Category: Pedagogy

Pedagogy, Technologies

Reframing AI in Higher Education: From Hype to Practice at King’s Foundations

Riaz Toorabally

Introduction

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a hot topic it’s a reality rapidly shaping how we design, deliver, and reflect on education. While discussions around AI are increasingly open and active across King’s College London, the pace and tone within King’s Foundations has been more reserved.

As a Learning Technologist working in King’s Foundations, I recently attended the Association for Learning Technology’s (ALT) OER25 Open Education Conference. This experience sharpened my perspective on how AI, particularly generative AI can be critically and constructively embedded across not just assessment and feedback, but curriculum design, staff development, and internal communication. The key? Moving beyond automation and embracing openness, collaboration, and shared ownership.

Image of slides from Open Education on Meeting the needs of faculty and students.
Image taken from the OER25 conference.

Artificial Intelligence

At OER25, one of the most recurring themes was that AI reveals not resolves, the tensions already embedded in our educational systems. A speaker from the AI Now Institute urged participants to ask not how much AI we can use, but how little computational power we need to retain meaningful educational practice. This principle, dubbed “frugal computing,” flips the narrative from efficiency to intentionality.

AI generated image around AI in education. It has a robot and human working together.

This resonates deeply with our current challenge in King’s Foundations. While there have been informal discussions around AI mostly centred on resource development, assessment redesign, and feedback workflows conversations often occur in silos. During the conference, examples from other institutions showed that siloed experimentation without shared resources or policy scaffolding often leads to duplication, inconsistency, and missed opportunities.

Many departments at King’s (outside of Foundations) are engaging in visible pilots such as AI-supported assessment banks, ethical guidelines, even student training hubs. But internally, staff across King’s Foundations may only hear about innovations from other teams through casual conversations or ad hoc meetings. This presents a major gap: not just in practice, but in strategic alignment.

Lessons learnt

1. AI Should Be Seen as a Shared Resource, Not a Specialist Tool

From feedback generation to curriculum scaffolding and even budgeting, AI has potential across a broad spectrum of educational activity. The open MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) case study from Politecnico di Milano highlighted how modular, editable resources shared across departments helped create consistent student experience while reducing duplication of effort.  King’s Foundations has the potential to lead in creating a shared AI resource hub supporting consistency, reducing duplication, and promoting inclusive, informed digital practice across teams.

2. AI Can Reduce Feedback Inequality but Only with Transparent Practice

The OER25 sessions addressed hidden labour and opacity in AI use. For King’s Foundations, AI-generated feedback could help reduce marking load and give students quicker responses. But unless these systems are transparent, explained, and ethically disclosed, students may distrust them, or staff may avoid using them.

There’s also an opportunity to explore shared, open banks of feedback phrases and models making formative feedback not just fast, but open and peer reviewed. This would also facilitate more aligned feedback standards across King’s Foundations courses, helping reduce the “black box” nature of academic comments.

3. Internal Communication is as Important as Innovation

One standout comment at the conference came from a digital education researcher who said:

“Most departments don’t need new AI tools they need shared language and shared direction.”

King’s Foundations has a strong culture of innovation but often lacks systematic ways of sharing outcomes and learnings. AI pilot projects such as using co-pilot agents for formative feedback, AI summarisation of reading packs, or tools like Explainpaper for decoding complex texts and Perplexity for guided research should be openly documented, evaluated, and scaled. A regular ‘AI in Practice’ forum could promote transparency and reflect the open sharing ethos reinforced at OER25.

4. Open Educational Practices (OEP) Must Include AI Transparency

The conference raised deep concerns around AI disrupting knowledge equity. From data scraping of open archives to the invisible labour of data labellers, generative AI often operates in ethically grey spaces. For King’s Foundations has a unique opportunity to lead by embedding discussions of AI literacy, openness, and creative commons licensing into our professional development and curriculum.

By modelling these practices internally, For King’s Foundations can support not only better teaching but clearer communication, values alignment, and trust-building with students and staff alike.

The way forward

To move forward, AI must be treated not as a technical upgrade, but as a cultural shift that demands openness, reflection, and collective action.

AI generated image showing the evolution of people learning from books then moving to technology to learn.

Recommendations

  • Create a shared digital repository of AI-assisted tools, templates, feedback prompts, and ethical use cases across KF that are easily accessible and clearly communicated to all staff. Ensure that resources are well-organised, regularly updated, and supported by clear guidance on how to access them, who to contact for further information, and where to go for training or troubleshooting. This will help eliminate confusion, raise awareness, and promote confident, consistent use across teams.
  • Facilitate regular cross-departmental check-ins (e.g. AI in Practice sessions) to surface, connect, and align AI-related initiatives.
  • Pilot AI feedback enhancements in a transparent, student-informed way, ideally within formative assessment stages first.
  • Develop a King’s Foundations-wide AI policy primer, aligned with King’s broader policies, including OER and open pedagogy principles.

