Open Badges Generator Update - Source Code

Following on from our previous post on the Open Badges Generator we have updated our system to include both badge creation and badge issuing components.

We have now written up a small guide to help anyone who would like to implement this elsewhere. The system we have built and documented is still in it's initial pilot/proof of concept phase so expect there to be some discrepancies in the source code.

Here is the link to the guide:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12qRhAc9rzUH7FXBW0J4NtLkY-8RoQVw-Z4yOk3mTJmA/edit?usp=sharing

And here is a link to the source code:
https://gist.github.com/thedavidmullett/54a5153f6298539ce05d

This documentation is provided on the basis that the viewer has some technical knowledge of Javascript Syntax, basic Google Apps Script and basic HTML/CSS knowledge.

Over the coming months we will be piloting the issuing of badges using this system for events here at UCS, such as the Annual Court, Teaching & learning Day and the Research Colloquium. These events will allow us to test out both the system and the processes behind issuing the badges from the initial team talk with the event host to the claiming of the badges from the attendees.

We are keen for recipients to participate towards the event in order to be eligible for a badge, not to simply turn up. So we are asking participants to fill in a form (Name, Email) including a small reflective piece (150 words max) maybe about a key message they took from the event or some feedback.

Currently we have a small list of developments we will be looking at for the next iteration of this system, these include but not limited to;

• Unique ID for each badge issued to allow for row deletion in DB.
• Option of Expiry Date for issued badges, this will help reinforce a potential 'renewal' process, for example, continuing digital literacies programme.
• A statistics component to record and show how many of each badge has been issued.

Finally, if you are a member of staff at UCS and would like to discuss how you could use Open Badges please contact us :)

PGCHEP Module 2: Smoothing out the assessment pattern and the role of formative feedback

I just thought I'd share with you that the Elevate Team ran a workshop on the PGCHEP Module 2 programme, on smoothing out the assessment pattern and the role of formative feedback. The workshop aimed to encourage participants to reflect on the assessment pattern within their modules (both summative and formative). We discussed the role of feedback for learning and how it differs from feedback of learning. The workshop discussed various learning technologies which might help you spread the assessment load (pattern), including the use objective testing, group tools (wiki) and peer assessment.

The sessions drew heavily from the "enhancing student learning through effective formative feedback" (http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/resources/database/id353_senlef_guide.pdf)

The session slides are available from:

• https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GW3_GMaBtbHXf67DvmWdvWFIK1aGO3wc0GAZCpqTL-A/edit?usp=sharing

 

 

Advanced Power Search - Google MOOC

Google is running another one of its MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course), this one is titled "Advanced Power Searching" and covers:

Register now to sharpen your research skills and strengthen your use of advanced Google search techniques to answer complex questions. Throughout this course you’ll also:

• Take your search strategies to a new level with sophisticated, independent search challenges.


• Join a community of Advanced Searchers working together to solve search challenges.


• Pose questions to Google search experts live in Hangouts and through a course forum.


• Receive an Advanced Power Searching certificate upon completion.

Not sure if you’re ready for Advanced Power Searching? Brush up on your search skills by visiting the Power Searching with Google course.

Advanced Power Searching with Google begins on January 23, 2013!

As you can see the course has already started, by its nature you can still register and participate.

Click here to register for the MOOC.

I participated in the previous "Power Searching" MOOC, and it is a real eye-opener to the huge amount of functionality in Google.

Learning technology heads up: What it can do for you

As part of the Elevate Team SARE we ran an online survey around how we can improve our services. A theme which came out of this survey was the need from staff for short (15 minutes) show and tells on different learning technologies and how they might be used within your (teaching) context.

The following is a number of short sessions we'll be running during November 2012 which will hopefully meet this need. If you have any questions or would like us to cover other topics, please email elevate@ucs.ac.uk

These are drop-ins, therefore, you do not need to book, simply turn up.

• Using the peer assessment tool in LearnUCS >>> 13th Nov at 11.10 to 11.25 in T308


• Using Clickers in your teaching >>> 13th Nov at 13.10 to 13.25 in T308


• Creating talk over powerpoint movies >>> 15th Nov at 11.10 to 11.25 in W209


• Changing the look of your LearnUCS module >>> 15th Nov at 15.10 to 15.25 in W417


• Getting started with the Quiz tool in LearnUCS >>> 20th Nov at 11.10 to 11.25 in T208


• Using iAnnotate and ExplainEverything (iPad Apps) to enhance Student Feedback >>> 20th Nov at 13.10 to 13.25 in T308


• Using the LearnUCS Wiki for Student Group Work >>> 20th Nov at 15.10 to 15.25 in T303


• What does Twitter offer your teaching? >>> 21st Nov at 15.10 to 15.25 in H106


• Bringing experts into your teaching using the GoTo Meeting Desktop Conference software >>> 22nd Nov at 11.10 to 11.25 in T308


• Using the peer assessment tool in LearnUCS >>> 22nd Nov at 13.10 to 13.25 in T308


• Using Clickers in your teaching >>> 22nd Nov at 15.10 to 15.25 in T308

UCS Learning Technologists are off developing software (5th to 9th Nov)

The question of the week is, where have the learning technologist gone? The answer is, they've gone on a software development sprint. So both David and Aaron will be working on achieving two key objectives over the week which should transfer across to learning, teaching and assessment at UCS.

