Request Summer & Fall Moodle Courses in SPIRE
Moodle course request is now open in SPIRE for summer and fall 2018. Instructors must request a Moodle course each term they wish to use Moodle for a course. Once your new, empty course is created, you’ll have the option to import a copy of a course you previously taught.
For details see:
Request Echo360 for Summer and Fall in SPIRE
If you’d like to record or stream lecture videos, you can now request Echo360 Lecture Capture for Summer and Fall 2018 courses.
To request Echo360, log into SPIRE, then go to Faulty Home > Echo360 request.
- Automatically record in-person class meetings in Classrooms Equipped with Lecture Capture.
- Re-use recordings from a previous semester.
- Create screencasts and record custom lessons for students to watch outside of class with Echo360 Personal Capture.
- Give Students Access to Echo360 Recordings through Moodle for easy access.
For step by step instructions, see Request Lecture Capture.
New in Moodle: Responsive Video
Have you ever embedded a video on a Moodle page only to find the default size is too small to view, but the video also doesn’t look good viewed at full-screen on a desktop display? Embedded video can now be made to resize and fit in available space when viewed on any device.
You’ll need to select the link to the video, then use the new Style button (paintbrush icon) in the Atto editor toolbar to apply the </> Responsive video style.
For step-by-step instructions, see Embed Media Hosted Outside Moodle (using Media button) (Step 9).
(Note: This feature works for media hosted off-site, e.g., on YouTube or Vimeo, but not for media uploaded directly to Moodle).
Innovate@ Symposium, May 2018
The Summer ’18 Innovate@ Symposium, a collaboration between TEFD, the UMass Libraries, and IT, puts cutting-edge tech in the hands of faculty through four days of instensive workshops. Innovate @ Symposia focus on the faculty experience and include UMass Faculty Innovation Fellows as presenters. Participation in the Symposium is supported by a $500 stipend.
- Dates: Monday, May 21 – Thursday, May 24
- Application deadline: Friday, April 20
- Find out more: Details and Application Form
UMass Create Web Domains Seeks Student Projects
- Are you teaching a class in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019 where you’d like your students to have their own websites and do academic work using a variety of web applications?
- Do you work with a group of students (a major/minor, student organization, research project, etc.) who could use an online space to build an academic, professional, or civic web presence?
UMass Create, a service currently in pilot and managed by Instructional Innovation staff, allows members of the UMass Amherst community to manage a hosted web space and install powerful, commonly-used web applications including WordPress, MediaWiki, Omeka, and Drupal. Users can name their own web spaces (example: name.umasscreate.net) and can take sites with them when they move on from UMass.
We are currently seeking students or student groups who would benefit from experimenting with developing a web presence. If you are working with undergraduate or graduate students who could utilize UMass Create Web Domains, please contact the Instructional Media Lab at 413-545-2823, or instruct@umass.edu.
Instructional Innovation Spring Workshops
We still have a few workshops and events remiaining in the spring semester, including:
- Digital Brown Bag: TechnoStress—How Electronic Devices & Information Systems Work Against Employees (And Ways We Can Stop It)
Friday, April 13, 2018 – 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. - Workshop: Qualtrics in the Classroom
Wednesday, April25, 2018 – 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. - Community of Practice: Game-Based Learning
Thursday, April 26, 2018 – 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
For details to to link to registration, visit Innovate @ Events.
Six Principles of an Inclusive Syllabus
As we think about transforming our course content and pedagogy in ways that reflect attention to teaching our students in inclusive and equitable ways, focusing on the re-design of our syllabus at the front end is an important starting point. Creating an inclusive classroom culture begins with the syllabus.
In this workshop, presenters Dr. Kirsten Helmer (TEFD) and Kelsey Hall (Assistive Technology Coordinator) will introduce you to six principles of an inclusive syllabus design. Faculty members Dr. Lara Alhariri (Chemistry) and Dr. Michael DiPasquale (LARP) will share how they used these principles for redesigning their course syllabi and Moodle pages. Following the presentations, you will have the opportunity to workshop and apply some of the criteria that inform inclusive syllabus design to aspects of your own syllabus.
- Date: Wednesday, May 2, 2018, 10 a.m. to noon.
- For more information and to register, visit: Six Principles of an Inclusive Syllabus
This workshop is part of the Diversity & Inclusive Teaching Professional Development Series offered by The Institute for Teaching Excellence & Faculty Development (TEFD).
For additional opportunities to learn about inclusive teaching, check out the workshop series being offered by The Center for Student Success Research: Conversations with Experts about Students with Disabilities and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Moodle Help and Resources for Instructors
To learn more about Moodle or to get help, you can:
- Review our Moodle Support Articles.
- Contact the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@umass.edu | 413-545-2823) with a question, or to set up a time for a one-on-one consultation.