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Online Learning is a rapidly expanding area in higher education around the world. While it became a necessity during the pandemic, an increasing number of students and short course learners are choosing to study their degrees fully online. Currently UCL offers around 40 postgraduate programmes with a significant distance learning component, just over half of which are delivered fully remotely.

As such, we’re setting up an Online Learning Community of Practice (OLCoP; catchy, we know) to bring together staff who teach and support online programmes, modules, and short courses at UCL.

At this stage, OLCoP is an informal group, and we hope to use regular meetings and the Teams space to:

• Share best practices in online teaching and learning
• Build a communication hub between academic departments, central, and local services
• Identify and recommend professional development opportunities
• Disseminate new and changing information relating to policy, quality assurance, pedagogies, technology, and more
• Ensure that issues relating to equity, diversity, and inclusion in online learning are properly represented
• Gather actionable feedback from staff and students regarding online learning experiences.

If you are interested in joining, please complete this short form. This will also send you an invite to our Teams space.

We will be holding our first meeting of OLCoP on 13th March 2024 at 2:30pm.

This first meeting will take place as a hybrid event and act as an opportunity to get to know other staff teaching and developing online courses.

Those who wish to attend in person can join us at the training suite at the Anna Freud Centre, not too far from King’s Cross station, while those who prefer to join online can do so via Teams. We will have facilitators in both spaces.

You can register to attend using the form linked above.

We hope you can join us!

The July Jamboree celebrated some of the smaller, more discipline-specific education technology tools available at UCL, and gave you a chance to see them in action and ask questions of the vendors or developers.

The videos of these sessions are now listed below. Access to the videos requires a UCL login. All videos have human-corrected captions and a transcript available.

Monday 11 July: Learning design and content

• H5P: Create, share and reuse interactive HTML5 content in your browser. H5P video (UCL login required). Find out more about H5P)
• Learning Designer: A visually structured approach to learning design to think through and support your students’ learning. Learning Designer video (UCL login required). Find out more about Learning Designer
• UCL MediaPods: Create professional quality videos in minutes with our all-in-one studios. UCL MediaPods video (UCL login required). Find out more about MediaPods

Tuesday 12 July: Feedback and interaction

• Audio and video: Martin Compton and Marieke Guy from UCL share some tips for making videos on a mobile phone, and using tools for audio feedback to students. Audio and video creation video (UCL login required). Find out more about making videos on mobiles or audio feedback)
• GoReact: GoReact brings together online tools for video + feedback, deliberate practice, and more so you can empower confident skills in any discipline or profession GoReact video (UCL login required). Find out more about GoReact
• Mentimeter: Engage your audience & eliminate awkward silences. Mentimeter video (UCL login required). Find out more about Mentimeter

Wednesday 13 July: Mathematics and coding

• MATLAB and Simulink: MATLAB is a programming and numeric computing platform used by millions of engineers and scientists to analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models. MATLAB and Simulink video  (Find out more about MATLAB and Simulink
• CoCalc: CoCalc is a cloud-based collaborative software oriented towards research, teaching, and scientific publishing purposes. CoCalc video (UCL login required). Find out more about CoCalc
• Overleaf: LaTeX, evolved – The easy to use, online, collaborative LaTeX editor. Overleaf video (UCL login required) (find out more about Overleaf)

Thursday 14 July: Simulations in STEMM subjects

• Labster: Labster provides award-winning STEM curriculum-aligned virtual laboratory simulations within biology, biochemistry, genetics, biotechnology, chemistry, physics and more. Labster video (UCL login required). Find out more about Labster
• Lt: Lt is an online learning platform with ready-to-use content for life sciences, nursing, and medicine. Lt video (UCL login required). Find out more about Lt
• LearnSci: Transformative digital tools for science educators. Outstanding learning experiences for students. LearnSci video (UCL login required). Find out more about LearnSci

Friday 15 July: Reading, writing and annotating

• Talis Elevate: Build conversation within your content and give your students a voice. Talis Elevate video (UCL login required). Find out more about Talis Elevate
• Hypothesis Make your course readings more active, visible, and social by engaging your students in social annotation. Hypothesis video (UCL login required). Find out more about Hypothesis
• UCL Reflect: UCL Reflect is provided to allow students and staff to use blogging for teaching and learning purposes. UCL Reflect video (UCL login required). Find out more about UCL Reflect

About Reflect and its User Group

Reflect, UCL’s educational blogging platform, has now had its first birthday and the Digital Education team are delighted that staff from across UCL have enthusiastically taken up the challenge of asking their students to blog, or produce other kinds of online assessment on Reflect.

Digital Education initiated the Reflect User Group (RUG) with its first face-to-face event on Thu December 12th, 2019 from 2-4PM. It was an informal ‘show ‘n tell’ opportunity for staff users of Reflect to compare and contrast their experience of using this tool in their teaching practice. Curious non-users were also welcome as we sought to expand its use to enhance teaching and learning.

We had intended to have the first RUG event in the Spring term, but Reflect user and Russian tutor in SSEES, Maria Sibiryakova asked us to step on the gas (accelerator) to make it happen sooner rather than later. She was very keen to meet fellow Reflect users, exchange ideas and learn of/from their experience and practice.

