Tuesday 17 April
Office Mix Retirement
Microsoft has notified users that Office Mix will be retired on 1 May, 2018. On this date, the Office Mix site will be discontinued and any links to content will stop working. We recommend that Mix users convert their Mix files to videos and upload them to UQ's video server, Kaltura. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Office Mix Migration Procedure.
View Grade Centre by Seminar Groups
If your course includes seminars, the seminar group memberships are now made available in Learn.UQ. Setting up Smart views of your SI-net Seminar, SI-net Tutorial or SI-net Practical groups will allow you to easily filter your Grade Centre to speed up the entry of marks or checking of student submissions. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Smart Views for SI-net Tutorial / Practical / Seminar groups.
Learn.UQ - New features
Reminders - email non-submitters
Teaching staff can send email reminders to students who have not yet submitted Blackboard assignments, online tests or other assessment items. Students receive an email generated by the system that lists the course, grade centre column title and the due date. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Reminders.
The Turnitin tool, Email Non-submitters, has similar functionality in that it allows you to email students within a course who have not submitted a Turnitin assignment. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Email Non-Submitters.
Blackboard Assignment Submission Receipts
When submitting assignments students receive a confirmation number they can copy and save as proof of submission. The student Blackboard Assignment guide advises students that a confirmation number must be visible to indicate a successful submission; else, they should retry or contact the coordinator immediately. Note, the receipt is visible on the screen but NOT emailed to the student, as it is with Turnitin. In Grade Centre, teaching staff can retrieve a record of all confirmation numbers including submission attempts and withdrawn students. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Submission Receipts.
Box View - Blackboard Assignment Annotation Tool
Box View, a new tool for document viewing and annotation (commenting), has replaced Crocodoc, which was decommissioned last year. Box View offers similar functionality and user experience to Crocodoc. Note, drawing and strikeout are no longer available. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Comments and Highlighting.
Lecture Recordings - Are students watching?
New analytics on student engagement with lecture recordings have been available since November. Staff now have access to information on the number of views of individual recordings and a breakdown of individual student engagement with all available recordings. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on Lecture Recording Analytics.
Proposed Learn.UQ upgrade dates
The proposed dates for the 2018 Blackboard upgrade are Saturday 7 July and Sunday 8 July. Blackboard will be unavailable on those days. These dates fall in the mid-semester vacation period, and are at the end of the Universities Australia common vacation week. Annual upgrades to Blackboard are necessary to maintain license obligations, and apply critical security updates. eLearning Systems and Support are seeking your feedback on this proposed date. For further information, refer to the Blackboard Upgrade project page.
Lecture Recordings - Decommissioning of Legacy System
Following the successful migration to the new cloud based lecture recording system, the legacy system will be decommissioned in November 2018. If you would like to keep material that was recorded in Semester 2-2017 or earlier, it is important that you download these files before November. To do so, please follow the instructions available on the eLearning web page.
If you are using desktop recording (PCAP) you will also need to update your recording software to upload to the cloud system. If your recording was dual screen and you want to keep both screens, please contact help@learn.uq.edu.au.
Interpreting a Turnitin Similarity Report
The Turnitin text matching report compares submissions with web content, previously submitted assignments and journals. To assist academics with understanding Turnitin Similarity Reports, Turnitin conducted a webcast with Senior Lecturer Dr. Ann Rogerson at the University of Wollongong, who discusses interpreting a Turnitin Similarity Report. If you are unsure about how to interpret a Similarity Report check out the Interpreting a Turnitin Similarity Report webcast.
Student Video Journals
Susannah Brady discusses how she has used video journals to facilitate reflections by her students in her online course Woman Centred Care towards a Philosophy of Practice. Watch the video case study to see how video journals have changed the way students reflect on their professional practice.
Control the release of marks
During marking or moderation, you may not be ready for students to see their results. To control the release of results from Turnitin, Blackboard Assignments and Tests you need to carefully set both the individual tool settings and the Grade Centre column settings (Hide from Students on/off). For step-by-step instructions refer to the guides on Turnitin, Blackboard assignments and Tests.
Secure your computer
While you are undertaking online marking, ensure that you secure your computer by locking it whenever you leave your desk or office. For more information, refer to the guides on How to lock a PC and How to lock a Mac.
Online compliance training for staff
Some of the very large staff development courses currently hosted on Blackboard will be migrated to a more suitable platform in 2018. Examples include the OHS courses and finance training courses. The eLearning team is currently conducting a market scan and evaluation project to achieve this. The project has identified functional requirements via consultation with course owners and other stakeholders, and the EOI documentation will be published to the Queensland Government tender website in the coming weeks.
Lecture Recording
Most people know that UQ was an early adopter of lecture recording technology. Since 2008, we have progressively deployed a standardised solution to 255 centrally controlled teaching spaces, as well as some venues managed by schools or organisational units. This year the eLearning team have been directed to review market options, with a view to confirming our current solution or selecting an alternative for further investigation. An EOI has been published inviting potential suppliers to submit their proposals. The working party will review these responses, and provide a recommendation report to the PVC and CIO who will determine the next course of action.
eLearning Workshops
The eLearning team are offering a range of practical workshops on eLearning tools during 2018. For a description of each workshop, dates and to register, visit the Staff Development / Teaching and Learning Technologies site. Upcoming workshops include:
- Checkbox, 10:00am - noon, 20 April, St Lucia
Custom Workshops for Teaching Staff, Tutors and Professional Staff
Custom workshops on centrally supported eLearning tools are available on request for faculties, schools and/or courses. Course coordinators need only book a meeting room and organise attendance, laptops are provided for the sessions. Contact elearningtraining@uq.edu.au with details of the preferred date, time, room booking and approximate numbers. Popular workshop options include:
- Turnitin Online Marking for Tutors
- Blackboard Group Assignments Online Marking for Tutors
- ePortfolio Online Marking for Tutors
- UQ Active Learning tools for Tutors
- Learn.UQ Grade Centre
ITaLI Workshops
- Embedding Employability Development, 2:00pm - 4:00pm, 23 May, St Lucia
- Designing Assessment, 9:30am - 11:30am, 5 June, St Lucia
Request Support
To receive a quick response on your eLearning technical problem, log a job with the UQ Staff eLearning Helpdesk using help@learn.uq.edu.au. Alternatively, you may use the Request Support button available inside Learn.UQ.
To enable a timely response please be sure to include as much information as possible with your request.