There is an opportunity not only to align with the wider college conversation on AI, but to help shape it through critical practice, grounded experimentation, and visible collaboration.

Useful Links

About the author

Faith Namakula, Learning Technologist at King’s Foundations with a sharp focus on digital transformation, AI-enhanced education, and strategic innovation in assessment and feedback. Faith specialises in bridging technology and pedagogy, enabling data-informed, compliant, and effective digital practices that align with King’s strategic priorities. With expertise in project delivery, stakeholder engagement, and digital capability development, she is committed to embedding sustainable, high-impact solutions that contribute to institutional excellence and sector-leading practice.

Accessibility, Evaluation and Reflection, News and Events, Pedagogy, Technologies

Coffee & UX ☕, brewing change in higher education

Riaz Toorabally

Designing better learning experiences – one cup at a time.

User Experience, or UX, can make or break an online product. Ever tried tapping a tiny button to add an event to your calendar, only to blame the size of your finger and, in frustration, end up messaging your partner to remind you instead? You’re not alone. Giving up on your calendar perfectly illustrates the statistics: according a report by RMG Digital, 90% of users will leave a website because of poor design. And you’ll be glad to hear that this experience doesn’t just frustrate users – it also hurts businesses. In fact, according to the same report, 70% of online businesses fail due to bad UX.

While UX might seem like a hot topic today, its principles have been around for over 30 years, though they are often misunderstood or misapplied. The term itself was coined in the 1990s by Don Norman, one of the founders of the influential Nielsen Norman Group, to describe everything a person feels and experiences when interacting with a product or service.

As the Nielsen Norman Group explains:

The first requirement for an exemplary user experience is to meet the exact needs of the customer, without fuss or bother. Next comes simplicity and elegance that produce products that are a joy to own, a joy to use. True user experience goes far beyond giving customers what they say they want, or providing checklist features. View the Nielsen Group article.

Simply put, when UX is done well, it feels almost invisible, helping people get what they need without frustration or hassle. When it’s done badly… it’s very noticeable.

UX for EdTech presents a particular problem. The stakes are quite different – it’s not just about user-friendly tools, or a nice interface, but about creating meaningful learning experiences that truly support students throughout a transformative educational  journey. Without strong design and UX, even the most innovative and academically sound educational technology can fall flat – and that can be a real problem when students are already facing the (enormous!) cognitive challenge of learning something new. Providing these great experiences means going beyond usability to include engagement, motivation, and effective learning outcomes – a broader approach often encompassed by the term ‘LX’.

While commercial providers of educational technology have been grappling with UX for some time, with varying degrees of success, in higher education, UX is still a relatively new concept, with its own set of challenges. The rapidly changing world, evolving digital experiences, growing competition, and rising student expectations all add layers of complexity. Combine that with academic rigour, complex systems, and diverse student needs, and designing genuinely student-centred experiences becomes a real balancing act.

I was aware of these challenges as I stepped into the role of UX Manager at King’s, yet undeterred. Coming from a background in teaching and private EdTech, I saw this role as a chance to bring everything I’d learned into a new environment with its own rhythms, ecosystems, and rewards. And it’s been great to see my team bridge that gap hosting events such as UXDX, as well as by participating in MUGGL and ALT M25.

That said, some challenges here at KCL still felt strangely familiar, only on a much larger scale. In the higher education sector, silo mentality inhibits communication between institutions but often within them too, leaving departments keen to find opportunities yet uncertain of how and where to share insights or best practices. It quickly became clear to me that although incredible work was happening across the organisation and within the wider EdTech industry, its full impact was held back by a lack of connection and collaboration. What was missing was a dedicated space to focus specifically on UX for EdTech – which is exactly why KCL’s Coffee & UX ☕ began.

KCL’s Coffee & UX ☕ is a simple idea with a clear purpose: to connect, create a community of practice, spark conversation, and bring a bit of change into how we think about and design for students. It’s much more than a platform to showcase our work; it’s a welcoming space that encourages open conversation, shared learning, and collaboration, helping the incredible work happening across the organisation reach its full potential.

The premise is simple: once a quarter, we gather on a King’s campus in central London for a couple of hours, with coffee and snacks. Each team shares what they’ve been working on, and together we explore the tools, methods, and approaches shaping our work. We discuss research findings, share challenges and wins, and exchange best practices. It’s also a chance to get to know each other, build connections across departments, and spark ideas for improving the student experience – whether that involves digital learning tools, physical spaces, workflows, or blended experiences that bridge both.

So far, we’ve held two meetings: one in spring and one in summer. From the very first session, it was clear we had something special – the excitement and positive feedback were overwhelming. Teams connected, shared ideas, discussed best practices, and explored ways to collaborate. The conversation didn’t end there; our group chat continued buzzing with reflections, questions, and action points, showing just how engaged everyone was. It was a real sign that Coffee & UX ☕ was creating a space people value and want to keep building.

