Blog

‘De-clutter your Kaltura media’ competition winners!

Julian Prior

Krista Kieswetter receiving her prize of a book and gift card.

Back in October 2022 we launched a competition to see who could delete the most content from their Kaltura My Media, in order to help us save on storage and bandwidth costs. We were delighted with the response so a big thank-you to everyone who took on the challenge and deleted unwanted content to help us out. We are happy to announce that Krista Kieswetter from Continuing Studies (pictured) was the winner of the competition for which she received Marie Kondo’s book Joy at Work and an Amazon gift card. Runners-up were Yue-Ching Chen (Recreation Studies) and Katrina Erdos (Geography) who both receive gift cards.

While on the subject of deleting Kaltura media we would like to direct you to our Kaltura media retention policy which we recently formulated based on good practice from other institutions and in consultation with our Records Management and Privacy Manager. As well as continuing to encourage you to archive and delete any unwanted or unplayed media, we will be carrying out periodic deletions of unplayed media, at the end of the summer and fall semesters.

As ever, if you have any questions about our Kaltura media retention policy (or other Kaltura issues) please email edtech@langara.ca.

New Text to Speech Tools in Brightspace

Luke McKnight

EdTech is excited to announce new text to speech tools in Brightspace.

A new toolbar (pictured below) automatically appears on content pages, Quizzes, Assignments, and Discussions.

Screenshot of ReadSpeaker toolbar

The simple, intuitive interface allows for users to hear text read aloud. In Brightspace, simply select Listen and the toolbar instantly creates an audio version of text.

This tool offers students the choice of reading, listening, or both simultaneously. Allowing users choice and customization accounts for learner needs and preferences.

This tool may assist learners with:

  • Increased understanding
  • Improved reading comprehension
  • Information retention and recall
  • Vocabulary
  • Fluency and accuracy
  • Motivation and attitudes toward reading

Available user features include:

  • Customization of colour, style, and size of font
  • Choice of reading voice and speed
  • Synchronous text highlighting
  • Page masking and text-only view
  • Ability to select content to be read aloud
  • No download required
    • Learners can use this tool on campus, at home, on their phone, or on the bus

In addition to Brightspace pages, Word and PDF documents uploaded to Brightspace also have a text to speech reader option.

While a benefit to all learners, this tool is especially important to users that need content to be read aloud. The addition of text to speech is an important step in Langara’s work toward accessibility and universal design for learning.

For more information, read about the toolbar’s features or contact assistivetech@langara.

Using Peer Assessment for Collaborative Learning

Diane Thompson

Peer Assessment

Peer Assessment PictureThere are several benefits to using peer assessment within your course, one of which is to provide students with a more engaging experience. Opportunities to assess other learners’ work will help students learn to give constructive feedback and gain different perspectives through viewing their peers’ work. There is evidence to show that including students in the assessment process improves their performance. (1) (2) (3)

Research also shows that students can improve their linguistic and communicative skills through peer review. (4) The exposure to a variety of feedback can help students improve their work and can even enhance their understanding of the subject matter. Furthermore, learning to give effective feedback helps develop self-regulated learning, as ‘assessment for learning [shifts] to assessment as learning’ in that it is ‘an active process of cognitive restructuring that occurs when individuals interact with new ideas’ (5).

In addition to the benefits to students, peer assessment can also provide instructors with an efficient way of engaging with a formative assessment framework where the student is given the chance to learn from their initial submission of an assignment.

Options for Peer Assessment within Brightspace:

Within Brightspace, there are several ways that instructors can set up peer assessment activities depending on the nature of the assignment and the needs of the instructor. Here we highlight several use cases.

Peer Assessment Example #1:

The instructor wants to have students assess each other’s group contributions for an assignment within Brightspace.

Using a Fillable PDF, which gives the students a rubric-like experience, a student can rate their peers based on different criteria that has been built into the assessment by the instructor. Students can provide feedback on a rating scale but also can provide more in-depth feedback if needed.

The advantage of using a fillable PDF is that the student can easily download the file and fill in the blanks. The student can reflect on the built-in criteria and the entire process should be quick and easy. The scores are calculated, and the instructor can interpret the results once the student has uploaded the PDF into the assignment folder.

A few disadvantages of this method are that the instructor will have to download each fillable PDF and manually enter a grade if marks are captured for peer assessment. The other issue is the level of student digital literacy. Directions on downloading the fillable PDF to the student’s desktop and not using the PDF within the browser is a key step for this process to work. Not all students are aware that fillable PDFs cannot be used successfully in-browser.

Peer Assessment Example #2:

Students are working towards a final paper that is worth 15% of their overall mark. Before they submit the final version to the instructor, they will have the opportunity to evaluate another student’s draft and their own work using a rubric. If time is limited for this activity, learners can be invited to submit just the first paragraph of the paper, rather than the whole draft.

