Category: News and Events

News and Events, Pedagogy, Technologies

Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning (CTEL) CPD Training Sessions

Aaron Sangha

The Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning (CTEL) has a wide range of new development sessions available to all staff. These sessions range from how to record, edit and upload videos; creating interactive learning resources using Kaltura, our video and media service; as well as various workshops on using KEATS, our Virtual Learning Environment.

These sessions will be run by Microsoft Teams Meetings. Click the Skills Forge links below to find timings and book on available sessions. Please contact ctel@kcl.ac.uk for more information.

Introductory Session

KEATS

Content Creation and Video Editing

Delivering synchronous online teaching

Assessment

Internationalisation

Moodle 4, News and Events, Technologies

KEATS Upgrade: What to expect as a student

Sue Harrison

On 18 July 2023 KEATS (Moodle) will be upgraded, with KEATS being unavailable for all staff and students from 6am and for most of upgrade day.

As part of this upgrade KEATS is getting a makeover and as such will look different for students logging back in after 18 July. The resources and teaching materials available via KEATS will remain the same, but the look of your courses will be different as improvements to the user interface and navigation are introduced.

New look KEATS will include:

Improved Dashboard & Separate My Course Page

When you login to KEATS your Dashboard will allow easy access to courses you have recently accessed and provide you with a timeline highlighting activities which have tasks and deadlines upcoming. A separate ‘My Courses’ page is also available allowing you search, access and highlight important courses for you.

KEATS (Moodle Dashboard)
New look KEATS Dashboard highlighting recently accessed courses and a timeline of upcoming activities

Navigable Table of Contents within Courses

When accessing a KEATS course, an Index Drawer is provided on the left of screen to allow you easy access to different sections and resources within the course. This index is collapsible/expandable to allow individuals to focus better on the main content as needed.

Collapsible Blocks & Resources

Similar to the table of contents, a series of blocks and resources are available on the right of screen via a collapsible/expandable Block Drawer. These blocks provide you with access to key resources and information, but can be minimised to declutter the screen as needed.

Screenshot of new-look KEATS course, displaying content in a grid format
A KEATS course showing the collapsible/expandable Index Drawer on the left and the Block Drawer on the right.

Improved Design for Mobile Devices

Our new version of KEATS is responsive to mobile and tablet devices allowing your courses to be better displayed and navigated.

New look KEATS for desktop and mobile
New look KEATS is responsively designed for screens of different sizes

Please note, faculties and departments use KEATS in different ways and may have different templates and approaches for you to be aware of. If you are in the middle of teaching during this upgrade and are experiencing unexpected changes, please do contact your Programme Team in the first instance.

Moodle 4, News and Events, Technologies

Check-out what your KEATS course will look like in Moodle 4

Sue Harrison

KEATS is being upgraded on the 18 July 2023 and will be getting a make over (see our blog post New look KEATS coming in July 2023). As well as incorporating new, modern branding guidelines the interface aims to make doing the things you want to achieve in KEATS easier.  

To help you prepare for the upgrade, a read-only test environment is available to staff which has the new theme applied. You can jump straight from KEATS to the test environment from a course to see what the content looks like using the new theme. You can also log into the site directly at https://keatsuat4x.kcl.ac.uk/ (staff only).  

Linking to the test site is being enabled locally within faculties and departments, but one thing to look out for is a new block on your course page that allows you to make the jump directly to the equivalent course in the test site. This block (and the test site) is available to staff only.

Screenshot of block enabling access to upgraded Moodle for staff

You will see changes in the look-and-feel of KEATS over time as the branding is still being developed. Look out for the new primary menus that help you get to Participant lists, Grades and other Reports (your course settings will also be here, but aren’t visible in the test environment) and keep an eye out for our blog posts giving further details on the upcoming changes.  

Screenshot of new-look KEATS course, displaying content in a grid format
Disclaimer: This may look different in your faculty

Please note: course content in the test site is a snapshot from March 2023. Any course developments after this time won’t be available in the test site. You can also access your Dashboard and the new My Courses page to browse the site as usual. 

Moodle 4, News and Events, Pedagogy, Technologies

New look KEATS coming in July 2023

Sue Harrison

KEATS will be upgraded to Moodle 4 on 18 July 2023 (see KEATS Upgrade to Moodle 4 Blog post for further information).

As part of this upgrade the look-and-feel of KEATS will be updated to bring it in line with emerging King’s Digital Brand Guidelines, improving consistency for staff and students across our digital platforms.

The new theme for KEATS will be primarily available for layouts which display modules and courses in a Topics or Grid formats. All course pages will be presented with a left-hand navigation and a right hand-panel for module/programme specific information as required, both of which can be expanded/collapsed as required.

KEATS Course Grid Format

KEATS new-look grid format
KEATS New Look Grid Format

KEATS Course Topics Format

GIF of a new look KEATS Course Topics Format
New Look KEATS Topics Format

 

Screenshots

Click on the screenshots below to view larger images of the new look-and- feel for KEATS coming in July 2023.