The summer edition, held on 10th July, was another great success, with over 10 attendees from King’s Digital’s UX team and Quality Assurance Officers; Libraries & Collections; Digital Humanities; IT; and Student Knowledge Info & Enquiries. With a sharper focus this time, teams shared specific projects sparked by our first meeting, such as the assessment templates research and the development of a research repository. We also explored new topics, including databases in PowerBI, card sorting exercises to organise the VLE’s top menu, accessibility research, and inspiring examples of how libraries are pushing UX further to meet students where they are. It was truly inspiring to see such a diverse range of work underway and to feel the strong passion for enhancing the student experience across King’s. To close, and as a testament to how valuable we’ve found these meetings so far, we discussed opportunities to enhance our ongoing efforts to build a real community, including a proposed calendar of activities moving forward.

So, what’s next for KCL’s Coffee & UX ☕? Our goal is to open the door wider – to welcome more teams from across King’s to share, collaborate, and tackle the unique challenges we face together. We also want to expand our circle by inviting colleagues from other universities to join the conversation, sparking fresh ideas and new partnerships. Ultimately, we’re aiming to bridge gaps – within our institution, between universities, and between higher education and the EdTech private sector, building a vibrant, connected community that drives real, positive change for students.

Do any of these challenges or ideas resonate with you? Have you tried something similar in your institution or organisation? Maybe you’ve faced similar hurdles in your own institution, or you’re simply curious about how we’re shaping the User Experience landscape in Higher Education and want to get involved? Whether you’re interested in sharing your experiences, asking questions, or just having a friendly chat about UX and the student experience, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect, learn from each other; and maybe explore how we can make a real difference together… over a cup of coffee?

Our next event is on 6th November, and we’re inviting both presenters and participants of the wider community to join us at King’s. If you’re interested in UX in Education -whether to share, learn, or just chat over coffee – we’d love to see you there.

Sign up and learn more. 

About you the author

Juliana Matos

Juliana Matos, UX Manager at King’s College London | Experienced LXer | Bridging academia, education, and industry through thoughtful, data-driven, human-centred UX strategy.

Accessibility, Pedagogy, Technologies

DigAcc25: A Day of Digital Accessibility at King’s

Riaz Toorabally

Introduction 

DigAcc25 is a digital accessibility conference that brings together professionals from across the UK Higher Education sector. Since its launch in 2023, the University of Nottingham has hosted DigAcc annually. This year’s event took a distributed approach where institutions were encouraged to host local events. 

We joined in the fun at King’s College London and I organised a local event where we could watch the conference together. On 25 June 2025, around 30 colleagues from across King’s (including teams from Digital Education, IT, and EDI) came together at Waterloo campus for a day dedicated to digital accessibility. Colleagues may or may not have been influenced by the promise of pastries and lunch…! Thank you to Brickfield Education Labs for supplying some freebies for the day, including digital accessibility cubes (pictured later). Each side featured a handy reminder for tips on improving accessibility.

A classroom setting with several people seated and facing a large screen at the front of the room. The screen displays a presentation titled "Digital Accessibility 2025" with an image of people walking on a street. The attendees are sitting in rows of chairs.
A classroom of people attending Digital Accessibility 2025 in person.

Why bring DigAcc25 to King’s?  

Whilst King’s doesn’t yet have a dedicated digital accessibility team, there are many colleagues and teams doing great work in their own areas. What’s currently missing is a space to bring those efforts together, which what I hoped DigAcc25 would help kickstart. 

In my role as a faculty Technology Enhanced Learning Manager, I have been advocating for digital accessibility in my faculty. This includes raising awareness through empathy–focused activities, delivering training for both academic and professional services staff, and carrying out audits on our virtual learning environment (VLE). When undertaking accessibility work, it is not unusual to feel isolated without a wider network to exchange ideas or seek advice. Hosting a local DigAcc25 event was a way to bring people together, start conversations, and hopefully bring about changes! 

A pyramid of six cube-shaped boxes, each labelled with a category of digital accessibility tips: "Media Tips," "Layout Tips," "Text Tips," "Image Tips," "Table Tips," and "Link Tips." Each box lists three practical tips related to its category. A red "King's College London" staff lanyard is visible at the bottom of the image.
Digital accessibility cubes provided by Brickfield.

Lunchtime networking 

Although we were working within the structure of the DigAcc programme, I made space for a King’s-only lunchtime session by shortening the scheduled 1 hour 40 minute lunch break. Potentially a risky move, but one that I think paid off! With nourishment provided by King’s Food, colleagues remained fuelled up!  