Through peer assessment, learners can often receive feedback more quickly than if they had to wait for the marker or instructor to review the class’s work.Aropa

Students upload their work to Brightspace Assignments where they are given a link to Aropä, a third-party open software which pairs students so they can assess each other’s work using a built-in rubric. Assessment can be anonymous, and the instructor can restrict feedback to students who have already submitted one review. Self-assessment can be required.

The advantages of Aropä is that it is free and gives instructors the ability to modify rubrics to suit one’s objectives. The disadvantage of this software is that it requires more time to set up. Rubrics provide only basic options: radio buttons or comment boxes. Instructors should be aware of privacy issues with Aropa and only upload first names of their students but avoid uploading student numbers.

Peer Assessment Activity #3

Students complete group presentations after which the class assesses each group’s performance, including their own group’s presentation, using a predetermined marking scheme.

The activity of assessing presentations encourages engagement with the work, versus passive observation, since students will be required to give feedback, encouraging deeper learning and enhancing retention.

The advantages of using an H5P Documentation tool are that H5P can be created directly within Brightspace. It looks nice and is versatile. The disadvantage is that learners will have to export their feedback and then upload it into Brightspace. This two-step process requires some digital literacy skills.

Sample H5P Documentation Tool

Peer Assessment Activity #4:

This peer assessment activity is more about checking completion. Instructor needs to ensure accountability with group work.

Students are given an MS Form with some basic criteria by which to rate themselves and their peers in terms of attendance to meetings, work on the final product / assignment and collaboration. Students will use a point rating scale and need to justify their evaluation by providing a concrete example.

Similar to Example #1, students can complete a form using a Fillable PDF or another software such as Jotform or MS Forms to reflect and assess their own work as well as the work of their teammates. Jotform allows for more complex form building and will calculate totals for each student while MS Forms will not calculate but will allow you to get a sense of how students are doing overall with a basic rating on each criteria. (Focus on qualitative assessment)

Sample MS Form

Sample Jotform

A Note on Third Party Peer Review Software:

There are many different software available for peer assessment. Edtech is currently testing out several different ones and hopes to pilot them in the spring or summer semester. Currently, the only one that we are recommending (because it’s 0-cost) is Aropa. Aropa does a great job of providing several options for peer assessment, including self-assessment, privacy options for students, anonymous assessment, etc. It does not integrate completely with Brightspace so that is one disadvantage over some of the paid peer assessment programs currently available. Programs such as peerScholar, Feedback Fruits and Peerceptive have the capability to integrate into the Gradebook, thereby making it very easy to provide marks for the feedback that your students provide for one another.

For more information on any of the above tools, please contact edtech@langara.ca

References

  1. Wu, Wenyan, et al. “Evaluating Peer Feedback as a Reliable and Valid Complementary Aid to Teacher Feedback in EFL Writing Classrooms: A Feedback Giver Perspective.” Studies in Educational Evaluation, vol. 73, June 2022. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2022.101140.
  2. Double, Kit S., et al. “The Impact of Peer Assessment on Academic Performance: A Meta-Analysis of Control Group Studies.” Educational Psychology Review, vol. 32, no. 2, June 2020, pp. 481–509. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09510-3.
  3. Planas-Lladó, A. et al., 2018. Using peer assessment to evaluate teamwork from a multidisciplinary perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(1), pp.14–30.
  4. de Brusa, M. F. P., & Harutyunyan, L. (2019). Peer Review: A Tool to Enhance the Quality of Academic Written Productions. English Language Teaching, 12(5), 30-39.
  5. Western and Northern Canadian Protocol for Collaboration in Education, 2006 p.41

What’s an Assistive Technologist?

Luke McKnight

What’s an Assistive Technologist?

To find out the answer to this question and learn a bit about what Langara’s Assistive Technologist Team has been working on, check out the accompanying video. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how the Assistive Technologist can support you and your students, please email assisitvetech@langara.ca. If you would like to demo the course, you can self-register from the Brightspace homepage. 

Fostering Learner Engagement with ePortfolios

Fostering Learner Engagement with ePortfolios

susanbonham

EdTech is pleased to welcome Dr. Gail Ring and Dr. Melissa Shaquid Pirie Cross to campus to share their expertise on ePortfolios on November 21st from 11:00-12:00 (in person and online).

Registration Information

Here’s what they’ve shared about their presentation:

True learning ePortfolios provide students with multiple opportunities to revisit and reconsider the evidence of their learning experiences and present that learning to an external audience. As ePortfolio practitioners and evangelists, we have long believed in the power of ePortfolios to facilitate student learning, agency and engagement. We also understand that the practices of folio thinking, and the benefits that can be achieved by those practices, often requires a pedagogical shift from both faculty and students.