The tutor experiences showcased

The event showcased the experience of four teaching colleagues who used Reflect in the following ways (click on the bar for more):

• To build an ePortfolio in PGCE Primary Education

  “Reflect as a portfolio tool” –

  Ros Walford, Lecturer and Maria Hadjisoteris, Senior Teaching Fellow, IoE

  Reasons for use

  • For students to develop a reflective e-portfolio of their practice whilst on placement
  • To facilitate more "back and forth" between teacher and student than was possible with the paper-based portfolio because it can be accessed online at any time.
  • To eliminate the administrative overhead that managing paper binders incurred.

  Outcomes

  • A template was designed that had all the required sections and included guidance to students on adding content. Hence, each student received the same portfolio structure.
  • Self-instructional video was created to get students up and running with their portfolio, which was effective and reduced the need for face-to-face sessions.

• As an ePortfolio in PGCE Post-Compulsory Education

  "Portfolio assessment using the Reflect platform" –

  Hilary McQueen, Lecturer, IoE

  Reasons for use

  • For students to develop a reflective e-portfolio of their practice whilst on placement
  • To facilitate more "back and forth" between teacher/mentor and student than was possible with the paper-based portfolio because it can be accessed online at any time.
  • To eliminate the administrative overhead that managing paper binders incurred.

  Outcomes

  • A template was designed that had all the required sections and included guidance to students on adding content. Hence, each student received the same portfolio structure.
  • The portfolio template has tabs that usefully break down the requirements for students.
  • It was possible to facilitate access to students e-portfolios by non-UCL staff mentors in the schools where UCL students were doing their placements.

  Wish list

  • A way to check progress – some kind of automatic system that shows what has been done and what is new, and ideally what has been checked as we have to keep separate records, which is very time consuming.

  What I would do differently

  • I would create a table for the observation form and insert ready for use.
  • We would book a computer room and go through how to use Reflect.
  • I would introduce Reflect (now I know how to use it) and ensure that other staff members were there, too.
  • Have a test blog that everyone could add something to (say), just to practice.

• To address the aims of the Connected Curriculum and ensure students engage with researchers and the institution’s research

  “Reflect for science blog assessments and showcase portfolios” –

  Nephtali Marina-Gonzalez, Principal Teaching Fellow, Medical Sciences 

  Reasons for use

  • The Department wanted to replace of traditional assessment methods with coursework activities designed to engage students in the research carried out in the Division of Medicine inline with the aims of the Connected Curriculum.
  • To give Year 1 students an opportunity to create a public-facing output that showcased the research done at UCL and their understanding of it in terms suited for a lay audience. 

  Outcomes

  • Students found this activity more engaging that last year’s traditional single answer question (SAQ) exam and general feedback from the students was very positive.
  • There was a significant increase in marks for their blogs across the board relative to past exam grades, (namely, 71.4 +/- 6.1 blogs vs 56.1 +/-15 SAQ). 
  • Students were able to appreciate the importance of broad public engagement to their learning process. One student said:

  “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t really understand it”.

  • An example of an excellent student blog post that achieved the aims of a Physiology module assessment: Cardiovascular effects of exercise training.
    • See the same student's reflections on this learning experience.

  For Neph's 5 top tips more about his experience with Reflect peruse his case study and interview

  Wish list

  • Better marking tools that were integrated with Moodle.

  What I'd do differently

  • Give the students several examples of what is expected of them.
  • Invite UCL's Copyright officer to give a lecture to on copyright issues.
  • Utilise the Open tool kit for students that Digital Education's Leo Havemann and Samantha Ahern are developing.
  • Students found communicating scientific concepts in lay terms particularly challenging so the target audience of the blogs will be adjusted according to the level of expertise of the students.
  • Build on our use of Reflect to have our students use it to create a 'showcase portfolio' that will trace their progress and achievement throughout their degree.

• Using blogs to develop foreign language writing skills

  “The Use of Blogs in Developing Writing Skills in Russian” –

  Maria Sibiryakova, Senior Teaching Fellow, SSEES

  Reasons for use

  • For students to create a language portfolio, which serves as an ipsative form of assessment. They contribute to it regularly and can get feedback from peers and externals as well as their tutor that feeds forwards into their next post.
  • To motivate students  to write more in Russian by:
    • Providing an external audience for their work, not just their tutor
    • Enabling them to see and comment on each other's work – peer review
  • To prompt students to take responsibility for what they write both the:
    • Content they create
    • Language they use

  Outcomes

  • Students were less likely to submit a draft
  • This new form of assessment was as effective as traditional methods, e.g. exams
  • Students developed transferrable digital skills through their use of WordPress

  Wish list

  • Ability for students to see the number of views their posts have had
  • Would like Reflect to have more support for marking
  • To eliminate the need for Turnitin, Plagiarism as a trust issue

  What I'd do differently

  • Incorporate training on academic integrity
  • Include a copyright statement and seek guidance/support from the UCL library.

  For more view Maria's presentation slides.

