WebLearn upgraded to Version 2.10-ox9 on 26 January 2016

WebLearn was upgraded on 26th January 2016 to version 2.10-ox9. If you would like more details then please contact the Service Desk.

If you would like to suggest further improvements then please do so by contributing to the WebLearn User Voice feedback service.

Improvements

  • There is a new start-up / info page for Lessons tool
  • A ‘quick link’ to the Apereo Open Academic Environment has been added
  • A new web service to get a list “surveys awaiting completion” has been added
  • The “Insert original text” link in Forums now works correctly
  • A link to the new site is displayed when a site is duplicated
  • When an (external) user changes their email address they are also able to change their username
  • Web Content links are no longer duplicated when a site is created from a template
  • Researcher Training Tool (RTT)
    • The ‘Accept’ link in emails should now work correctly
    • 20 results per page are displayed during search
  • Improvements to the usability of the reading list tool (ORLiMS)
    • Reading Lists can now be copied within a site
    • A citation which is a link to a file in Resources is now automatically set to be “Electronic Citation”
    • One can now unselect “use this link as title”
    • Reading lists now have a fixed maximum width (so display better)
    • One can now export a Reading List in RIS format
  • The syllabus tool now shows dates beyond 2015
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ORLiMS – On-line Reading Lists Success Story

ORLiMS-Final-Final-Oxford-BlueThanks to Craig Finlay and Helen Worrell from the Bodleian Social Sciences Library for many of the words and figures in this post.

Developed by staff at the Bodleian SSL (Social Science Library) in collaboration with the WebLearn team, ORLiMS provides real time information on the location and availability of the material you need. Every item will be linked to the corresponding entry on SOLO, so you will be able to see:

  • The number of copies held in individual libraries
  • Whether they can be borrowed
  • Whether they are currently available
  • Whether they can be accessed electronically

If a resource can be accessed electronically, ORLiMS will provide a direct link. The aim is simple: you spend less time searching, more time studying.

 Usage Summary

There have been 1253 views of ORLiMS reading lists by 415 different student users from 16/10/15-29/01/16.

Our top user with 50 visits is an PPE undergrad!

Our busiest day so far was 18/01/16, when we had 55 visits by students.

Here is a graph showing access over a 3 month period. The spike in Michaelmas term was towards the end of our promotional drive following the launch. General trend early this term is on the up…

orlims access graph

Feedback

The Bodeian Social Sciences Library undertook an evaluation of ORLiMS at the start of 2016, the comments were generally very positive. Here’s what some staff members said:

Very good initiative … I think this is an excellent idea. Politics course leader

I have heard nothing but positive comments about the ORLiMS project from colleagues, and I believe that this will be a very significant improvement to our students’ experience here. Associate Professor of International Relations.

I think its a great resource and advance in terms of making the readings more accessible to students and tutors alike and especially for those who are working remotely. I would support its usage on a longer term and wider scale. Respondent 4454376551, Criminology.

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Catching up with WebLearn

Members of WISE pilot groups met up in December 2015 at a WISE Champions community event at IT Services. It was an opportunity for participants in the WISE project to  share ideas and see examples of newly designed WebLearn sites. The pictures below show the group meeting in a local coffee shop and also discussing a challenging psychological puzzle!

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Video

https://oxforduniversity.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=a97506de-6453-4f57-8221-9cb9574f2880

Included in the video:

  • Update on progress on the WISE project
  • Psychology: Xav describes the psychological theories behind designing webpages.
  • Spot the mistakes: Can you spot the mistakes or bad practice in this test WebLearn site by Xav and Steve?
  • Assignments – top tips
  • Assignments – peer review

Next event

Date for your diary: the next WISE Champions event is on February 18 2016. You can register interest at:

https://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/TOVW

PowerPoint slides

Slides at at https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/central/oucs/wise/wise_communi

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Do you use peer assessment?

The WebLearn team have released a new step-by-step guide to help staff who wish to use the “Peer assessment” option in the Assignments tool.

Benefits

  • Students can comment on and mark each others’ work.
  • Tutors can review the comments and revise marks if necessary.
  • The process is managed within the Assignments tool.

guide for using peer assessment in the Assignments tool

Using the Assignments tool

screenshot of peer assessment option in the Assignments tool
Selecting the Peer Assessment option
 
screenshot of staff view of student submissions
Tutor view of assignments submitted
 

Other options

There are other tools in WebLearn that can be used for peer assessment. Tutors can use forums as a basic way for students to post and comment on work. The Student pages feature in the Lessons tool allows students to set up their own page.

Note: this guide is part of a series of guides for staff and students. For more information see the WebLearn guidance site.
 
 
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WebLearn unavailable on Tuesday 26 Jan 2016 from 7-9am

We plan to upgrade WebLearn to version 10-ox9 on Tuesday 26 Jan 2016 7-9am. There will be no service during this period.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this essential work may cause.

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Writing for the Web video playlist

logo-lynda-whiteMany of you know that all Oxford University members have unlimited access to lynda.com, an on-line library of high-quality instructional videos on the latest software tools and skills.  To signup go to http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/lynda

With more than 3,700 courses taught by industry experts—and more added every week—lynda.com is designed for all levels of learners and is available whenever you’re ready to learn. You can even view it on your mobile device and offline.

 

Over 3,400 people around the University have already signed up and we’ve received some very positive feedback.

In response to your queries and suggestions, we are pleased to announce that IT Services has added a course to the ITLP catalogue entitled “Writing for the Web”: http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/LY010. We feel this this course would be very valuable for people who create content for use within WebLearn.

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WebLearn: ORLiMS Project Seminar – An overview of enhanced reading lists in WebLearn – 8 Feb 2pm IT Services

ORLiMS-Final-Final-Oxford-Blue

Where and when: Monday 8 February in IT Services, Banbury Road.

Book: http://courses.it.ox.ac.uk/detail/OWX

 

The WebLearn Team and the ORLiMS Project Team would like to invite you to this event to help us reflect on the achievements of the recent Reading Lists Improvement Innovation Project and share ideas for further development.

We will give an overview and evaluate the success of the project and will gather feedback on the current functionality of the tool and discuss further improvements that could be included in the proposed ORLiMS  Phase 2 Project.

This blog post about ORLiMS may be of interest to attendees.

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New TurnItIn URL

turnitinlogo Turnitin now has a new URL turnitinuk.com. the old URL will no longer work, however, all existing assignments are available via the new URL. This change took place on 1st January 2016.

WebLearn has been updated to use this new URL so if you access Turnitin via WebLearn’s Assignments tool then you do not need to do anything so this notice is really only for people who access Turnitin directly.

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WebLearn and Turnitin Courses Hilary Term 2016

A variety of taught courses are offered by IT Services to support the use of WebLearn and the plagiarism awareness software Turnitin. Course books for the formal courses (3-hour sessions) can be downloaded for self study. Places are limited and bookings are required.

Click on the links provided to book a place, or for further information. Bookings open 30 days in advance, but you can express an interest in a course and receive a reminder to book when booking opens.

WebLearn courses:

Plagiarism awareness courses (Turnitin):

Byte-sized lunch time sessions:

These focus on particular tools with plenty of time for questions and discussion

User Group meetings:

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Do you have an opinion on proposed changes to Sakai / WebLearn 11?

332px-Sakai_Logo.svg

The survey URL: https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/direct/eval-evaluation/12467 closes on 23rd Jan 2016.

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