The lunchtime session featured five quick-fire presentations and gave a flavour of what colleagues across King’s are working on: 

  • I kicked things off with a quick overview of the work the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team has been doing in The Dickson Poon School of Law, and posed a question to the room about the European Accessibility Act, which came into force on 28 June 2025.  
  • Fiona Strawbridge (Director of Digital Education) set the scene on where digital accessibility currently stands at King’s and encouraged everyone to share ideas from the day. 
  • Alistair McWiggan (Curriculum and Digital Innovation) gave a demo of the work he’s doing to create accessible courses and resources on the distance learning programmes and mobile-responsiveness for the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). 
  • Jemma Adams (EDI Manager – Disability Inclusion) introduced everyone to the work their team does, and reminded us that digital accessibility is just as important for staff as it is for students.
  • Dan O’Meara (Digital Education Manager) shared insights from a recent VLE audit for the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences (NMES) and walked us through the results.  
A classroom with attendees seated at desks, facing the presenter, Dan, at the front. The presenter is pointing at a large screen displaying a presentation slide.
People attending a presentation on an audit of the VLE for a faculty.

Highlights 

For me, the highlight of the day was sharing a space with colleagues where digital accessibility was at the heart of the agenda. It was refreshing to be surrounded by colleagues who care about making our digital spaces at King’s more inclusive.  

Talks that stood out to me included sessions on how to bring accessibility into procurement processes and how other institutions have involved neurodivergent and disabled students in their VLE testing. I also appreciated talks on how emotional connection can help people understand why digital accessibility matters, and hearing how other institutions have approached accessibility audits. These latter areas are things we’ve been working on in my faculty, so it was encouraging to know we’re on the right track. 

I gathered feedback after our local event to hear what people’s highlights were. A majority of those who responded said they valued the chance to connect with others working on similar accessibility challenges. One colleague shared: 

  • “It was great to connect with peers and think through different approaches and ways to tackle what can sometimes seem like an insurmountable challenge. And the recognition that we are all working on this, together, is very heartening.” 

Others highlighted the value of the lunchtime event and the chance to hear from and network with King’s colleagues: 

  • “I enjoyed the lunchtime talks the most, as it was wonderful to hear what my colleagues at King’s were doing to improve the accessibility of our online resources and workplace!” 
  • “Definitely the networking element and the lunch talks … it was so great to get a better idea of the people engaged in digital accessibility in King’s and what this looks like in this context.” 
A classroom with people seated at desks facing a large screen at the front. The screen displays a presentation slide titled "Accessibility in Procurement" with the subtitle "An Introduction to Accessibility in Procurement" and the presenter's name.
A classroom with people attending the Accessibility in Procurement presentation.

What’s next for digital accessibility at King’s? 

The main takeaway is that we need more time and space to come together, share ideas, and keep the momentum going. Event planning isn’t my forté but I’m glad King’s colleagues were keen to be involved and make the event a success. 

As a result of DigAcc25, I’m setting up a digital accessibility community at King’s. This will be a space where anyone with an interest in digital accessibility can share resources, ask questions, and hopefully learn from each other. Get in touch if you’d like to be part of it! 

The feedback from the day also included suggestions for incorporating accessibility into life at King’s. These ideas will be shared with senior leadership, and I hope we can shift from working in our silos to a more joined up approach. As quoted from the DigAcc25 “Welcome”, it’s time for us to become “collective voices instead of individual advocates”. Watch this space! 

Thank to you to the DigAcc25 team at The University of Nottingham for putting the conference together and to all the colleagues at King’s who joined our local event.  

About you the author

Clare Thompson is the Technology Enhanced Learning Manager for The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.  

Clare Thompson is the Technology Enhanced Learning Manager for The Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London.

Evaluation and Reflection, News and Events, Pedagogy, Technologies

Exploring the Digital Frontier: Revolutionizing Feedback Delivery with Excel and VBA Macros Part 2

Aaron Sangha

Part 2: My experience and reflections

Part 1 of this blog can be found here: https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/digitaleducation/exploring-the-digital-frontier-revolutionizing-feedback-delivery-with-excel-and-vba-macros-part-1/

Icons of the Microsoft 365 shown

I embarked on this journey to a few years ago when I led a large course with more than 700 students and a team of 15 markers. It was a challenging for an early career lecturer to manage the administrative tasks and collaborate with the whole team: standardization, moderation, and uploading/creating feedback documents. The demanding nature of the courses allows for no mistakes or human errors. Working through the clunky and often user-unfriendly interface of Moodle/Turnitin is another difficult obstacle: one would require the Internet to do the marking and as some other colleagues would agree that we often work better off the Internet. Traditional methods were often time-consuming and inconsistent, resulting in delayed feedback that left students wanting more. The technology-driven solution aimed to address these challenges head-on. When I joined KCL in September 2022, I faced the same problems and have been made aware of different initiatives at KBS to improve the feedback and assessment process at KBS. I gathered my own systems over the years and implemented the process during the Jan 2023 marking season. Over the Spring Term 2023, I refined the process with feedback from colleagues who shared the excitements and interest. In June 2023, I presented at the festival to share the practices and implementation strategies for an innovative automation system.

