Documentation:Learning Environment/OLFM Workshop Feedback/OLFM Workshop Comments

Comments, Suggestions and Concerns

OLFM Notification:

Comments:

• Good idea*This is important*Awesome*So Useful*Very Important*This is vital* I would love this as I work from the feed. Yeah!! :) * Yes, very important* It is important to me. Yes, I like this* Good idea *Good Idea * Assignment notification would be important * Very important...I don't like navigating out of email and then logging into LMS* I like being able to access via link* Very handy. I currently find it difficult to set to all assignments/blogs/discussions/quizzes* Good*

Concerns:

• It is easy to see assignments in Blackboard Learn. Don't know why we need to be advised multiple times. This is duplicating work and overloading other email systems.
• Outlook? Having fewer email in boxes should be a goal.
• Can this please go to course messages and NOT to outlook?

Suggestions:

• Prefer the notifications be on a landing page, similar to what the last version of WebCT provided.
• Need to also include new discussion postings
• Must be able to turn it off
• Can this be set up so that students cannot submit form their personal email?
• Need to be able to set up which quizzes I get notified about.
• Course message notification is needed
• Should provide course name in the email (example in deck does not show this)
• Should be able to turn it off for each assignment
• Include dates for paced courses

Grading Centre:

Comments:

• Streamline process so assignments are marked quickly. We are paid a fixed $,taking longer to mark an assignment is NOT ACCEPTABLE
• Flexibility is good
• Anything that highlights showing assignments and messages is Good...comments within document never seems to work well...functionality cannot be undone.

Concerns:

• Would this replace emails received from OL Registration system?
• What type of files?
• There is difficulty when students use different software and types of documents

Suggestions

• need to be able to embed feedback right in the paper-highlights and different colour ink. Save time form having to download
• Need official mark
• One page for all feedback given would be handy
• Allow ability to send back assignments for further work and allow multiple submissions easily.
• Allow re-submissions and grade changes
• Ability for iterative multiple submission for an assignment
• Need to be able to resubmit and make grade changes
• Ability to resubmit but keep original copy
• Include a method for submitting material missing with first submission
• sometimes students miss sending in some material on initial submission. Have an easy wasy for them to do followup submission on same assignment
• allow re-submission
• In order for me do to this grade centre would need to be modified so I could simply enter a grade without the submit function
• Re-submission/change grades
• Allow OLFMs to change marks

Click to Grade from Homepage

Comments:

• Good*Much easier than the one used now

Concerns:

• n/a

Suggestions:

• I like to mark the same assignments for the multiple students, currently Blackboard Learn allows me to order the assignments, can this functionality still exist in new system.

Marking Online

Comments:

• Options are great

Concerns:

• n/a

Suggestions

• Currently system bumps you out after 20 minutes. If you are typing when the warning box comes up you lose everything
• When marking online, students don't always access all the feedback. It is not intuitive. Need in-document feedback too
• Stylus?
• Ability to annotate the pdf on the screen directly
• Stylus idea :)

Marking Offline

Comments:

• Especially important in Math and Physics courses because then we can point things out "draw" on their work etc *Offline marking important * I download all essays and use MS Word and track changes *important *marking offline for large assignments of 30+ pages

Concerns:

• NO

Suggestions

• Would like to use feedback functions when marking offline.
• Would like to use the edit function in word to put comments in edit bubbles can we make this feature available for feedback
• Ensure we still have the attached document
• For COMP courses we need zip, java, vb etc. Java and vb need to load into IDE and test run as part of marking
• have to be able to upload assignments that have been marked offline

Marking using Rubrics

Comments:

• I mark off here 95% of the time*Yes important*Excellent! "Use to Mark" feature activated please*Excellent idea*Good Plan*Having Rubic online would useful*Online Rubric*Rubric and assignment instructions

Concerns:

• n/a

Suggestions"

• Is it possible to mark assignments offline and use the rubric from Blackboard Learn?

Entering Feedback

Comments:

• Excellent idea *

Concerns:

• Review in work is much more flexible

Suggestions:

• Voice activated comments would be so helpful
• Need lots of space for feedback. It is essential for success in the courses I teach
• Spell Checker
• Ensure you can go back and update, change, and or delete when a mistake is made
• Need to be able to use offline
• Stylus
• Voice Activated feedback to be inserted in type form into document
• Voice recognition software
• Stylus
• Would like ability to mark with stylus on tablet or touch screen
• Voice comments as feedback
• Must be able to upload 4-5 pages of feedback
• Audio Assignment feedback
• Feedback allows both voice and text

Feedback Bank

Comments:

• I like the idea of the feedback repository * Very good idea* IMPORTANT*I like this*good idea* bank of comments sounds helpful*Feedback bank would be good*Important especially if marking is online*that would be so useful*I currently keep this as email drafts*awesome*I love this*love this feature*excellent idea

Concerns:

• Helpful but concerned that this is becoming too technocratic
• How much feedback will it hold?

