T(4) Teaching and Technology Tips and Tricks

You asked…We answered! Your TLT team has created a new weekly email series – Teaching and Technology Tips and Tricks, or “T(4)” for short. These emails will provide tips and tricks for enhancing your teaching and technology use.

August 20, 2024: Introducing T(4) from TLT!

You asked…We answered! Your TLT team has created a new weekly email series – Teaching and Technology Tips and Tricks, or “T(4)” for short. These emails will provide tips and tricks for enhancing your teaching and technology use. Upcoming topics include using sandbox courses, D2L Brightspace updates, writing alternative text (alt text) for images, upcoming conferences, and more.

Our first tip? Check out the WSU Technology Knowledge Base! Use this site for quick guides on using D2L Brightspace, Zoom, Mediaspace, Microsoft 365, and much more. Encourage your students to use this site before going to Tech Support or the Digital Learning Commons.

August 27, 20204: Sandboxes Courses

Sandbox courses are course shells where you can play and get messy. A “sandbox” course (sometimes referred to as a "development" shell) can be used for a variety of purposes. To create your own sandbox, use the Request Help widget at the bottom of your Brightspace homepage.

Possible Purposes of Sandbox Courses

Prepare for an upcoming course
Collaborate with a colleague
Development of a non-credit course
Tenure and promotion submissions

Advantages of Sandbox Courses

Sandbox courses function like official courses. However, sandbox courses are never purged, are not associated with a specific semester, and do not contain student data. Instructors can copy components in and out of their sandbox courses. Colleagues can be added to facilitate collaboration.

September 3, 2024: D2L Brightspace Updates

As we begin the new semester, let us share what D2L Brightspace has been up to over the summer. In July, Aurea Osgood attended the annual D2L Fusion conference (in Toronto). The big announcement was the merger of D2L and H5P. The MinnState crowd is very excited. We will learn more about this excellent partnership soon.

This summer, D2L Brightspace also released20 some new features. The biggest of these is the Automatic Zero feature allowing a score of zero (0) to be automatically applied to unsubmitted student activities after the due date passes.

Applying the Automatic Zero feature eliminates the need for instructors to set missing or late submissions to zero manually. Additionally, students receive a more accurate view of their grade calculations for individual activities and the overall course. Supported submissions only include file and text-based assignments, quizzes, and LTI tools. These activities must have grade associations.

Automatic Zero applies to both individual and group assignments and respects any exemptions and release conditions set for an activity. Automatic Zero is triggered within one minute of the due date and is based on local time zones for both instructors and students. The feature follows the same rules as existing due dates.

The Automatic Zero setting appears in the Grades Settings; and can be toggled on in each course. When Automatic Zero is applied to a student’s activity, a zero (0) score with a dashed underline appears. Hovering over or focusing on the score displays a tooltip showing the system automatically applied it.

Another update is the Advanced Assessment Workflow which allows multiple evaluators to evaluate a single assignment submission. This may be useful for team-taught courses.

September 10, 2024: WeTeach and WeTeach Booster

TLT is pleased to offer both WeTeach and WeTeach Booster courses to all employees this fall. The next WeTeach and WeTeach Booster course will begin on Monday, September 30.

WeTeach is a 5-week course open to anyone interested in designing high-quality online learning experiences as part of a fully-online, hybrid, or mixed-format course. Topics in WeTeach include course design, student motivation and learning, interaction and engagement, academic integrity, grading, and accessibility.

WeTeach Booster is a 3-week course open to those who have completed WeTeach and want a refresher and more advanced conversations about pedagogy. Topics in the Booster include advanced interactions and RSI, inclusive pedagogy, AI, and quality assurance.

All participants receive a complimentary copy of Online Teaching at its Best: Merging Instructional Design with Teaching and Learning Research (Nilson & Goodson, 2021). Other options are available for those who already own this book.

September 17, 2024: D2L Brightspace Updates

D2L Brightspace is introducing a new quiz evaluation experience starting Thursday, September 19. This includes 3 major improvements.

