Online Classroom Tools
The below resources give further information on the new (and not so new!) educational technology tools available for you to use in your modules. Click the links below to find out more.
- Announcements Tool in Brightspace
- Email Tool in Brightspace
- Automating Communications in Brightspace
- Replace Strings
- Discussion Board Tool in Brightspace
- Poll Everywhere
- Polls in Collaborate Ultra
- Polls in Zoom
- Assignment Tool in Brightspace
- Urkund – Originality Checker
- Quiz Tool in Brightspace
- College of Business – Guidelines for Remote Assessment
- Peer Assessment
- Student Presentations Online
- The Creator Suite
- Blackboard Ally (new page)
College of Business – Module Design for Online / Blended
For anyone who has not already enrolled to our self-paced module, Module Design for Online / Blended, then we invite you to register by using this link.
Enrolment Link: Module Design for Online / Blended
Announcements Tool
Use the announcements tool in your module to communicate updates to students. Announcements are displayed in the announcements widget on the landing page of the module, or by navigating to Module Tools > Announcements. It is a good idea to use announcements for regular module updates.
Check out the guide to using the Announcements tool in Brightspace.
Email Tool in Brightspace
You can send an email directly to the students registered to your module but using the Email tool in Brightspace, available via the Classlist. Students will receive the email with you as the sender. It is a good idea to use the Email tool in Brightspace for important or urgent module updates, such as assessment information, class cancellations / reschedules etc.
Check out the guide to using Email in Brightspace
Automating Communications in Brightspace
With Brightspace it is possible to automate communications to students based on certain criteria. To do this you use the Intelligent Agents tool.
Intelligent Agents can be used for many different reasons:
- Automate a welcome note to the class.
- Notify students that are falling behind in their work.
- Remind students about upcoming deadlines.
- To give instant feedback on quiz scores.
Take a look at our best practice guide to find more about using Intelligent Agents.
Using Intelligent Agents in Brightspace
Replace Strings
Replace strings are a great way to personalise module content for students. Replace strings allow you use identifiers such as the student’s name in module content areas and in communications tools such as discussion boards and announcements.
Take a look at this guide from TU Delft on using replace strings in modules.
Using Replace Strings in Brightspace – Guide from TU Delft
Discussion Board Tool
When properly planned and facilitated, discussion boards provide an excellent way to maintain engagement in an online module. There are a number of best practice suggestions to consider when running a discussion forum.
- Begin the discussion with a clear outline of what is expected of the students.
- Give specific details of what the students should be posting, the quantity of those posts and how frequently they should be contributing to the discussion.
- A typical discussion instructions will state that a student should create a unique thread in the discussion answering the question posed by the lecturer, then they should respond to at least one other student’s post.
- It is recommended that the discussion is open for long enough for a substantial dialogue to occur. Two weeks is recommended as a good duration for the discussion to mature.
- It is important for you to be present in the discussions also so plan to respond to student posts and be clear in how often you will be contributing to the discussion.
- If you are grading the discussions be clear as to what marks will be awarding for contributing to the discussion.
Check out this guide to using discussion boards in Brightspace.
Whole-Class Discussions
The below video shows how to set up a discussion forum and topic which is released to the entire class.
Group Discussions
The below video shows how to set up a discussion forum and topic to specific groups in the module
Poll Everywhere
Polling tools are great mechanisms for fostering engagement in the online classroom. All UCD staff now have access to a Poll Everywhere account. Poll Everywhere is a comprehensive polling tool that you can use to create various different questions that can be posed to students in class or in the module.
For more information including how to access your Poll Everywhere account refer to this information from UCD IT services.
Polls in Collaborate Ultra
Collaborate Ultra has a basic polling tool that you can use to pose yes / no questions to students during a class. As the polling tool is limited, we recommend that you consider using Poll Every where in conjunction with Collaborate Ultra for more sophisticated or detailed polling.
For more information on using polls in Collaborate Ultra refer to this guide Collaborate Ultra Polling
Polls in Zoom
Zoom has an in built polling tool which allows you to ask students single answer or multiple answer questions. There a number of pre-requisites for using polls in Zoom. Polls must be created in advance and enabled for use in your account settings.
For more information on using polls in Zoom refer to this guide Polling in Zoom
Assignment Tools in Brightspace
Brightspace facilitates the collection of assignments for continuos assessment or timed assignment upload (in lieu of exam) by using the assignment upload tool. Assignments can be created for individuals or groups. Take a look at our best practice guide in the creation of assignments on Brightspace.
Urkund – Originality Checker
In order to check citation and plagiarism in assignments upload to Brightspace, you should use the originality detection tool, Urkund. Details on how to use Urkund in the module are available via the link below.
Quiz Tool in Brightspace
The Quiz tool in Brightspace allows for the creation of question banks and the deployment of tests to students in your module. Tests can be timed and several measures put in place to ensure the integrity of the online test.
Take a look at the following best practice guides for more information:
College of Business – Guidelines for Remote Assessment
The Teaching and Learning Committee of the College of Business ratified a series of guidelines to help you maintain the integrity of your assessment in the remote teaching environment.
College of Business – Remote Assessment Guidelines
Peer Assessment
UCD is currently trialling PeerScholar as a potential solution for individual and group peer assessment. peerScholar has a strong research basis being developed by faculty from the University of Toronto. It includes both individual and group peer feedback, as well as team member evaluations. If you are interested in taking part in the pilot,
Visit this page to learn more: PeerScholar
Student Presentations – Recording Group Presentations
Since the change to the recording function on Google Meets, we are working to devise a new suggestion when requesting students to record group presentations. Zoom can be used as a tool for students, whereby, they would work together on a zoom session, and record their presentations this way. Recorded presentations can be either shared directly with lecturers (from their cloud accounts) or files downloaded & uploaded to Brightspace.
A more robust solution will be devised in due course.
The Creator Suite
The Creator Suite in the UCD Moore Centre for Business houses various spaces and tools that lecturers can use to record content and deliver live classes. If you are interested in having a tour of these spaces and booking rooms for online class delivery or recording content.
Please contact us: business.eLearning@ucd.ie
For an overview of the resources in the Creator Suite, please visit this link: UCD Moore Centre – Creator Suite