Suggestions:

• Upload offline feedback (MS word files)
• Need to create a system for specific needs in some courses. Changing the regular system to fit the course
• Have phrases that can be added ahead of time to be used for any student
• Create course specific bank per instructor/course that can be used by faculty in future courses

Previous Feedback

Comments:

• Excellent idea*this would be very useful*I like the access to previous feedback*looks great. Yes, really helpful* Helpful when students repeat mistakes. Either because they have ignored or misunderstood previous feedback*feedback should build from assignment or discussion to the next*already in Blackboard Learn*Great to ensure feedback to same student is different over time*Great idea*yes, please*This would be great*Good Feature to look back at previous assignments and feedback*

Concerns:

• n/a

Suggestions:

• I mark offline but would like to be able to copy some feedback into online resource
• Definitely keep the portal available for submission of works

One Place to Enter Marks

Comments:

• Grade to go into Banner would be GREAT!* Would definitely save time* thank you!* YES* yes* This would save time* great time saver*YES VERY IMPORTANT*This is great *would be nice not to have to input*good *portal only one entry..YES* this would be nice *YEAH!!!!!! :) Please make it happen!!!* simple is better*good important feature *YES!!!* Yes *saves time, increases accuracy, decreases entry errors*time saving if marks go directly in myTRU *yes *very important *the opportunity to only enter the grade once is of significant appeal *oh please please please *yes! Please! Soon! *yes *would be awesome *yes *please /very valuable *Yes! One system would great*yes, assuming this is reliable*YES!!!

Concerns:

• Okay but not necessary
• Putting grades into banner myself is the last of my issues…not vitally important
• as long as it paid properly or automated
• must be reliable

Suggestions:

• n/a

Student Analytics

Comments:

• This may be helpful*this is helpful*all courses in one location...Hurray*

Save/Send Communication: like this, time saving*good option, saves time*important

Concerns:

• low priority
• not useful
• Don't let students send from their own personal email

Suggestions:

• breakdown of students by course would help
• start and end dates
• Average time it takes to grade assignment (example: your average marking time is 3.4 days)
• Need notification of course message In Box
• Would like to know which students have signed up for exams and when they are scheduled to write
• Communication: Want to know that student has read message. Often you hear nothing back

Integrated Communication

Comments:

• . My biggest concern is how difficult it is to contact students. The current system has students and faculty toggling between personal email, mytru email, and Blackboard Learn. It is so challenging to contact students directly and reliably

Concerns:

• not urgent - I have 150+ students
• current Blackboard Learn with "send only" is very confusing to students - they expect to read my reply in Blackboard Learn

Suggestions:

• For paced cohort courses, discussion forums are a core part of the experience. I would have liked to have seen something about that.
• Keep Communication right in the course where everything else course related lies
• learning environment but have the option of email pop ups notifying you that there is a communication from the student
• I only communicate via "course message" for email (not outlook email) old blackboard let me save correspondence by student name I can no longer do this…Please give this back

Track Student Contacts

Comments:

• this is better, to separate from the tru email*May be easier for student but I use both methods at present*Important to keep everything about he course in one place like the older version of Blackboard*yes*yes!*I like this option as long as other options are possible*sufficient*Best not to mix student courses*Communication to normal emails most of the time are trivial*okay if students chatting back and forth as I can monitor the conversation

Concerns:

• n/a

Suggestions:

• By student by time since last contact or submission
• Send notifications of communication and assignment activity to outlook

Turn off Communications in LMS

Comments:

• Like Option B*Yes I would like this*This is great.*There are too many places to find communication from student it is all sent to one place is great*the ability to do this would be nice but not to make it necessary*like this for when I need to communication with a student or small group of students*yes*I always use outlook and feedback via word*yes*yes

Concerns:

• Is this possible?
• Email!!! Currently respond/communicate to students in 3 ways: 1) reply to emails in outlook 2) send emails (welcome letter) in Black Board 3) Send emails from my TRU - Communication.copies may all be sent to outlook but not easily tied to student also I canst see the student email if i had this I would always use outlook
• Do not turn off communication
• How would students communicate with each other
• Students want to use their regular email to stay in touch, not a good success rate with internal communication. Only use email
• Disadvantage when teaching several classes. The students get all jumbled in your inbox
• no
• clutters my outlook mail
• I would never use - individual messages essential

Suggestions:

