Educational Technology
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Poll Everywhere: PowerPoint Add-in Update
We’re happy to share that Poll Everywhere recently released an update to the PowerPoint Add-in. After local testing, the update was installed across campus on November 13. This update solves a significant barrier to using Poll Everywhere on our classroom PCs. Prior to this update, it was common for the Poll Everywhere log in button in PowerPoint to be unresponsive (i.e., instructors would click Log in and oftentimes nothing would happen). This issue was very frustrating for instructors getting their slideshow and other media ready in the rapid 10 minutes between classes. After this update, the Log in button responds immediately. Once logged in, you’re ready to run Poll Everywhere…
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Poll Everywhere Conversations and Recommendations
By Kristine Dreaver-Charles, Academic Innovation Specialist with Academic Innovation Technologies The challenge of technology is when it fails. I’ve had those moments of presenting or trying to demonstrate something and my technology just does not do what I intended. Sometimes it is the technology. Sometimes it’s the hardware. But sometimes it’s me and I’ve forgotten a critical step. Ultimately, I am aiming to fail forward and learn from the experience rather than give up completely. If you’ve tried Poll Everywhere and been challenged by it not doing what you need or expect, consider what support you need and where you can find it. My usual beginning point is to talk…
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New Module on GenAI added to Academic Integrity Tutorial
The Academic Integrity Tutorial has a new addition entitled Understanding Generative AI which focusses on the ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in university. ChatGPT is one tool among thousands that fall under the GenAI category. This means there are now 4 modules that each take about 45 minutes to complete (a total of about 3 hours for most students). Module 1 – Understanding Academic Integrity Module 2 – Understanding Generative AI Module 3 – Developing Skills that Prevent Academic Misconduct Module 4 – Understanding Your Rights and Responsibilities The open version of the tutorial as always, is available on the Library’s website. Each end-of-module quiz…
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Prompting Generative AI to Help You Plan for Your Class Quickly
Having a good teaching assistant (TA) can be so important. While anyone needs clear direction to grade an essay with the same criteria you use, it is incredibly helpful to have someone help carry the teaching load. It turns out that Generative AI (like Microsoft Copilot) doesn’t just force you to redesign your assessments for academic integrity reasons – with good prompting it can even help you do that redesign. It just needs the clear direction and oversight you typically give a human TA. Learning to prompt can save you time Prompting AI is the process of giving clear parameters for what you want. When you start chatting with an…
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New Quizzes – Adding Accommodations
Summary: If you need to provide students with quiz accommodations, it is important to know that adding accommodations in New Quizzes looks quite different than Classic Quizzes. Date published: June 19, 2023 Options for accommodations in New Quizzes include: Time adjustments for all quizzes in the course (Accommodations and Edit Pencil) Add extra time for a student Remove time limits Multiply time limits using a ‘Time limit multiplier’ Attempts and additional time for a single quiz and student (Moderate Button) Manually unlock quiz attempts Add extra attempts for a quiz Add additional time for timed quiz attempts Remove time limits Where do I set accommodations? Once a quiz…
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Comparing two online quizzes: Formative Assessment
This post aims to compare the design of two online quizzes to determine how each design impacts student learning. Formative assessment is a process used to: Identify what students already know and where they need more support to reach the desired learning outcomes. Provide feedback that the student can use to increase learning before a final assessment. For example, using feedback from a draft assignment that can be used to increase understanding for future revisions. Evaluate the effectiveness of the instruction during the learning process so the teacher can adjust instruction to meet students’ needs. “You almost want kids to make mistakes on formative assessments because that’s how you figure out…
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Perusall or Discussion Boards
Previous blog posts have introduced Perusall to turn pre-class readings into social learning. In this post, let’s explore how instructors might use Perusall to overcome discussion board fatigue and provide resources on using Perusall along with sample learning activities. Perusall is a free social learning tool that students can access through Canvas. Students have discussions in the same space as they read course material. The image below shows what a student would see in Perusall, with the reading in the middle and the conversation on the side. This post only refers to the use of readings in Perusall. However, videos, images, podcasts, and webpages can all be used. Additionally, responses…
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Keep it Active with Classroom Polling
After about 15 minutes listening in a large lecture hall, many students’ minds are likely wandering. An easy way to make your class more active and allow your students to see if they are understanding is to use polling software. A poll can be an open text response, multiple choice, and even a visual you interact with. The USask tool is called Poll Everywhere. You can see all the details for how to set up and use Poll Everywhere, including in Canvas, in the Poll Everywhere teaching guide in the Learning Technology Ecosystem. To keep students engaged when you are doing a lot of the talking, space questions and activities…
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Using Poll Everywhere to Integrate Formative Assessment in Courses
Poll Everywhere is integrated polling tool at USask. As you begin planning for the fall term, you may be considering how you will make use of formative assessment in your courses, including the use of Poll Everywhere. For Learners Formative assessments allow students to obtain feedback on how well they’ve grasped concepts and improve through practice prior to assessments that are higher stakes (exams, major projects, etc.). For example, if you have been teaching about concept A during a particular class meeting (ten-minute chunks are ideal) you can create a poll in Poll Everywhere and have students answer the question individually or in groups. This practice will help students retain…
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USask Moving to Poll Everywhere for Student Response System
Beginning this month the University of Saskatchewan will be transitioning to Poll Everywhere as the integrated polling tool at USask, replacing Top Hat. This decision was made after extended consideration and demonstrations from vendors. Instructors will be able to use Poll Everywhere to: • Gather information from formative assessments, such as polling questions or open-ended responses, from their classes • Embed polls in PowerPoint presentations, including shared ones • Ask questions of an audience in a regular conference presentation • Gather information about student preference Poll Everywhere allows for: – Results to be updated live as more answers come in – A variety of types of poll questions including multiple-choice,…
