Digital Education Newsletter Vol 5 Iss 2
17 August 2021
In this issue, you will learn out about SEM2 module creation, the Enhance your Module module, and the upcoming Focus On sessions.
CTIL Updates
We’ll keep the CTIL updates short and sweet, although the updates are (we think) pretty major!
- Enhance your module is now live! Check out the Pedagogi-cool section for more details.
- SEM2 modules have been created in My Dundee. If you have any issues or questions, contact Help4U.
- Archived modules from 2004-2013 will be deleted on 27/08/21, and modules from AY 2013/2014 will be archived. For more information, check our out blog post on this topic.
Tool updates
Blackboard (My Dundee)
Blackboard version 3900.19.0 was released on 5 August 2021:
- New look of module page navigation: This is the most important change – you will now find the navigation in the top-left hand side of the page, and the it labels are text instead of icons.
- Advanced filtering options in the Gradebook: As part of our August release, higher course roles will be able to filter their gradebook view by multiple variables like users, groups, items, and categories.
- Bug fix: In the Ultra Experience, some instructor announcements randomly lost their formatting. We’ve fixed the issue.
You can read about these features in more depth on Blackboard’s release notes page.
Showcase
Make your own OBS style
Presenter: Ludovic Magerand
Date: 18th August, 14:00 – 16:00 BST
This will be the first session we will run in a longer workshop format. This session will be led by Ludovic, and we will also have some input from fellow OBS enthusiasts within the University.
Free and open-source, OBS Studio is one of the most used software for video recording and live streaming, even by professional Twitch streamers and YouTubers. While being a very complete tool, it looks quite austere without customization of the scene, something which can be intimidating if you are not used to video editing. In this workshop, we will have a look at the basics to improve your video recording or stream from integrating multiple sources together nicely to making a waiting screen with music and timer.
Access the Menti to input what you’d key features and elements you’d like to see covered!
Access the session in the ‘EduZone 2.0’ channel in the Education & Student Experience Planning in Teams.
Pedagogi-cool
Enhance your Module.
We’ve been working on Enhance your Module for some time now. The aim is to have a combination of practical hints and the research underpinning the work we’re doing. One particularly useful resource we found was the Guide to Blended Learning, It was developed by the Commonwealth of Learning and is available as an Open Book.
We’ve also been putting together a Resource List that you will have access to if you are on the module, or you can access it directly. We would welcome any suggestions for additions to the list.
At the time of writing, we’ve already got 46 members of staff signed up to the Module, and we’re looking forward to seeing more of you.
Tippy’s Top Tipps – YuJa
Did you know…?
Collective statistics for your module videos in YuJa can be viewed if you and your colleagues publish videos within your module’s YuJa channel.
To do this:
- First set up your module YuJa channel. See the first section of CTIL’s guidance on preparing a YuJa channel within a module.
- Then follow the steps of YuJa’s guide on downloading reports.
Did you know…?
You can embed quiz questions within your YuJa videos to make them more interactive.
Reminder
Now is a great time to start reviewing your module’s YuJa videos. Are there any videos you want to reuse for next year? Are there any videos you can remove? How can you improve your videos?
- You can copy your YuJa videos to your new module by hovering over the selected video, clicking publish and searching for your new module. This video shows you the step-by-step process of how to publish YuJa videos in your module.
- Look out for CTIL’s upcoming guidance on creating video content this Summer!
Fortnightly round-up
What’s on:
Check out our Focus On sessions, you can access these via the EduZone 2.0 channel in the
- 18th August at 14:00 BST: Workshop – Make your own OBS style – Ludovic Magerand
- 19th August at 14:00 BST : Getting the most out of Collaborate – Sarah Halliday
- 26th August at 14:00 BST: Podcasting for Pedagogy – Matt Ward
What we’ve made:
Semester 2 modules in My Dundee!
CTIL recommendations:
As everyone’s been so busy recently, we thought we’d share some recommendations for totally non-work related books. This issue, we’ve themed it around graphic novels we love!
- The Sandman – Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman: a rich blend of modern and ancient mythology in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven.
- Monstress – by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda: this is an amazing, Hugo-award winning fantasy series about the world in the aftermath of a war between magical creatures and the human sorceresses. Bonus: there are talking, multi-tailed cat poets and historians.
- Locke & Key – Before there was the Netflix series (which we also recommend), Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez created this wonderful series. Check it out for a really inventive world and a really engaging plot.