In this presentation we will share stories that demonstrate how portfolios can contribute a more learner-centered, process-oriented approach to teaching and learning supporting:

  • Reflection by giving students an opportunity to pause and reflect on their accomplishments, which often reveals new learning that can contribute to the development of their professional and digital identities.
  • Integrative learning over time, across contexts, and with intention (Patton and Reynolds, 2014) through Portfolio development and folio thinking practices.
  • Engagement of faculty in professional development applications and uses that lead to the integration of portfolios into instruction and assessment throughout the curriculum.

The result of these efforts include reflective, evidence-rich portfolios that have future value for both students and the university to showcase learning successes throughout/across the learning journey.

We will share a variety of examples that encompass everything from preparation for university to preparation for career. The examples presented will demonstrate holistic learning and lifelong folio participation practices.

Bios: 

Dr. Gail Ring, Director of Service and Partnerships for PebblePad, North America

Gail has had an extensive career in higher education. In addition to her work as an educator, she has founded and directed a number of teaching and learning centers. Formerly, she was the Director, Portfolio Program, Clemson University. For more information about Dr. Ring, including her research and publications, please see her professional portfolio.

Dr. Melissa Shaquid Pirie Cross, Implementation Specialist for PebblePad, North America

In addition to being an educator, Melissa has had roles as a public relations and retention specialist, a coordinator of dual enrollment programs, a director of student and academic services, and a faculty training and development coordinator in several community college and public universities. She has taught with portfolios extensively at Portland State University and is passionate about sharing her expertise with folio pedagogy.

Captions are now automatic on all new Kaltura media

Luke McKnight

New media content added to Kaltura MediaSpace will be automatically captioned, whether uploaded via the Langara MediaSpace website at https://mediaspace.langara.ca, or via My Tools > My Media in Brightspace. These captions are machine-generated and should be available within 30 minutes of uploading your file. All media, including screen recordings, file uploads, web recordings, and most YouTube imports, will have captions added when uploaded to Kaltura. These are closed captions that can be deactivated by the media owner and when available, toggled on and off by the viewer. Existing media—uploaded before October 18th, 2022—will not have captions automatically added but you can request captions for this media.

Keep in mind, machine-generated captions are only 85% accurate and will not meet the requirements of students with closed captioning accommodations. Students requiring an accommodation will contact Accessibility Services, who will inform you directly. If you have a student that requires closed captions, edit your captions to ensure they are 99% accurate or contact Langara’s Assistive Technologist to request assistance with human-edited closed captions. 

We developed a Closed Captions slideshow (below) to provide step-by-step instructions for all you need to know about captioning your media in Kaltura MediaSpace/My Media.

five cartoon figures underneath a cloud that reads Kaltura MediaSpace

De-clutter your Kaltura media

Julian Prior

Spark joy in your life and win a prize

You may have heard of internationally-renowned tidying consultant Marie Kondo and her trademark KonMari method. The method is based on the idea that we could all benefit from a radical de-cluttering of our home and work spaces; get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy in our lives or isn’t meaningful to us in some way. Who doesn’t like a good spring clean of their stuff but what has any of this got to do with Kaltura you might ask?

Well, digital de-cluttering seems to be all the rage these days. From deleting unused online accounts to tidying up documents and folders on computer hard drives, we are being urged to de-clutter our digital life in order to gain some control back and create more mental spaces that are meaningful to us. Furthermore, there is usually a cost (both environmental and financial) associated with storing digital files. Although the price of physical storage (hard drives and SSDs) has come down in recent years, cloud storage costs remain relatively high, particularly when it comes to large files such as video. And it is here that we in EdTech need your help.

What is Kaltura?

For those who don’t know, the platform we use to store and share video and audio files is called Kaltura. You can access the platform directly or share media files with your students via an integration in your Brightspace courses called My Media. For the past few years we have been part of a ‘shared service’ of BC post-secondary institutions who have stored Kaltura media at UBC without any extra costs for storage and bandwidth. This agreement recently came to an end and we now pay extra for storage and bandwidth over a set amount.

Why de-clutter my Kaltura Media?

Because it will spark joy in your life! Hopefully. What’s certain is that it will save us a substantial amount of money if we can cut down the number of large video/audio files currently stored on Kaltura’s servers.

How do I do it?

Simples! We’ve made a video to show you how to delete your Kaltura media. Before deleting though, make sure you have an archive back-up of your original video/audio file! You can download the original from Kaltura or if you already have the original you can store it on an internal or removable hard drive or on one of the numerous cloud services available.

What’s in it for me?

Other than the joy it will spark in your life and the kudos that you will earn from EdTech? Prizes! After de-cluttering your Kaltura media send an email to edtech@langara.ca with the subject Kaltura de-clutter and the number of videos/audio files you have deleted. We’ll enter you into a draw to win some great prizes including Amazon/Apple/Google gift cards and a copy of Marie Kondo’s book Joy at Work: Organizing your professional life. Closing date is Wednesday November 30.

