Andy Bright

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Auto-Captioning in Collaborate

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Collaborate Virtual Classroom now offers options for providing captions on recordings, offering far greater accessibility for hearing-impaired students.

How to Create auto-captions

Collaborate is leveraging AI powered speech to text recognition to generate a transcription of what is said during the session. While automated captioning can’t match captions created by humans, it is an easy solution to start with.

The speech to text service and the resulting captions are hosted in the same data center as your Collaborate session.

Use the Auto-generate captions to have captions created for you, as the session owner:

  1. From Collaborate scheduler, select Recordings and find the recording you want.
  2. Select the Recording options menu and select Recording settings.
  3. Select Enable captions, if not already on.
  4. Select Create auto-caption and Save.

It may take time for the auto-captions to generate. You can leave the screen and come back later to view and share them.

Collaborate virtual classroom settings menu

After the captions are created, you’ll see that captions are available from the recording list. The captions will also immediately appear in the recording player for anybody having access to the recording.

Moderators can review the captions. If you want to improve or correct anything in the captions, download the caption file to edit. Upload the new file when you are done.

If you have any queries, please contact the Technology Enahnced Learning Unit at tel@worc.ac.uk

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What to do with your recordings in Blackboard

Leave a Comment / Blackboard, Collaborate, Panopto /

As you are probably aware by now, video files should not be simply uploaded to Blackboard. The files are far too large and will rapidly use up your module\’s data quota. Instead, videos should be uploaded to Panopto.

However, some staff have enquired about managing their Collaborate recordings, which raises a number of questions – how to link to them, whether to upload to Panopto – so we thought it would be a good idea to explore this.

Data Storage

Let’s start by looking at the way the systems manage storage.

Blackboard

Every Blackboard module has a default data quota of 1000MB. Where there is a genuine need, this can be extended, but the data quota of the entire University needs to be carefully managed, as exceeding this has a significant financial implication. Removing videos is an easy way to bring this down. Remember that any resource you delete from a module must also be deleted in the files area in order to impact on the data quota.

Collaborate

Collaborate videos are stored outside of the module on which they were recorded, so do not impact on the data quota. However, there is an overall data quota for Collaborate that also needs careful management. As a result, we are required to archive older videos, having recently deleted all videos recorded prior to January 2021.

Panopto

There is currently no data quota for Panopto storage as we are charged by the number of views. However, this is likely to change in the future as Panopto moves to a charging by storage model.

Should you move Collaborate recordings to Panopto?

Given that Collaborate recordings eventually need to be archived, some staff have asked whether it would be better to move all Collaborate recordings to Panopto as a matter of course. This is probably not necessary but there may be instances when it would be a good idea:

  • Will the recording be required for a long time? If students will need to access the video for longer than a year, then it might be a good idea to download the files and upload to Panopto.
  • Will the recording need to be deployed on future modules? Some resources may be of use to students on future modules, in which case a move to Panopto may be a good idea so that resources can be shared between modules.
  • Does the video need captioning? One drawback of Collaborate is that it does not provide closed captions, which may be required for accessibility. If you have students on your course who need closed captions, then uploading videos to Panopto may be a good idea, as Panopto does have excellent captioning options.

Bear in mind that uploading videos wholesale to Panopto is a significant undertaking for you as the course tutor, so you should weigh up these issues before you decide what will work best for you and your students.

Also consider that, although there is currently no data quota on Panopto, this is likely to be introduced in the future, so we as an institution will also need to manage Panopto usage. Therefore it’s probably a good idea to only upload resources to Panopto where you think it is really necessary.

If you have any queries feel free to get in touch at tel@worc.ac.uk

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TEL Workshops – Spring 2022

Leave a Comment / Blackboard, Camtasia, Panopto, Training /

Spring is just around the corner, and it\’s the ideal time to dust off the old grey matter and refresh your TEL skills!

This semester, we at the TEL team are offering our usual range of workshops as detailed below, which you can sign up to via the staff development booking system.

Also look out for our new short course on blended learning which will empower teaching staff to plan and implement high quality blended learning using the range of software and tools available from the University.

Date Workshop Time
15/02/2022 Blackboard made simple 10:15 – 11:30
22/02/2022 Collaborate Virtual Classroom 10:15 – 11:30
28/02/2022 Vevox Polling Software 10:15 – 11:30
02/03/2022 Tests and Surveys 10:15 – 11:45
08/03/2022 Camtasia 10:15 – 11:45
09/03/2022 Assessing Presentations Online 10:15 – 11:30
11/03/2022 Accessibility and Ally 10:15 – 11:30
15/03/2022 Introduction to Panopto 10:15 – 11:30
TBC Implementing Blended Learning TBC

All workshops will be delivered via Collaborate, and a link will be emailed to attendees before the session.

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Scheduled Maintenance 8th January

Leave a Comment / Panopto, Turnitin /

Please be aware that two of our suppliers have scheduled downtime for updates early in the new year.

  • Panopto will be down on 8/1/22 from 10pm for 4 hours
  • Turnitin will be down on 8/1/22 from 0.00 to 8.00

Both systems will be unavailable during this time. If this will impact on your students, for example for assignment submission, we recommend that you send an announcement to make them aware.

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Hiding Turnitin Assignments in the Grade Centre

Leave a Comment / Turnitin /

A reminder that, following the changes to Turnitin in September 2020, it is possible for students to access their grades and feedback prior to the feedback release date via the Grades section if the assignment column is not hidden in the grade centre.

This is a simple step that just needs to be completed as part of the assignment setup process. If you did not do this at the time you set up the submission point, make sure that it is hidden before you start marking in order to prevent feedback being accessed prematurely.