First, this new evaluation experience mirrors assignments and discussions (student work on the left, overall feedback on the right). You can move between students seamlessly using the arrows in the top right corner, as you can with assignment and discussion grading. You can easily toggle between attempts (1). You can filter by “pending evaluation” and “retaken questions only” (2). On the left side of the screen, you can scroll through individual questions (3). On the right side, you can provide overall feedback – the attempt grade updates as individual questions are graded (4). Matching, multiple short answers, arithmetic, and significant figure questions are not supported in the new experience.

Second, written response questions will display a word count below the response.

Third, rubrics can now be attached to written response questions and used when grading an attempt. Rubrics can be added when creating the question. Students will be able to see the blank rubric while completing the quiz (if the rubric is set as visible when creating) and the completed rubric when viewing the quiz feedback.

This new experience is optional and can be turned on/off by individual instructors. However, we expect this option to be temporary and the new experience will be made permanent.

September 24, 2024: ReadSpeaker

ReadSpeaker is a text-to-speech (TTS) tool available in D2L Brightspace.

With ReadSpeaker, users can listen to content, discussion posts, quizzes, and assignments. ReadSpeaker offers a lifelike voice, more than 35 languages, the ability to slow down or speed up reading, and text magnifying. Students can also download audio files (.mp3) to listen to later.

Research shows that listening while reading improves comprehension and retention, as well as confidence and motivation for all students.

October 1, 2024: Accessibility Checker

Before you send, upload, or save…ensure your documents, files, and emails are accessible.

The Accessibility Checker is available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. From the Review tab, select Check Accessibility. In the Accessibility pane, review and address any issues. For details on errors, warnings, and tips, check out the support guide from Microsoft.

October 7, 2024: FERPA for Faculty

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student records. Prior to age 18, parents have rights pertaining to their child’s educational records. Once 18, individuals have rights to their records. Students have the right to review their records, to request a correction to records, and to consent to the disclosure of their records. Schools can only share educational records with written permission (with some exceptions). Parents cannot view educational records unless the student has waived this right. PSEO students are granted the same protections as regularly enrolled students.

For more information, visit the FERPA wiki page.

October 14, 2024: "Releasing" Final Grades

You may have noticed an icon that looks like an eye with a cross through it in the final grades column of the D2L Brightspace gradebook – this indicates that the final calculated grade is hidden from students.

If you want to make it visible to students, you can “release” it (this does not release the grade to the Registrar).

Go to the Grade Book in D2L Brightspace. Start in the Enter Grades view.
Select the down arrow to the left of the column header Final Grades and select Enter Grades from the dropdown menu.
Select the left uppermost checkbox on the left to select all students.
Select the Release/Unrelease from the Final Grades dropdown menu.
Select the Save and Close button to save and return to your grade book. You will now see an eyeball icon without a line through it next to the grade in either the Final Calculated Grade column or the Final Adjusted Grade column.

October 22, 2024: TLT Bookshelf

We know you are busy and cannot always find time to keep up with the newest book. Don’t worry! TLT staff have been busy reading all about teaching and technology. Check out our TLT Bookshelf website, quick summaries of each book, or stop by TLT to check out a book for yourself!

Barkley, Elizabeth F. & Major, Claire Howell. (2002). Engaged teaching: A handbook for college faculty. The K. Patricia Cross Academy.
Brown, Peter C., Roediger III, Henry L., & McDaniel, Mark A. Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Harvard University Press.
Clark, D. & Talbert, R. (2023). Grading for growth: A guide to alternative grading practices that promote authentic learning and student engagement in higher education. Routledge.
Davidson, C. N. & Katopodis, C. (2022). The new college classroom. Harvard.
Dweck, Carol. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.
Eaton, Robert, Hunsaker, Steven V., & Moon, Bonnie. (2023). Improving learning and mental health in the college classroom. West Virginia University Press.
Feldman, J. (2023). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms (2nd ed). Corwin.
Germano, William & Nicholls, Kit. (2020). Syllabus: The remarkable, unremarkable document that changes everything. Princeton University Press.
Hogan, Kelly A. & Sathy, Viji. (2022). Inclusive teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom. West Virginia University Press.
Lang, James M. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the Science of Learning. Jossey-Bass.
Mayer, Richard E. (2021). Multimedia learning (3^rd ed). Cambridge University Press.
Phelan, Jay and Burnham, Terry. (2022). The secret syllabus: A guide to the unwritten rules of college success. Princeton Press.
Tobin, T. J. & Behling, K. T. (2018). Reach everyone, teach everyone: Universal design for learning in higher education. West Virginia University Press.

