles and asking them to reflect on the diversity of skills in the group to ensure effective collaboration.<\/p>\n As an institution who uses Moodle, we have the \u2018Board\u2019 activity available to use. This activity can be set up in group mode so that each group can collaborate. One use case for group activity is to set it up as project management board with columns such as \u201cto-do\u201d, \u201cin progress\u201d, \u201cdone\u201d and \u201cblocked\u201d. That way students can manage their workload together and keep track of their progress. Below is an example of a Moodle \u2018Board\u2019 activity set up in this way:<\/p>\n A similar thing can be created using Microsoft Planner within a Microsoft Teams space. For training and support in creating either of these resources, get in touch<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are lots of different tools that students can use to create high quality outputs. For instance, if students are creating presentations, they might use Microsoft PowerPoint or Canva. For website pages, they might use WordPress and for shared documents, they might use OneNote. I couldn\u2019t name all the available tools and activities here!<\/p>\n However, there are two activities in Moodle which are underutilised here at Lancaster University which may be of interest to anyone planning to do some group work with their students.<\/p>\n A \u201cwiki\u201d is a web-based system that lets users edit a set of linked pages (think Wikipedia). In Moodle, you would normally use a wiki when you want your students to create content either individually or as part of a group. Students can create a landing page filled with information on a particular topic and then can create a set of linked pages on a subtopic. Students could use this activity to reflect\/discuss their reading materials for a particular week or they could use it to create an informative set of pages on a topic for a particular audience.<\/p>\n The Wiki Activity also has the option for \u201cannotations\u201d, where students can annotate each other\u2019s work and leave comments. This encourages peers to give feedback and to create something together rather than each person of the group working individually and only coming together at the end of the project. Get in touch<\/a> for more information or a demonstration of this activity. Moodle also provide information<\/a> on this activity.<\/p>\n The Peer Evaluation activity is a way for peers to grade each other\u2019s contributions or performance on a particular task. Students can submit a document\/file and then the peer grading consists of a choice of grade scales on criteria set by the teacher\/facilitator. There is the option for students to give feedback comments as well. The criteria students mark against can have different weightings and Moodle can then calculate a final score\/grade for each student.<\/p>\n This activity can be useful if you are using the scores as part of an assessment. However, the activity can also just be used to inform you, how well (or badly!) groups worked together. This information could then impact how you deliver the activity next time. The peer grading can be anonymous, so students don\u2019t see what each other put if that is appropriate. \u00a0Educators can also override grades if required. For more information on this activity,\u00a0 you can have a look at Moodle\u2019s own guidance<\/a> or get in touch<\/a> for a demo.<\/p>\n With the right support and guidance from Learning Technologists and the many other supportive teams that are here at Lancaster University such as CEDA, the Digital Skills Team (ISS) and the Digital Learning Team (ISS), group work no longer needs to be dreaded!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Group work…often dreaded by teachers and sometimes by students too! When I first started teaching in 2017, I was reluctant to use group work activities. They were tricky and time-consuming to set up and I quite often didn\u2019t get the outcomes I was looking for. I had very little experience with educational technology as it … Continue reading Group Work: Tips, Tricks & Technology<\/span> ![\"An](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2024\/09\/Moodle-board-proj-mgt-example-300x85.png?resize=593%2C168\")
Group Output and Assessment<\/h2>\n
The OU Wiki Activity<\/h3>\n
Peer Evaluation<\/h3>\n
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