Teaching Public Health Topics Online

This is/was focused on teaching during covid, but there are some solid suggestions here.

Link: https://medium.com/@SMayesTang/teaching-extra-large-classes-online-5-principles-im-following-c85e1d1c5b86

Link: https://er.talic.hku.hk/designolc/tips/teaching-large-classes-online/

Link to article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iyJmKvib2gIiwsEbLHdDtWBpDZ76_dqDMlcvh_SDLUg/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.yq6fliouor5w

Here is a good resource for writing effective test questions that encourage critical thinking and questions that require explanation, interpretation, integration and synthesis, rather than just recall of facts. Some examples are provided at the bottom of this resource from the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. Link: to Writing Effective Test Questions resource.

Brightspace has an integrated audio/video tool called Video Note.  You can create and add audio/video elements to your course on-the-fly using this tool with the option of instant captioning. You can add a Video Note to announcements, content areas, grading/giving feedback to students and within Brightspace discussions.  A few simple ways to get started using video note may include:

• Posting a video announcement instead of a text-based announcement.
• Providing instructions or clarifications for an assignment.
• Providing video feedback to students instead of written feedback.

Below I have outlined how you can go about adding a Video Note in different areas of your course.

Adding a Video Note to an Announcement or Content Area

From the tool bar menu in a Brightspace tool you can click on:

• Insert Stuff > Add Video Note

• New Recording
• Record your video.
• When done, click Stop recording
• Next > add title, description, audio language, check the box that says “automatically generate captions from audio”. Click Next.
• Before clicking insert, you may want to let the video finish processing. Depending on the length of the video, it may take a few minutes to process. You can click on refresh preview after a few minutes to see if it is done processing. At this time you can watch the video to confirm it is what you want to post to students.
• Click Insert. It will then insert the video.
• You will need to click on publish (if posting a video note in announcements) or save and close (if posting to a content area or discussion).

Using Video Note to give student feedback

When grading a students assignment submission below the Overall Feedback section, you will see options to Record Audio and Record Video.

You can use either of these tools to provide audio and/or video feedback to students.  You can then follow the same steps outlined above to create your Video Note.

The information here should allow you to get started with creating Video Notes for your students.

Quick Eval is a quick way to see, access and grade student submissions for assignments, quizzes and Brightspace discussions in one location. The Quick Eval tool is available in two places: on the institutional landing page and within your course.

Quick Eval from the Institutional Landing Page

If you access Quick Eval from the institutional landing page you will see submissions that need to be graded for ALL of the classes you are currently teaching. 

Quick Eval from within a Course

If you access Quick Eval from within a course (Grades & Feedback > Quick Eval) you will only see submissions that need to be graded for that specific course.

Sorting Quick Eval

You can sort Quick Eval in two ways: by submission or by activity type.

• Sorting by submission shows all submissions, not organized by assignment type.
• Sorting by activities organizes the submissions by assignment type.

If you would like to read more about this tool, check out some additional information and FAQ’s about this tool.

This is such a fun tool to know about! Using replacement strings allow information posted to the class to appear to be customized for each user. One fun way to use them is when you are writing and posting an announcement to students. According to Brightspace, this feature can help increase engagement levels and improve the overall learning experience. See images below for an example of how you might use replacement strings when posting an announcement in your class. I used the {FirstName} replacement string in the greeting. See red arrow.

Once I publish this announcement, and view the announcements page, you can see that my name has been replaced by the {FirstName} replacement string.

There is a long list of possible replacement strings. The {FirstName} is the most common one to use. For more information about replacement strings and a list of replacement strings

As we start a new semester, you can use the Class Progress tool (Grades & Feedback > Class Progress) to track student logins. If you see No System Access next to a students name that means they have not logged into the class yet.

By clicking on the student name, you can drill down further and track student progress throughout the course. There is a wealth of information you can track and monitor for each student.

If you hover over the student photo/avatar, you an email them individually from this Class Progress page. The image below shows what it looks like when you hover over their photo. You can click the ‘Send Email’ button and you will be presented with a space where you can compose and send a message to the student.

For more detailed information on Class Progress.

As the University transitions to Brightspace, I wanted to use this space to highlight some tips, tricks and tools that I think you will love.

Tips, Tricks and Tools

• Class Progress
• Replacement Strings

Kurzweil, D., Marcellas, K., Henry, B. et al. Evidence-Based Guidelines for Recording Slide-Based Lectures. Med.Sci.Educ. 30, 1611–1616 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-020-01032-w