   

Reflect user support

One of the things we had hoped to have time for at the meeting was to discuss how the RUG can be most useful to members. Although due to lively Q&A, we didn’t end up getting to that topic, we still want to hear your views on this. Hence, please let us know via our online form. All in all, we think the format of this meeting worked well and we intend to repeat it in the next few months.

Looking forward to the next User Group meeting, we are hoping once again to hear from staff with a range of use-cases for Reflect. Issues which we know people are working on include assessment criteria for Reflect blogs and sites, doing group work on Reflect, and comparing Reflect with MyPortfolio. Of course, if you would like to speak, or hear about particular things please complete this online form, we’ll be notified and get in touch.

I have heard that Inspiration mind mapping software has been bought by another company and will be continued.

SUBJECT: Inspiration Software, Inc. Closure Notice
For over 36 years Inspiration Software, Inc has been in the business of creating,supporting and selling software tools to advance thinking and  learning skills for learners of all ages.
Over the last few years, the market and technologies needed to serve our
customers have shifted tremendously.

After extensive consideration and with regret, we have decided to stop selling our products and close Inspiration Software. Therefore, as of 25th November, we will no longer be fulfilling orders.

We have notified Student Finance England of our plans to close Inspiration Software and are working with them to ensure there is an orderly exit from the DSA sector for Inspiration 9.

We do have some good news for our customers as our DSA products will continue to be supported and sold by other companies.

• Inspiration® Maps and Kidspiration® Maps will now be a part of
Diagramming Apps, LLC. Inspiration Maps is now a DSA approved product.

• Inspiration 9 IE customers can continue to find curriculum, customer service and tech support through TechEd Marketing at inspiration@techedmarketing.com or 01672 560387.

A dedicated Inspiration 9 support website for users will be launched in November.

For the foreseeable future, existing users of Inspiration 9 for Windows will be able to continue to use it as normal in their studies.

Inspiration 9 for Mac users are likely to face issues if they choose to upgrade their current operating system to Catalina, which doesn’t support 32-bit applications.

If you have any further questions on this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out to Reeza Awoodun (reeza@inspiration.com).

We thank you all for your support in recommending Inspiration 9 over these past years.
Yours sincerely
Mona Westhaver
President & Co-founder
www.inspiration.com

The next UCL Digital Literacy Special Interest Group (UCL DL SIG) will be taking place on Friday February 16th from 2pm – 5pm (ticket link at the end of this post).

Digital content is increasingly being used in learning, teaching and research across the Higher Education sector. This has led to a significant change in research practices across disciplines, which include knowledge creation and dissemination through social media and repositories. Complex software tools are being used for data analysis in Arts and Humanities as well as Sciences, and large data sets are being made available to the research community, leading to a blurring of the organisational and support responsibilities of academic stakeholders. This timely event takes a look at digital scholarship at large, and considers new initiatives and opportunities within UCL to address the challenges associated with this disruptive shift.

Event Programme

Developing Digital Scholarship: Emerging Practices in Academic Libraries – Alison MacKenzie, Dean of Learning Services at Edge Hill University and Lindsay Martin Assistant Head of Learning Services at Edge Hill University.

The impact of digital on libraries has extended far beyond its transformation of content, to the development of services, the extension and enhancement of access to research and to teaching and learning systems.As a result,the fluidity of the digital environment can often be at odds with the more systematic approaches to development traditionally taken by academic libraries, which has also led to a new generation of roles and shifting responsibilities with staff training and development often playing ‘catch-up’. One of the key challenges to emerge is how best to demonstrate expertise in digital scholarship which draws on the specialist technical knowledge of the profession and maintains and grows its relevance for staff, students and researchers.

From digital scholarship to digital scholar  – Alison Hicks, Lecturer UCL Department of Information Studies.

Drawing on her experience working as an academic librarian in the United States, Alison’s presentation centres on the capacities that are needed to participate in practices of digital scholarship, as well as the inherent risks and challenges of engaging in open and networked spaces.

Introduction to Digital Scholarship and Open Research – Daniel van Strien, Research Data Support Officer UCL Library Services.

Daniel will be presenting on a session which aims to help participants make a practical start in practicing open science and digital scholarship he is a Research Data Support Officer within UCL Library Services with an interest in digital scholarship and new approaches to research.

Where’s your digital at? – Moira Wright, Digital Literacy Officer, UCL Digital Education.

With an interest in student digital and information literacy skills for employability. Moira will be talking about the Jisc Digital Capability Discovery Tool and how to get involved in the UCL beta pilot.

Research IT Services – Tom Couch, UCL Research IT Services (RITS).

Whilst many of the existing users of Research IT Services are pushing for more of the same but better, the broadening base of digitally engaged researchers from different disciplines requires more experimentation with new technologies and services. Tom Couch reports on some recent projects that have helped RITS to engage and support new groups of researchers.

Please use this link to book your ticket via Eventbrite

We’re using the Jisc definition of digital literacy: ‘the capabilities which fit someone for living, learning and working in a digital society’.
The UCL DL SIG was created for UCL staff to promote the use of technology in learning, provide a platform to ask questions, exchange ideas and also to get support from colleagues beyond UCL Digital Education.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash