Category: Pedagogy

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.

 

 

 

Pedagogy, Technologies

Echo360: New Features

Sultan Wadud

As the new academic year gets under way, we will be looking at some new features available in Echo360 which are now available to staff. Echo360 is one of King’s College’s core technologies (read more about our core technologies) and is used for Lecture Capture platform which is used to record live lectures.  
Echo360 can also be used to create video content on your desktop using your webcam and microphone and can also record your screen. For full guidance on using the features described here, please refer to the links at the bottom of this post. 

Browser Capture 

Until recently, the only way to create a desktop recording using Echo360 was to download and install Universal Capture to your computer. Browser Capture allows staff to create a desktop recording without the need for additional software, using their browser. Browser Capture allows you to record your screen, webcam video and audio.  

Echo360 browser capture

 

What are the Pros and Cons of Browser Capture?

The main advantage of using Browser Capture is that it doesn’t require installing additional software. Other pros include the ability to record just one application or window on your computer, or a specific browser tab, none of which are on option via Universal Capture. However, unlike Universal Capture, you cannot create recordings if you are offline, so you will need an active internet connection whilst recording.

Advanced Editing

Echo360 have introduced advanced editing options, including:

  • The ability to remove segments from your recording
  • The ability to insert other media in your recording
  • The ability to remove or add tracks from your recording

Removing Segments of a Recording

This new feature allows users to remove a segment of a recording, including one from the middle of a recording. This is useful if you have a break during your lecture, or if students undertake group discussion, which is not useful to have as part of your recording. Once you are in the video editor, you will see a new option to Split Clip via the play head menu.

Removing Segments of a Recording

Using this on both ends of the segment that you want to remove will allow you to delete it.

Insert Other Media in a Recording

It may be useful to insert other media into your recording, for instance if you want to record an introductory video for your lecture and have it be part of the recording, or if there are challenging parts of your lecture content that you want to expand on after it’s taken place. In the Echo360 video editor, click on Insert Clip as shown, you will then be prompted to add the clip via your Echo360 library.

Insert Other Media in a Recording

Remove or Add Tracks

A track is a particular element of your recording, such as the audio, a camera feed showing the Lecturer, or the screen recording. The ability to remove a track may be useful if the camera feed was part of your recording, but you later decide that you want to remove that element. You can remove a track by accessing the editor, clicking on the 3 dots next to the track you want to remove and clicking on Remove Track.

Remove or Add Tracks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Similarly, you can add tracks to your recording that will play alongside the existing tracks. To do this, access the editor, click on the Actions dropdown menu and select Add A Track. You will then be prompted to add the track from your Echo360 Library.

Add a track menu option

 

 

 

 

 

Note: You can only have a total of 3 tracks in one recording, so if you already have 3 then you won’t be able to add a new track until one is deleted.

Customising Video Thumbnails

A thumbnail is the preview image of your recording. You may choose to change this to something that better summarises the content of your recording. For instance, you can select a frame from your recording that shows a slide that shows a summary of what will be covered, or you can create an image to upload as your new thumbnail.

You can grab a new thumbnail from your recording by navigating to the part of the recording showing the slide/video that you want to use and selecting Set Thumbnail on the play head menu and following the remainder of the on-screen prompts.

Customising Video Thumbnails

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For full guidance on using this feature, including how to upload a thumbnail from your computer, please refer to the link below under further guidance.

Further Guidance

Please note following links are accessible only for King’s staff:

Written by Fariha Choi

Fariha Choi is a Learning Technologist in 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.

Pedagogy, Technologies

Applying the Digital Education Accessibility Baseline: An Academic’s perspective

Sultan Wadud

This recording by Dr. Manasi Nandi, Reader in Integrative Pharmacology, complements the blog post, Digital Education Accessibility Baseline: Raising our standards for digital accessibility. It focuses on how Manasi approached the implementation of the baseline, provides tips on where to start and how to overcome some of the challenges she encountered. The benefits of accessible KEATS courses and content are explained, and resources to support accessible design are signposted.

Please click on the image below to access the recording:

Applying the Digital Education Accessibility Baseline: An Academic’s perspective recording
Applying the Digital Education Accessibility Baseline: An Academic’s perspective – recording duration 13mins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Useful links:

HyFlex 3
Pedagogy

Part 2: Teaching in the HyFlex Classroom: Benefits and Challenges

Georgios Aretakis

This article has been divided in two parts. Part 1 explains what HyFlex is and which are the key points to consider before using it. Part 2 presents a wide range of teaching activities that can be used in a HyFlex classroom. Continue reading “Part 2: Teaching in the HyFlex Classroom: Benefits and Challenges” →

HyFlex1
Pedagogy

Part 1: Teaching in the HyFlex Classroom: Benefits and Challenges

Georgios Aretakis

This article has been divided in two parts. Part 1 explains what HyFlex is and which are the key points to consider before using it. Part 2 presents a wide range of teaching activities that can be used in a HyFlex classroom.

Continue reading “Part 1: Teaching in the HyFlex Classroom: Benefits and Challenges” →

Pedagogy

HyFlex physiology practicals during lockdown

Dwaine McLean

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for new flexible approaches to teaching and learning to ensure excellent student experience. One aspect of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in physiology, that has been most affected, is the delivery of practical classes and skills teaching. This experiential mode of teaching is invaluable in supporting the taught, theoretical component of Bioscience education.

HyFlex teaching environments allow a combination of in-person and remote delivery ensuring no student is disadvantaged in terms of learning experience if they are unable to attend taught classes in person. It also allows such teaching to be recorded for upload and later reviewed by students to support learning. There are limited HyFlex teaching high spaces available across the College which are currently restricted to classroom spaces. We believe that greater availability is required to facilitate practical and laboratory skills training.

Whilst we had already recorded high quality videos of all the practical classes for our MSc course, in preparation of online delivery we were aware that this mode of education works best with supplementing a hands-on experience. Therefore, we sought a way for the students to gain some experience in the essential laboratory skills needed for understanding of the key mechanisms underpinning our teaching as well as providing skills training in techniques they would require in later modules on the MSc and in their research project.

During semester 1 in the current academic year (October 2020), we successfully ran 8 HyFlex teaching sessions in our teaching laboratories in the Centre for Human Applied Physiology (Shepherds House, Guys Campus).

 

Figure 1 A) The Lab setup for a cardiovascular practical class showing camera, equipment, and screens. B) the class in action with a tutor demonstrating equipment and skills with live feed streaming over Teams.

We used commercially available low-cost portable equipment (owned by the authors) open-source software (Open Broadcast Software, OBS) to create a bespoke HyFlex teaching environment in one of our teaching labs following a full risk assessment.

As shown in Figure 2, i) two webcams (one for a wide-angle camera and one, mobile camera, for images of equipment and participants); ii) a radio microphone to ensure clear audio on both the recording and live stream and, iii) a PC laptop to run the software required for the experiment being undertaken and for video and audio mixing and broadcast were used.

 

Figure 2: Setup of equipment using standard office supplies, open-source software, and staff-owned equipment.

All the sessions were recorded and uploaded to KEATS for revision purposes.

This approach was used for our module 7BBLM004, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology, which forms a core part of the MSc in Human and Applied Physiology.

Due to social distancing and limits on room capacity we repeated each practical on 4 occasions during each day of teaching, with several students joining for both their in-person session as well as the remote HyFlex session at a different time point in the day.

The students were incredibly supportive and grateful for the opportunity to receive some practical teaching, particularly as some were unable to join the in person practical classes. Feedback from the students confirmed that the classes were beneficial and that the participants felt safe while on campus and in the classes (Figure 3).

Figure 3 – Feedback from students following the HyFlex practical sessions.

 

We believe this approach offered enhanced participation to on-campus activities by those students who cannot attend in person for courses and modules which have a significant laboratory practical component.

Written by Dr James Clark & Dr Ged Rafferty

Dr James ClarkDr James Clark is a Reader in Human & Applied Physiology and Education Lead for the School of Cardiovascular Medicine andSciences. He currently runs the Human & Applied Physiology MSc. James supports a blended approach to education in HE and has been the recipient of a King’s award for innovative teaching (2017) as well as the Physiological Society Otto Hutter Prize for Excellence in Physiology Education (2019).

 

Dr Ged RaffertyDr Ged Rafferty is a Reader in Human & Translational Physiology in the Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences He is currently the lead for 7BBLM004 Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology and will assume the lead for the MSc in Human & Applied Physiology in 2021-22.  Ged is an advocate for experiential learning and the benefits of practical teaching in human physiology.

 

 

HyFlex King's College
Pedagogy

ReFlexions on HyFlex

Georgios Aretakis

In 2020 we used HyFlex technology in our Research Skills in Pharmacology workshops to recreate the interactivity of class discussions. It allowed students in the classroom to interact with students thousands of miles away, but couldn’t fully recapture the dynamics of small group discussions with everyone in the same place. Continue reading “ReFlexions on HyFlex” →

Student Media Assignments 1
Pedagogy

Using student media assignments

Georgios Aretakis

In her chapter in the recently published book ‘Languages at work, competent multilinguals and the pedagogical challenges of COVID-19’, Cecilia Goria describes the positive response of staff to the enforced move to teaching online due to the pandemic. This phase was described as Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) – the quick unplanned response to the lockdown. Hodges et al. (2020) describe the speed with which this move to online instruction happened is ‘unprecedented’ and ‘staggering’.  Continue reading “Using student media assignments” →

Online Video Meeting 1
Pedagogy

What can we do when students prefer to keep their cameras off during online teaching?

kcl ctel

You might have probably noticed how students (even those who were known for being super-engaged in the classroom) tend to prefer keeping their webcam switched off during online teaching activities. This is likely to affect how we, as teachers, perceive and evaluate students’ engagement. Being able to see students’ faces and their behaviour while we teach, gives us a direct and constant feedback, and it is also likely to benefit online discussions. However, students might be reluctant to switch their cameras on, and there is no valid reason for forcing them to do so.   Continue reading “What can we do when students prefer to keep their cameras off during online teaching?” →