The process involved harnessing the power of Microsoft Excel and VBA Macros within Microsoft Word. These technologies allowed us to streamline and automate feedback delivery. Imagine, no more laborious hours spent typing feedback comments and no human errors involved in exporting and uploading the feedback documents to Keats/Turnitin! Instead, we could focus on providing students with valuable insights to help them excel.

Screenshot of Digital Skills Hub

**Challenges Faced:**

Of course, no transformative journey is without its challenges. Some educators were initially resistant to change, finding the prospect of learning VBA Macros daunting. Additionally, ensuring the new system was compatible with various devices and platforms presented a technical hurdle. As I mentioned in the guidance (see from my SharePoint), the set-up and troubleshooting at the beginning can be quite a challenge, particularly for colleagues using the MacOS system (it’s less so for Windows users). Compatibility issues were addressed through rigorous testing and continuous monitoring of system performance. Clear communication with your marking team is also needed to make sure everyone is on the same page with the new system.

But I promise it’s worth the effort and the subsequential usages will be a much smoother sail. And from a marker’s perspective, it is much less work than working through the traditional channels.

The journey from traditional feedback systems to an automated approach using Excel and VBA Macros has been nothing short of transformative. It’s a testament to the power of technology in education, where innovative solutions can overcome challenges and improve the overall learning experience.

As we continue this path of exploration and adaptation, the future of feedback delivery looks brighter than ever to improved student satisfaction and educational outcomes. I hope that a wider adoption of the process could help deliver a more insightful and time effective feedback to our students, thereby addressing the burning issues identified from the student surveys, as well as helping deliver impacts to the quality of feedback giving and student experience, as identified in King’s Vision 2029 and the TEF framework.

Screenshot of TEF award

It takes time and communications with colleagues to identify compatibility issues and resolve them. So far, the method has been used by six Economics courses at KBS, two from the University of Glasgow; and colleagues from Marketing and Adult Nursing, have expressed their interests in using it in their courses.
It is definitely not perfect, and I am very much looking forward to feedback, comments, and of course successful implementations of colleagues.

The blog discusses a transformative journey in education, initiated during The Festival of Technology 2022 at KCL. It explores the adoption of Excel and VBA Macros within Microsoft Word to revolutionize feedback delivery. The main reasons for this change were to enhance feedback quality and efficiency, addressing challenges like resistance to change and compatibility issues. Through workshops, ongoing support, and rigorous testing, the adoption of technology resulted in a more efficient, user-friendly, and collaborative feedback system, empowering educators and improving the overall learning experience.

I would like to thank KBS colleagues, Jack Fosten, Dragos Radu, and Chahna Gonsalves for their encouragement, important suggestions and feedback as well as allowing me to pilot the process in their modules. I also thank various colleagues across other faculties for providing feedback and suggestions as well as identifying compatibility issues (with solutions).

For additional resources, including the workshop slides and a detailed guide with relevant codes and FAQs, please refer to the SharePoint folder linked here.

I am a Lecturer in Economics at the Department of Economics, King’s Business School, King’s College London. I am also an academic supervisor at the Institute of Finance and Technology, University College of London, and a chief examiner for the University of London International Programme (Econometrics). Before joining King’s, I lectured and conducted research at the London School of Economics as an LSE Fellow in Economics, and at the University of Warwick as a postdoctoral fellow (in Economics). I completed my PhD in Economics at the University of Nottingham in 2018.

I have lectured courses in econometrics and macroeconomics at King’s, LSE, and Warwick, and led seminars (tutorials) in various courses at Nottingham. From March 2023, I am the GTA Lead at King’s Business School.

Evaluation and Reflection, News and Events, Pedagogy, Technologies

Exploring the Digital Frontier: Revolutionizing Feedback Delivery with Excel and VBA Macros Part 1

Aaron Sangha

Part 1: The practical guide

In today’s rapidly evolving digital age, the need for efficient and effective systems in education is more pronounced than ever. Traditional platforms like Moodle and Turnitin have served us well, but as educators, we must acknowledge their limitations in providing timely, user-friendly, and collaborative feedback on assignments, exams, and dissertations.

This tutorial aims to be your guiding light towards a better, more streamlined approach to feedback delivery. Drawing upon my workshop presented during The Festival of Technology 2022 at KCL, where I shared practical insights and implementation strategies for this automation system, we’ll delve into the fascinating world of Excel and VBA Macros within Microsoft Word. This comprehensive resource builds upon the principles discussed in that workshop.

By embarking on this journey, you’ll equip yourself with the skills and knowledge to revolutionize your approach to feedback giving. Here’s what you stand to gain:

1. **Efficiency:** Say goodbye to the laborious and time-consuming task of manually providing feedback using KEATs (Moodle/Turnitin). With Excel and VBA Macros, you’ll learn how to automate the process, saving valuable time that can be redirected towards more meaningful feedback and interactions with your students.

 

Screenshot illustrating what the purpose of the document
Picture 1: Our Aims and Objectives

2. **User-friendliness:** Discover how to create a user-friendly feedback documents for both yourself, the marking team, and your students. Your feedback system will become intuitive and accessible, ensuring that learners can easily understand and act upon your comments with a nicely formatted feedback document.

A screenshot showing the step by step summary for collecting marking and feedback
Picture 2: A summary of steps

3. **Collaboration:** Break free from the constraints of limited collaboration within traditional systems. The method will allow a marking team to efficiently collaborate and moderate, making feedback delivery a seamless and cooperative effort.

Screenshot of marking folder contents
Picture 3: What the marking folder looks like? It is sharable with the marking team

4. **Comprehensive Feedback:** Dive into the world of detailed and constructive feedback. You’ll gain the expertise to provide tailored insights that empower students to excel in their academic pursuits.

Screenshot of excel file showing comments
Picture 4: What a short comment looks like? Totally customizable.

This tutorial isn’t just about learning a new tool; it’s about transforming your approach to education. By mastering Excel and VBA Macros for feedback delivery, you’ll become a more effective educator, making a lasting impact on your students. The system will:
– Enhance your teaching methods, creating a more engaging and supportive learning environment.
– Free up your time that was spent on administrative tasks or dealing with Turnitin/Keats for more meaningful activities such as preparing feedback comments and communication with your team and students.
– For repeated courses/assessments, you can prepare a bank of modal comments for lateral uses, as well as a record of common mistakes and suggestions for improvements to communicate with students.

Screenshot of excel sheet
Picture 5: What the end product of a long feedback document looks like? Totally customizable.

Education is a dynamic field, and keeping pace with technological advancements is essential. The automation possibilities offered by Excel and VBA Macros are not just practical but also intriguing. Discovering how to harness these tools to optimize your feedback process can be genuinely exciting.

Screenshot displaying cautions with using excel
Picture 6: A few cautions?

For additional resources, including the workshop slides and a detailed guide with relevant codes and FAQs, please refer to the SharePoint folder linked here. This tutorial serves as a bridge between the insights shared during the workshop and the practical implementation of an automated feedback system. It’s an opportunity to further explore and master these valuable techniques, all while enhancing the overall learning experience for students. Join us as we embark on this transformative journey together.

Part 2 of this blog can be found here: https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/digitaleducation/exploring-the-digital-frontier-revolutionizing-feedback-delivery-with-excel-and-vba-macros-part-2/

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, Pedagogy, Technologies

Introducing the New KEATS Education Templates

Aaron Sangha

The KEATS Education Templates (KET) are a set of standardised templates that have been designed to improve the digital learning experience for students at King’s College London. The templates adhere to UXD (user experience design) good practice, and are designed to be performant, scalable, and in line with accessibility standards.

The KET were developed in consultation with King’s students and academic and professional services staff. They were, and continue to be, steered and shaped by the needs of their users.

Three formats for the template are available for use.

Collapsed Topics

King's KEATS Education Template 23/24: Collapsed Topics (for importing) showing the categories of; course, settings, Participants, Grades, Reports and More. The Course highlights different tabs such as; Timetable, Module Overview, Assessment and Week 1/Topic

Grid

Screenshot showing the Module Home page featuring a Timetable, Module Overview, Assessment and Week 1/Topic tabs.

Topics

Screenshot of King's KEATS Education Template 23/24: Topics (for importing) showing the categories of; course, settings, Participants, Grades, Reports and More. The Course highlights different tabs such as; Timetable, Module Overview, Assessment and Week 1/Topic

Why use the KEATS Education Templates?

The benefits of using the KEATS Education Templates, include: 

User Experience: The templates are designed to be easy to use and navigate, making it easier for students to find the information they need. 

Scalability: The templates are designed to be scalable, so they can be used for courses of all sizes. 

Consistency: The templates help to create a consistent look and feel across all KEATS course pages, which can help to improve the overall user experience. 

How to use the KEATS Education Templates

You will find guidance on implementing the templates on the KEATS Education Template (KET) Guidance page.

The guidance includes step-by-step instructions for adding the template to your KEATS page and a checklist of tasks required to edit the page after applying the template.

The first page of the guidance (Overview) includes links to the importable templates, as well as example courses with the templates applied.

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. 

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.

Evaluation and Reflection, Pedagogy, Technologies

Introducing CMALT programme at King’s College – part 2

Sultan Wadud

This is Part 2 of Introducing CMALT programme at King’s College (Read part 1)

Resources and interactions
• We created a Moodle site to host all the information relating to CMALT accreditation and provided resource links, session recordings and presentations for colleagues to be able to refer to or catch up on anything they have missed.