See the \’Post Setup Actions\’ section of our Turnitin Guidance for instructions.

 

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Removal of older collaborate videos

Leave a Comment / Blackboard, Collaborate, Panopto /

To all Collaborate users

Collaborate has been used extensively again this semester with 2377 recordings being made since 1st September to date totalling over 544 hours of recording.  Because Collaborate is a live interactive tool, many recordings don’t ever get played back, but the most played back recording this semester was in the School of Sport and Exercise Science with a huge 286 playbacks.

\"Collaborate

We now need to review our storage of Collaborate recordings as we are once again approaching the limit included in our licence. We are therefore proposing to remove any recordings made before 1st January 2021. At the height of the pandemic in Semester 1 last Year a huge 10,245 recordings were made and, as most of these are now over a year old, it is necessary to remove these from the system to make room for new recordings.

If you have any recordings you would like to keep please download them from your Collaborate area by 18th December and upload them to Panopto where they will have the added benefit of being automatically captioned. Please see our step-by-step guidance on how to do this. Any recordings made prior to 1st January 2021 will be removed from the system on 3rd January 2021. If you have questions or concerns about this, please contact tel@worc.ac.uk.

We also have some suggestions for best practice to help make the best use of Collaborate:

  • Only record sessions which will need to be accessed again.
  • When recording a long session, stop the recording during breaks or activities offline or in breakout groups.
  • If running a session with little or no interactivity consider using the Panopto webcast feature.
  • Delete any old recordings which are no longer required (statistics show that the vast majority of recordings are only accessed within 30 days of the original event)

 

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Finding and Sharing your Panopto Resources

Leave a Comment / Panopto, Video /

Panopto is the University’s desktop and lecture recording tool and video hosting platform. Panopto is integrated into Blackboard and permissions to view videos are associated with the Blackboard course.

\"Panopto

  • On each Blackboard course there is an associated ‘Panopto course folder’. Any videos in this folder can be viewed by anyone on the course.
  • In addition to this you have your own personal ‘My folder’; any videos in this folder are only viewable to you. If you want to move videos from your My folder into your Course folder, please see this guide to moving Panopto videos.

How can I see where my videos are located?

Go to any Blackboard course where Panopto has been provisioned.

Click on the ‘Panopto Video’ link on the left-hand menu of your Blackboard module.

Here you will see all videos in the corresponding Panopto course folder.

To access your My folder, click the drop-down arrow next to the name of your course.

\"Location

You will then see your ‘My Folder’:

\"Folder

Note that if you click on ‘Everything’ you will see all the videos you have access to.

You can use the search box to search within a folder.

While this is the default, you can manually change the share settings on any video or any folder. To do this, please see the Panopto Sharing guide.

If you have any queries, please contact us at tel@worc.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.

Finding and Sharing your Panopto Resources Read More »

TEL Workshops Autumn 2021

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Baffled by Blackboard? Confused by Collaborate? Puzzled by Panopto? Well fear not. The Technology Enhanced Learning Unit will be running a series of workshops to help you get to grips with the various education technologies on offer.

The first session, \”Blackboard Made Simple\” will be of particular benefit to staff members who have recently joined the organisation.

Workshop Title  Date 
Blackboard Made Simple  9th September 10:15 – 11:15 
Using Tests and Surveys in Blackboard  21st September 10:15 – 11:45 
Blackboard Accessibility and Ally  23rd September 10:15 – 11:45 
Camtasia  29th September 10:15 – 11:45 
Collaborate Virtual Classroom  30th September 10:15 – 11:15 
An Introduction to Panopto  4th October 10:15- 11.30 
Using Blackboard for Blended and Mobile Learning  5th October 10:15 – 11:45 
Assessing student presentations online using Collaborate and Panopto  6th October 1:15pm – 2:15 pm 
Vevox Polling Software  12th October 10:15 – 11:30 

If you would like to sign up for any of the sessions, please do so via the Staff Development Workshop pages of the Staff Portal.

TEL Workshops Autumn 2021 Read More »

Blackboard update and student enrolments

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Blackboard has now been updated and you will see a new sleek interface when you next log in. Only the login interface has changed, courses will remain the same and you can continue delivering your module resources, activities and assessments as before.

We are now also starting to enrol students onto modules. Enrolment on Blackboard is integrated with the student record system so students will only have access to modules once they have completed registration for the new academic year and have been registered on the modules they wish to take.

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Changes to Blackboard Navigation

Leave a Comment / Blackboard /

To all Blackboard Users,

In August we will be updating Blackboard to incorporate the new Ultra Base Navigation. This new navigation has a sleek, modern look and feel and will save you time with simpler workflows and easier access to important information.

Your courses will not change. They will look and operate exactly as they do now.

What is Ultra Base Navigation?

It is a modern, intuitive navigation menu that lives outside of courses. It includes links to new pages such as the Activity Stream, Calendar, Messages, etc. that provide quick access to the most critical information consolidated from all your courses.

What does this mean for me?

Your Blackboard will automatically be updated. UBN will bring a range of benefits:

  • Modern, intuitive user experience. You and your students will enjoy this simple, intuitive, engaging user experience.
  • Works well on mobile devices. This navigation is designed to work well regardless of which device you’re using.
  • Aggregates important information. All your course and organization information – like calendar, messages and grades – is now consolidated into one global view, minimizing the time spent navigating into each individual course.
  • Only one click away. See something that needs your attention? Just click on it and you will be taken directly there, minimizing clicks and saving time.

This is the first step in the roadmap that will ultimately allow users to trial Ultra courses.

You can view more detail about the benefits of UBN via the document below:

Base_Navigation_Datasheet_Educators

More information will be available from the TEL team at tel@worc.ac.uk

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