• Get so many emails everyday as along as we can have a sub/outlook
• link email to tru.ca and sent optional email
• turn off the chat function

Other Option

Comments: Concerns: Suggestions:

• Need to archive course messages, Need to notify if we have mail and save under each student name
• Send group specific messages to students
• I like getting notifications but is it possible to make emails from @tru.ca go to internal course communication instead of going to student email. I want to respond asap but not always feasible to log into BL.
• Option for either
• I want all notifications sent to me via email I know not everyone wants this so the ability to turn this function on/off is important. *Is there a way we could activate a video conference feature to be able to have an in program platform? I like Skype but not all students have Skype
• It would be nice to have a button in a group discussion that the students can flag and notify the professor to take a look at a conversation.
• Using student activity an automatic email to student based on progress (like John O'Brien's communication tool)
• Old Blackboard let you choose between internal email and email forward to outlook. Good to let faculty choose these preference
• Outlook only for continuous enrollment
• Send all messages to both TRU and personal email
• Option of either a or b
• both send messages from learning environment to outlook too
• integration tool with one inbox and one outbox
• I communicate by email but the comments also exist in the portal for further reference…keep both places
• Institute communications separate page
• Blackboard Learn has made my job much more difficult and time consuming I would keep University and student communication separate

Content Display

Comments:

• Very important* sounds useful*modern streamlined look would be welcome*Mobile is essential*Mobile is important*Easy navigation is important*Different content presentation is important.*Students want to access their course materials on their mobile

Concerns:

• This platform needs to be accessible on all devices. BBL does not display well on many devices and operating systems

Suggestions:

• Need to be able to add links and material in course on the fly
• Put assignment submission links inside the relevant module
• Audio and video see Khan academy as an example
• Show people where to start and whats next in a video
• Easier way to navigate not having to go back a long path…I find in the current Blackboard Learn, there is a lot of clicking to get to places, especially how the content is organized for students.
• I can access Blackboard collaborate for my course through a mobile app but it only allows me to access as a participant with elevated privileges. I want to be able to moderate from a mobile app
• Each module should have links to the readings, extra resources, quizzes, discussion board for that week etc…don’t make students open up and search for these things in the way Blackboard currently does
• Android
• Add "fun" ways to interact (vote on ides, miles, thumbs up in discussion board, discussion boards on mobile phones
• Tools that let us do fun polls like voting on an idea**there is not enough fun built into the environment
• third party tools such as videos to be embedded in our courses

Student Success Tools

Comments:

• I like this*this is interesting would like to know more*I like the idea of motivators/reminders text messages encouragement to keep the students moving*nice* Study Groups/Share Resources - I'm not sure how useful this is for continuous intake- but will have usability for cohort program.

Concerns:

• very much visual and like the Kahn academy…try not to have too many things on one page it becomes cluttered
• NOT NECESSARY …GRADES ARE ENOUGH
• I question the "badges" term… It seems juvenile. Are we giving out browning badges or boy scout badges?!?!
• I would like to implement badges but Moodle badges have some issues
• Study Groups/Share Resources - hopefully for resources not assignments or test

'Suggestions:

• Tools for instructors to post random resources (sandbox) outside of announcements. A Repository of resources related to the course topic
• Have a Lynda.com or a digital resource list for student for course content or supporting content
• Discussion forum that facilitates continuous registration students unable to access a module discussion til last module is done. Once completed, students can't return to protect integrity of assignments
• Embeddable content (youtube, poll daddy etc)
• like buttons to allow non verbal feedback

General Feedback

Comments:

• homepage…very good addition
• OLFM homepage is an improvement from existing home page
• Thanks, I like the process you are using :) Good Luck!!
• OLFM Homepage This is a great idea Having all courses I teach on the same page
• OLFM homepage looks great
• Home page saves steps
• my honest opinion: our online educational resources are about 10 times too complicated. Please strive for simplicity
• Blackboard Learn has not been a success from my viewpoint. Anything else would be an improvement

Concerns:

• need face to face training for this
• Instructions for groups
• I have student not computer literate and still submit assignments through mail
• I do not do any of these processes so have no input
• I teach Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning which runs in WordPress so not sure I will using this system

Suggestions:

• Develop an orientation video- videos for students new to learning online
• Learning Environment Renewal Literature
• use of e-learning textbooks available in the classroom
• electronic signature
• Ability to edit the welcome letter on the black board
• Update all due dates simultaneously for a new cohort in paced courses
• Crate a platform and keep it adjust and build on it no change to another
• Really simple system for some and more bells an whistles for others
• Ability to copy standard posts to new course each term. Stickied posts
• Blackboard is so complicated for students will this replace it? YES