KEATS page for CMALT programme

• In addition to the Moodle area we set up a Microsoft Teams site to allow us to send general announcements, plan for meetings and private areas for mentor groups:


Example of Teams announcement to Cohort 1:

Mentor support
• Whilst each meeting had an opportunity for colleagues to have shared contact time with their mentors, additional mentor support was provided on an ad hoc and individual basis. In Cohort 1, some colleagues utilised this consistently throughout the programme whilst a few left it to the end to seek help.
• 93% of Cohort 1 either strongly agreed or agreed their mentors facilitated appropriate discussion and reflection throughout the programme:

• 12 out of the 15 colleagues took the opportunity and connected with their mentors outside of the monthly Teams meetings.

Cohort 1 completion
• Overall, we had 14 submissions to ALT with one colleague deciding to re-join the programme with Cohort 3.
• We received feedback from all colleagues who took part in the programme, with the majority offering positive feedback. Nearly all colleagues fed back that the frequency (monthly meetings) and length of sessions (1h) of the sessions were just right.
The majority utilised the Moodle areas during their time on the programme.
• “Being a part of a cohort was great and enabled me to work collaboratively/share ideas with others on this project. However, starting very early on in the process without the pressure of fixed deadlines meant I probably took it too easy, so having deadlines for (formative) feedback in the 6 months run-up to our submission date would have been helpful”
• We took this feedback on board to introduce two draft deadlines for sections 1-2 by January and 2-3 by late March. In addition to this, we encouraged colleagues not to leave it to the end to seek help and have regular contact with mentors.
• Moodle discussion board – except for two posts in the Moodle discussion board we noticed majority of interactions were taking place in our Teams areas. For Cohort 2 we decided to remove the Moodle discussion board and replace it with one in the Teams area.

Cohort 2 and beyond
• In 2022 we expanded the programme for Cohort 2 to include all three pathways of CMALT which resulted in 22 signups (x18 CMALT, x3 Associate CMALT and x1 Senior CMALT).
• If funding is provided for a third cohort, we will offer the senior CMALT pathway as for Cohort 2 Senior CMALT was only available to the mentors.
• King’s has recently applied to do CMALT in-house accreditation which we hope will allow us to provide quicker assessment and feedback turnout.
• ALT requires CMALT holders to refresh their portfolios after three years of obtaining accreditation. This is something the planning team is anticipating offering to the first cohort in 2026.
• The long-term aspiration of the CMALT programme at King’s is for it to become self-seeding after the first few years. We have already had one Cohort 1 candidate who has become a Cohort 2 mentor, and, in future, we expect CMALT holders to move up the CMALT pathways once they gain more experience as well as come back to mentor and support the next generation.

Written by Sultan Wadud and David Reid Matthews

Wadud works as a Learning Technologist, Faculty Liaison at CTEL, working closely with Academic Faculties and Departments to support and drive the implementation of the King’s Technology Enhanced Learning ‘Transformation in Digital Learning’ strategy.
Wadud supports the management and delivery of multiple projects aimed at both the development of academics’ pedagogic understanding and the practice of technology enhanced learning.
Wadud is the product owner for Kaltura and one of the leads for the CMALT programme at King’s. In addition to this Wadud oversees the Digital Education Blog.

David is the TEL Manager for Arts & Humanities and joined King’s in 2018. He leads a team of learning technologists supporting a large and complex faculty, providing mainly 2nd line support, training and troubleshooting on our core, recognised and recommended TEL tools. David has worked in learning technology since 2011, having previously (and improbably) been a Lecturer in Theatre Studies. His particular interests are in legislation and policy around TEL, as well as IT Service Management and Delivery. David is one of the leads for the CMALT programme at King’s.

Climate Protest Banners by Klara Miran Ipek, synthesising climate litigation cases, they aim to bring legal messages to climate protests and engage the public in discussions about the role of courts in the climate crisis.
Pedagogy, Technologies

Using Moodle Assignment for a Creative Assessment in Climate Law

Sultan Wadud

I run a postgraduate module entitled Global Law of Climate Change that introduces students to the role of law in the climate crisis. A few years ago, I decided to innovate by introducing a new form of summative assessment. It initially consisted in writing a research essay, to which I added a new component – the creation of a digital artefact. I wanted students to be able to translate their arguments and findings into communications which could be understood by an external audience without specific knowledge of climate law. The format that this artefact can take is decided by the student: so far, artefacts have included videos, poems, drawings, posters, Twitter threads and TikTok posts. I see several pedagogical advantages to this assessment: it invites students to engage with different ways of using law, it gives them the possibility to develop their own voice and it helps them build a portfolio of work that they can share with employers and the wider community.

Twitter thread on transnational climate litigation by Tristan Gabriel Bohn
Twitter thread on transnational climate litigation by Tristan Gabriel Bohn

From a technological perspective, this assessment gives rise to two main challenges. First, the creation of a digital artefact requires that students have some minimal technological skills, in terms of, for instance, creating a poster by using PowerPoint or recording and potentially editing a video. This has so far not created a significant obstacles, primarily because students are free to choose a format with which they are familiar. In addition, students are reassured that they did not need to use or buy specific software and that their technical abilities are not assessed. I signpost them to links within KEATS and beyond where they can find technical guidance and training, if necessary.

Drawing: 'Breathing In Or Out' by Camila Vidal McDonald, a visual representation of carbon sinks and the risks that they might turn into carbon sources at any moment.
Drawing: ‘Breathing In Or Out’ by Camila Vidal McDonald, a visual representation of carbon sinks and the risks that they might turn into carbon sources at any moment.

Second, the dual submission of a Word-processed essay and a file which is sometimes large in size presents some difficulties when it comes to their submission. As an assessor I need these to be in the same place so I can easily cross-reference and mark them together. Our School Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) team identified Moodle Assignment in KEATS as the best submission tool: it incorporates a Turnitin similarity check on the essay and allows large files to be submitted. Since students are used to submitted to Turnitin submission areas, the TEL team created tailored step by step guidance, explaining how to upload different file types to Moodle Assignment.

The creation and submission of the digital artefact generally goes smoothly, as long as students follow the guidance and do not leave their uploads to the last minute! While some students encounter some problems, these can normally easily be solved.

The most common difficulties are related to the following:

Process of uploading media files:

Media files are generally large and usually exceed the 500MB upload limit on KEATS. When this assessment was first implemented a few years ago, students were advised to compress their files before uploading directly to KEATS. Since 2021/22 the TEL team advised that this process should be changed as uploading large media files directly to KEATS can negatively impact the site’s performance. Instead, the TEL team recommended that such files are uploaded to Kaltura (King’s media service) and then embedded into the assignment tool using the online text box. Turnitin will provide a similarly report for media items can cause concern and queries from students, so it’s good to include this in the student guidance.

Student submission to Moodle Assignment with media upload to Kaltura
Student submission to Moodle Assignment with media upload to Kaltura

Student error:

Despite providing step by step instructions some students still tried to upload their media file directly to KEATS. When they do this, students may receive a message saying their file is too large. This can cause students concern and increase emails to the team.

Editing submissions:

Assignments can be resubmitted as often as students wish before the deadline, which is convenient as they can test the tool well ahead of time. However, this only works in ‘draft mode’, and once they click the ‘submit assignment’ button they are not able to make any more changes. When students misunderstand this process, the supporting Programme team has to manually reopen their submission to allow them to resubmit. There is also the risk that they forget to hit the ‘submit’ button once their submission is ready!

Failure to upload:

Students who wait until the last minute to submit sometimes face difficulties uploading and end up emailing their final submissions either to the module leader or to the Programme team. This creates additional work for staff and clogs inboxes with heavy files.

Children's Story: 'How the Ants of Darebin Started a Movement to Change the World' by Joshua B. Weiss, a short story written for children to convey the complexity of global climate negotiations.
Children’s Story: ‘How the Ants of Darebin Started a Movement to Change the World’ by Joshua B. Weiss, a short story written for children to convey the complexity of global climate negotiations.

The submission of a digital artefact does can present some difficulties but these should normally be minimal if clear and informative guidance is given to the students. The importance of following the guidance should be highlighted to students, and it is important that the supporting Programme team are aware of the upload process so they can offer assistance if needed. For future submission areas, the TEL team has recommended that the Programme team restrict the file types in the submission area. This will mean students cannot upload large mp4 files directly to KEATS and should reduce queries from students regarding file size. While this new type of assessment was initially tested with a group of fifteen students, the number of students taking the class has now tripled, which increases the complexity of the task. However, with guidance and support throughout the semester, it usually goes smoothly. And seeing the creativity of our students fulfilling this assessment is very inspiring.

Useful Links:

On the pedagogical aspects of this new type of assessment, see my blog post on King’s Academy Assessment for Learning: https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/aflkings/2020/05/12/digital-artefacts-as-assessment-in-law/ 

The artefacts are currently being curated for a virtual exhibition, which is forthcoming: https://wordpress.er.kcl.ac.uk/climatelaw/

Guidance for students created by the TEL team: Using the Assignment Tool

Written by Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli 

Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at The Dickson Poon School of Law and the Deputy Director of its Climate Law and Governance Centre. Her scholarship covers the ambiguous role played by environmental principles, the global legal implications of the clean energy transition and the role of citizens’ assemblies in the making of climate law and policy. With the Contribution of Clare Thompson, Technology-Enhanced Learning Officer, Dickson Poon School of Law.