Zoom Replacing Adobe Connect & New Staff PadletUQ Guides

28 Aug 2018
eLearning Update, eLearning Systems and Support
Tuesday 28 August

Zoom Replacing Adobe Connect

The Adobe Connect virtual classroom system will be decommissioned on 16 December. This decision was made based on feedback from users that the functionality required for virtual classroom activities was now largely available in UQ’s Zoom web conferencing system. Zoom also has the advantage of improved accessibility due to a built-in phone bridge which allows students to listen to virtual classroom sessions using a standard phone or mobile. Students can also self-initiate sessions in Zoom to facilitate group assignment meetings, and to generate presentation recordings for assessments. For additional information, refer to the Adobe Connect Decommission project page. For step-by-step instructions refer to the Virtual Classroom tool page.

New Staff PadletUQ Guides

A range of new PadletUQ guides have been developed to assist staff in creating a collaborative learning experience for students. The guides inform staff on how to create, share, export, import and reuse a Padlet, as well as how to turn off notifications.

To complement the new staff guides, a range of PadletUQ student guides have also been developed. These guides inform students on how to access and contribute to PadletUQ on a smart device or computer, as well as how to turn off notifications. If you are planning to use Padlet for learning activities, we recommend you include a link to the student guides in your Learn.UQ course site.

If you would like a personal tutorial on PadletUQ, please visit the eLearning Solutions Service appointments page to book a session with an eLearning Advisor. For more information on the eLearning Solutions Service, visit the eLearning Solutions Service webpage.

Turnitin iPad Guides Updated

The guides for marking Turnitin assignments on iPad have been updated to show the new layout. It explains how to set up the app, access your classes' assignments to download or view assessment and how to manually sync iPad assignments. For additional information, refer to the Turnitin tool page.

eLearning Solutions Service

The eLearning Solutions Service offers one-on-one consultations on integrating eLearning technologies into your courses. Staff can nominate to use this service to help implement centrally supported eLearning tools and will be provided support for the duration of the semester. To make an appointment, please follow the steps on the eLearning Solutions Service webpage and ensure you supply the information requested to assist with the process.

As part of the eLearning Solutions Service, you can:

  • Receive one-on-one consultations tailoring eLearning solutions in your courses.
  • Discuss ideas on how to deliver your course more effectively with technology.
  • Save time, improve student engagement and give better feedback to your students.

All advisors have either a BEd or GradDipEd.

iThenticate - Text matching for research papers

The iThenticate text matching system for researchers is now available to all UQ staff and HDR students. While iThenticate uses underlying technology that is similar to Turnitin, the functionality, user experience and reports are designed to meet the needs of researchers. iThenticate allows you to quickly upload, check and examine documents via a web interface, access in-depth analytics to provide visibility of content submissions and levels of originality over time. Researchers can share documents and collaborate in groups. For step-by-step instructions, refer to the guide on iThenticate.

eLearning Tips

Course Site Design Tips - Assessment 

Each assessment item in a course should have its own folder in the Assessment area of the course site, while the submission link should be the first item in each folder. We recommend a link to the relevant student instructions also be included under the submission link.

View the video regarding course guidelines around assessment (2m 57s). 

course guidelines assessment

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, watch the Interpreting a Turnitin Similarity Report webcast (42m 28s)

Record reasons for mark changes

The Blackboard Grade Centre allows you to add a comment when you change a mark. These comments are then included in the Grade History which you can view at the end of semester to confirm validity and check for errors before transferring your grades to SI-net. 

View the video to watch a walkthrough of how to edit a mark and record a reason (2m 22s).

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 TurnitinBlackboard assignments and Tests.

Projects

Grade Centre SI-Net Button

New Grade Centre functionality is currently in development to allow direct transfer of grades to SI-net. This will improve the efficiency of grade management at UQ by reducing the need for staff to export grades to a spreadsheet for manual upload. For more information, please refer to the Grades Management project page.

EesySoft Trial delayed

During Semester 2, the eLearning team will be trialling EesySoft, an application that provides helpful hints and pop-ups inside Blackboard. The trial was original planned to start in August but has now been delayed until later in the semester. The aim of the trial is to test if these messages can be used to support staff and students by mitigating common trouble points. For more information, please refer to the EesySoft Trial project page.

Workshops

ITaLI Masterclass Series

Students as Partners in assessment and feedback

In the 3 October masterclass, Dr Catherine Bovill will outline a range of rationales as to why staff and students are working in partnership to design and enact assessment and feedback. Learn about different approaches being used to co-design assessment in large and small classes in a variety of disciplines and institutions. Using a partnership lens to re-examine Sadler’s (1989) three key elements of feedback framework, Dr Bovill will support discussions about how to enhance assessment and feedback practice in local contexts. To register for the event, please visit the Teaching Masterclass webpage.

Online marking workshops for tutors

The eLearning Systems and Support team provides online marking workshops (Turnitin and Blackboard assignments) for tutors on request from course coordinators. Laptops are provided for the session and course coordinators only need to book a meeting room. Contact elearningtraining@uq.edu.au with details of the preferred date, time, room booking and approximate numbers.

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.

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