Can you help me?

We can’t de-clutter your media for you but if you have any questions just ping an email to edtech@langara.ca or jump into our Zoom virtual support drop-in (8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. M-F). You can also read our Retention Policy for Kaltura media.

Showcasing Innovative Teaching

Mirabelle Tinio

Join us on December 8, 10 am – 12:30 pm, in C408, and be inspired! The Langara Educational Technology Instructor Gathering brings together educators to showcase their innovative work and foster dialogue and cross-college idea-sharing.

For the main event, instructors will share their teaching ideas using educational technology. Listen to talks about innovative ways to use Brightspace discussions for summative assessments, podcasting, strategies to ensure academic integrity in Brightspace quizzes, ungrading, accessibility, and more! These talks will be followed by a Q&A and a tour of EdTech’s Studio and the newly upgraded lecture theatre in A130. Refreshments and snacks will be served.

Bring a colleague to be eligible to win a draw prize. (Maximum capacity 30)

Register now to save your spot and remember to register your plus-one: Registration Link to the Instructor Gathering.

PebblePad Brief: Activity Logs

susanbonham

Langara’s pilot of the ePortfolio learning platform, PebblePad, is now in its second year. This is the third in a series highlighting some of the platform’s features. Whether you’re already using PebblePad or considering using it at some point in the future, our hope is that the PebblePad Brief series extends your understanding of the platform’s capabilities.

This month’s “Brief” is going to focus on activity logs. Whether you’re asking students to track how many minutes or hours they spend on a task, or you have developed a “point” system based on your own criteria to log an activity, this can all be digitized and linked to a PebblePad workbook. In addition, instructors can run reports to get a snapshot of how the entire class is progressing towards their targets.

Please watch the video for an example of how this works, or read the article below.

Activity logs can be used when you want a student to document how many times they’ve engaged in an activity, or how much time they’ve spent on the activity.

Time Sheets

Let’s look at an example of how this works. In a practicum, a student may have to complete a required number of hours in their placement… let’s say 120 hours.

In their practicum workbook, the student goes to a page called “Activity Log”. Here they find a link to their timesheet.

They click on the link and enter their time:

When they go back to the workbook it tells them how many hours are now left to complete. Since they should be in the workbook regularly doing other course-related tasks, this makes it very easy for the student to keep track of their hours.

These types of workbooks are usually shared with the instructor for feedback and assessment. That being the case, it’s easy for the instructor to see whether the student is on track to complete their hours. There’s a demonstration of how instructors can monitor activity logs in the video above.

Feedback on timesheets has been positive from both students and instructors who have used them in PebblePad. It’s easy for students to track their hours right where they’re completing the work for the course, and it’s easy for instructors to check on the students’ progress towards the goal.

If you have questions about PebblePad or any other learning technology that EdTech supports, we can be contacted at edtech@langara.ca

Grade Exemptions in Brightspace

Ari Crossby

 

Grade Exemptions in Brightspace 
Instructors now have a tool within Brightspace where they can clearly indicate why a student does not have a score for a grade item or an activity.  There are several reasons why a student may have a blank grade or a zero (0) which include an assignment not submitted, the instructor has not graded the item, or the student has failed the assignment.  Providing an exemption to your student for a grade item gives the instructor some flexibility to accommodate many different types of circumstances (I.e., illness, accommodation requirements, etc.). 

Instructors can provide exemptions to all the different types of grade items (I.e., numeric grades, selection box, pass / fail, etc.) however exemptions can’t be given to final calculated grades or final adjusted grades. 

Setting an exemption for a student: 
Exemptions can be set from several different content items, including a quiz, an activity, or a topic but also can be set directly from a grade item. 

Watch the following video for an overview of how to create a grade exemption or see the step-by-step process below: 

Set up Grade Exemptions for your Students: 
To set an exemption for a student from the Gradebook:  

  1. Once logged into your course, navigate to My Tools and Grades 
  2. Click on the context menu of the relevant grade item  
  3. Select Enter Grades from the drop-down menu 
  4. Click the checkbox next to the name of student you wish to exempt, then click Exempt and when you are ready, click Save and Close. 



You should now see the word “Exempt” under the Scheme heading in the table. It is also possible to set up multiple exemptions for your student 
To set an exemption for a student from the Content area: 

  1. In Content, on the context menu of the activity, select Edit Properties In-Place. 
  2. Click Add dates and restrictions…. 
  3. Under Exemptions, click Manage Exemption.
  4. Search for and select the students you want to exempt from the activity. 
  5. Click Exempt. 
  6. Click X to exit the Manage Exemptions page. 
  7. Click Update to save the restrictions. 

Note: When activities are exempted, any associated release conditions on these exempted activities must still be met.