The first is to finalise the location aware quiz engine (based around QR Code). This tool was developed last year as part of a previous software development sprint. We have had requests for a formative location aware quiz engine which students could access on their own devices. The aim of this sprint is to finalise the software, complete the documentation, so it can rolled out as a production service. The intention is to release this under a creative common style license to other institutions.

The second piece of work is to explore some new functionality which has been released within the Aurasma Augmented Reality software which we've been using for a while at UCS. This will allow augmented sequencing. This has great potential to enhance the level of interactivity within the augmented material. We are exploring the potential of being able to develop pathways through the learning material.

So, what happens with the support when they are out of the office? The answer is not much. The implication will be the level of phone support will be reduced as they'll not be at their desks. So, please email all questions to elevate@ucs.ac.uk where they'll be picked up at certain times of the day.

 

UCS Learning & Teaching Materials Repository

The latest development sprint from the Elevate Team was to look at OER (Open Educational Resources) Repositories.  A number of other institutions use OER Repositories to store learning & teaching materials, these repositories aim to have a user friendly web interface allowing other users to easily navigate and search for those materials.

Another driver for this development sprint was an encouraging chat with Chris Cobb, a Radiography lecturer within the School of Science, Technology and Health who was looking for somewhere to store his and his colleagues materials.  The Division of Health use Clinical Lecturers from Practice and finding ways for them to access additional materials was also key.

The development sprint took the specifications that were agreed and we set about building a repository.  We decided on using the Joomla content management system (CMS) as the base tool, this CMS allows for really fast agile developments, but also has a number of fantastic features.  On top of Joomla we used the Warp Framework for its tool set and feature rich theme development and the Zoo content application builder.

Using Joomla with the Warp frame work allows for a fully responsive system, meaning that the repository can be viewed on any size screen.  The responsive system will resize the content and move the columns under each others, so all are viewable.  This means that the look and feel of the repository is the same, whatever device you are using, previously you would need a "mobile theme", which potentially would look quite different.

Below are some examples of how the repository looks on different devices.

Screen Shot from a PC



Screen Shot from a Tablet (landscape)



Screen Shot from a Smart Phone (Portrait)



As you can see the responsive nature of the repository allows for the look and feel to have a consistency, which in turns allows the usability to stay the same.

We were very keen for the system to be very user friendly, both for the submitting of resources and for the searching and viewing.  We have made a number of routes for finding materials, again all these routes work from any device.  To find materials you can:

• Browse by Subject


• Browse by Alpha Index  (will display by Division Title, Subject Title, Material Title)


• Free Text Search


• By Highest Ranked Material


• By Tag Cloud


• By Comments

We believe this makes the repository very easy to find any available materials.

Below is an image showing the free text search in use on a tablet device.  As you can see the text search starts searching as you type.



Below is a view of the repository on a smart phone, you can see recent comments and the tag cloud, the larger the word in the cloud, the more materials have that keyword associated with it.  So, clicking on "nervous system" would display all materials that have a tag of "nervous system".



As mentioned above we wanted to make adding materials as easy as possible too.  We have added the specification as a templated web form, requiring the user to simply fill in the boxes to submit to the repository.  Again, due to the responsive system, this can be done from any device, even a smart phone.

There are two ways of adding materials, they can either be linked to, if the materials/resource is stored elsewhere, or any files can be added directly to the repository.

Below is the screen showing the start of the submission process:



Below is a screen shot showing the second part of the form, this shows at the top of the screen an area for the resource URI to be typed/pasted or even to be embed (Video etc.).  Below that is where a document/resource can be uploaded, a teaser image (file type) can be selected from the next drop down box and any keyword tags can then be added.   A simple submit button allows the user to submit this to the repository.

 



An email is then sent to the Elevate Team to notify that the submission has been made, this is then approved and is available in the repository.  It is also possible for user to comment on materials, something we hope will not be abused, also it is possible to rate materials, we will need to see how this progresses and revisit their effectiveness once the repository is being used more.

As a result of the sprint we have a working repository that we are now piloting with the Radiography Team, once we are all happy with the way the system works we will open it up to allow others to use.  All materials are being added using a Creative Commons license it will be interesting to see how other academic staff feel about making materials available via this type of license once we open the system to a wider audience.

We feel this is a very valuable tool and one we hope will grow quickly, the Elevate Team are all for being open and sharing resources, as we hope our academic friends will be.

If you have any questions, please email the Elevate Team (elevate@ucs.ac.uk)