Moodle 4, News and Events, Technologies

KEATS Upgrade to Moodle 4

Sultan Wadud

KEATS will be upgraded to Moodle 4 in Summer 2023, this will bring a variety of improvements to the student and staff user experience. The existing functionality of KEATS will still be core to your teaching and learning, but the user experience has been redesigned with a new, modern look and feel that makes it more intuitive and user-friendly. The provisional date for the upgrade is 18 July 2023, and we expect KEATS to be unavailable to all staff and students for the majority of the upgrade day.

Improvements for Students

For students, these KEATS improvements will include:

  • Oversight of their course deadlines on the dashboard (the KEATS landing page). Deadlines can be filtered by due date, courses, and by activities that are overdue. The list of deadlines is also searchable using the activity type (e.g., assignments) or activity name.
  • A more streamlined interface for viewing activities and resources and any activity completion requirements for these, including new colour-coded icons.
  • Improved navigation for modules, including a course index on the left of the module page, which acts as a table of contents for activities and resources and allows the students to click on an activity and navigate directly to it.
  • Activity completion is indicated on the course index, allowing students to easily see what they still need to complete.
  • A new collapsible ‘block drawer’ that includes any blocks that have been added to the module. The course index block is also collapsible, allowing students to view only their course content in the middle of the page when needed.

Improvements for Staff

For staff, the new design will bring the following benefits:

  • More intuitive features, such as easier access to module settings at the top of the module page, which were previously found in the ‘Administration’ menu.
  • Activities and resources can be moved within a section, or to another section, by dragging and dropping them with the main course content or within the course index.
  • Clicking on an activity will navigate staff directly to that activity, where they can easily access the activity settings at the top of the page.
  • When changing an activity’s settings, staff have the option of selecting “Send content change notification” which will notify students that a change has taken place.

The video below shows what these improvements look like in Moodle 4. Please note that the Moodle 4 site shown in the video does not yet include King’s branding, this will be added in due course when Kings’ new branding guidelines have been finalised.

Moodle 4.0 Upgrade Video

Written by Fariha Choi

Fariha Choi is a Learning Technologist at the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning and has been with CTEL since June 2021. She has a particular interest in educational multimedia and has worked as a Learning Technologist, eLearning Developer and Learning and Development Manager for the past 11 years.

News and Events

M25 Autumn Meeting: Education 4.0

kcl ctel

In mid-November 2019 nearly 60 people attended the Autumn meeting of the M25 Learning Technology Group (#M25LTG) at King’s College London. This event was themed around Education 4.0 and brought together sessions on education surviving industrial revolutions; what Education 4.0 could look like, holographic lecturers and the ‘cold indifference’ of technology. Continue reading “M25 Autumn Meeting: Education 4.0” →

Evaluation and Reflection, News and Events

From Conception to Completion: The Digital Education Student Committee

kcl ctel

I recall leaving University in 2010 and being faced with nearly one year of unemployment. The fact I had a good 2:1 in BSc Applied Psychology and Sociology and experience on a placement year was clearly not enough, particularly as I graduated soon after the global financial crash. After meeting numerous recruitment agencies, sending my CV’s to what felt like hundreds of companies and applying to various jobs, I finally realised that I did not know how to properly complete application forms, and I did not have enough recent work experience for my CV to make an impact. I was one of many recent graduates that just could not get to the interview stage of a job, yet alone a job. What made my experience slightly more frustrating was that many of my friends who chose to go straight to work, rather than to Universities, were in greater demand than I was. What set us apart, was that they had gained a few more years working experience, and they knew how to sell themselves to potential employers.  Continue reading “From Conception to Completion: The Digital Education Student Committee” →

News and Events, Pedagogy

King’s Business School Education Hub

kcl ctel

In May 2019 the King’s Business School launched a KEATS-based bespoke education hub to act as a one-stop central space to support teaching and learning, list key dates and build a vibrant learning community. It responds to concerns that good practice was not being shared effectively, version control of documents was problematic, and there was no repository to support initiatives such as peer review, GTA induction and education strategy projects. The aim is for it to become a powerful vehicle to enhance pedagogic practice, facilitate communication between staff, increase productivity by offering highly efficient and effective tools for educational delivery and share best practice around digital education.

kbs education hub
Continue reading “King’s Business School Education Hub” →

VR headset
News and Events, Technologies

Hacking the Future at the CAN Conference: Hackathon 2019

kcl ctel

The 2019 ‘Change Agents and Network’ (CAN) Conference hosted by JISC brought academics from the UK (and worldwide) together. The conference was held at the Open University Walton Hall in Milton Keynes, England. The aim of the CAN conference was to understand the ‘evolving landscape of staff-student partnership’. How can technology be used to support the learning experience for students? Part of the Conference was a Student Hackathon.


Continue reading “Hacking the Future at the CAN Conference: Hackathon 2019” →