If you’re interested in starting a ‘Book Club’ with one of these books, or another, TLT would be happy to support your efforts.

October 29, 2024: Previewing Student Grades

As an instructor, you can preview students’ grades with two easy clicks.

First, go to the Enter Grades view (Assessment -> Grades). Then, select the drop-down menu next to a student’s name. Select Preview. A new window will appear. This is what the student sees when they go to Grades.

November 5, 2024: Your Profile in D2L Brightspace

Users can add or update their profile photo and pronouns in D2L Brightspace easily.

To add or update a profile photo, click on your name in the top right corner of the window and select Profile. Click on Change Picture and locate a photo.

To add or update your pronouns, click on your name in the top right corner of the window and select Account Settings. Select the first checkbox to allow your pronouns to be shared, then the second radio button to type your pronouns. Save and Close at the bottom of the page.

November 12, 2024: Sharing Your Brightspace course

Do you want to share your D2L content with another faculty member? You can! There are two ways for you to do this.

Create a sandbox and copy your content into the new sandbox course, then add someone else to the course.
Request they be added to your active course as a “reviewer”. This new role gives someone access to the content, assignment and discussion prompts, and quiz questions, but not to any private student data.

November 19, 2024: Faculty Teaching Resources (FTR) site

We are introducing a new Faculty Teaching Resources (FTR) site!

The FTR site includes resources for teaching faculty and is available to all employees through D2L Brightspace’s self-registration (see below).

The FTR site includes:

WSU-specific resources, including links to common WSU resources (academic calendars, tech support, the TLT Zoom room, advising, IFO, and Curriculog)
D2L Brightspace resources, including video and text tutorials for faculty and students
Syllabus resources, including a sample syllabus template and sample syllabus statements (such as technology use in the classroom, mental health accommodations, and revisions to the syllabus)
General teaching resources, including information on topics such as assessment, classroom climate, group work, and growth mindset
Course evaluation resources, including example items and instructions on using D2L Brightspace surveys

You are welcome to use these resources as you need. If you have suggestions for additional resources, please contact TLT.

December 3, 2024: Getting Your Gradebook Ready

What to do about ungraded items (Figure 1.1)?

The Setup Wizard has two options for dealing with ungraded items.

The first option is to drop ungraded items from the final grade. This will change the denominator of the final grade.

The second option is to treat them as a 0 (zero).

Option 1 (drop):	Student A’s final grade is 425/425 = 100% = A
Option 2 (treat as 0):	Student A’s final grade is 425/500 = 85% = B

(Figure 1.1)

What impact do these options have on a student’s final grade?

Imagine you have 500 points in your course. Exam 1 is worth 75 points. Student A completes everything in your course at 100% except does not complete Exam 1.

What does the Automatic Zero mean?

The Automatic Zero feature allows a score of zero (0) to be automatically applied to unsubmitted student activities after the due date passes. Applying the Automatic Zero feature eliminates the need for instructors to set missing or late submissions to zero manually. Additionally, students receive a more accurate view of their grade calculations for individual activities and for the overall course.

Supported submissions only include file and text-based assignments, quizzes, and LTI tools. These activities must have grade associations.

Automatic Zero applies to both individual and group assignments and respects any exemptions and release conditions set for an activity. Automatic Zero is triggered within one minute of the due date and is based on local time zones for both instructors and students. The feature follows the same rules as existing due dates.

The Automatic Zero setting appears in the Grades Settings; and can be toggled on in each course.

When Automatic Zero is applied to a student’s activity, a zero (0) score with a dashed underline appears. Hovering over or focusing on the score displays a tooltip showing it was automatically applied by the system.

Do you have grades that are excluded from the final grade calculation?

Some grade items from external tools (such as textbooks) may come in as “excluded from final grade calculation”. Excluded grade items are indicated with an exclamation point icon in the Manage Grades menu of D2L Brightspace. This designation can be removed by editing the grade item and unchecking the appropriate box.

Do you have an idea for a tip or trick? Send it to TLT!

For more information, contact TLT by email (tlt@winona.edu), Zoom, phone (457-5240, option 3), or in person (Maxwell and Library).