Category Archives: Generic

Assessment & Feedback SIG, Events, Generic

Are digital exams here to stay?

On Wednesday, October 6th, the Assessment and Feedback Special Interest Group welcomed José Luis Aznarte, associate professor at the Department of Artificial Intelligence of UNED University. In this session José talked about the experience of switching to online exams amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Distance Education University is the largest university in Spain that combines online with face-to-face learning through a hybrid methodology offered to more than 200,000 students. Exams at UNED were usually held in their local study centres or exam spots. Results were digitised and distributed to each course team using the software called ‘valija virtual’ (virtual pouch). However, the university had to consider alternatives to adjust the examination process and to guarantee fairness and rigour during the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.  Continue reading Are digital exams here to stay? →

Generic, openTEL projects, Student Voice

First time OU students commented on their own learning analytics data in a research study – how did it go?

These days following a progressive move of Higher Education Institutions towards blended and online environments, accelerated by COVID-19, many universities have access to a greater variety of student data than before. Learning Analytics (LA) provides means for collecting and analysing such evidence. In order to make this analysis useful to the end user, LA data are aggregated in the form of a Learning Analytics Dashboard (LAD). LADs visualise and predict students’ learning progress based on demographics, performance, and digital learning footprints data and have a strong potential to provide useful insights into how teaching and learning may be improved. Continue reading First time OU students commented on their own learning analytics data in a research study – how did it go? →

Events, Generic, Open & Inclusive SiG, YouTube Video

Accessibility in the BBC – open & Inclusive SIG

Accessibility in the BBC, The open & Inclusive Special Interest Group
Wednesday 15th September 2021 (10:00 – 12:00)

Thank you to those who joined us for openTEL and SeGA’s open & Inclusive Special Interest Group meeting where we were joined by Jamie + Lion and Paul Bepey from the BBC, and Mathijs Lucassen from The Open University. The session was hosted by Kate Lister and Paco Iniesto.

Thank you, Kate!
Kicking off the meeting, Eileen Scanlon thanked Kate Lister for all her exceptional work within the Special Interest Group as this was Kate’s last meeting as co-host and SIG lead. Kate has been essential in growing the open & Inclusive SIG and providing interesting themes and excellent speakers. We hope she will stay in touch and attend future meetings when she can and openTEL looks forward to working with Kate in the future!

Presentations
Mathijs Lucassen gave a presentation from The Open University side: Getting BBC content into OU modules

Jamie + Lion gave a presentation on accessibility at the BBC relating to Audience Facing Digital Products and Paul Bepey gave a talk on accessibility relating to the Internal Facing side.

Jamie + Lion finished the meeting by presenting Charlie Turrell’s slides, who was unfortunately unable to attend the meeting, on the Champions Network.
More information here:
GDS/BBC Webinar: Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast

Recording, Links and Slides
The Recording is available for OU Staff here: OU Staff Recording Link  

Slides: Getting BBC content into OU modules, Mathijs Lucassen.
Slides: Accessibility @ BBC, Audience Facing Digital Products Jamie + Lion
Slides: uploads to follow
GDS/BBC Webinar: Accessibility Culture eats WCAG compliance for breakfast

Podcast: Check out Jamie’s 1800 Seconds on Autism podcast.

To join the open & Inclusive mailing list please email openTEL

Events, Generic, Open & Inclusive SiG

How can Taylor help students with disabilities in Higher Education?

On Wednesday, July 21st, 35 people gathered online to learn more about ADMINS (Assistants to the disclosure and management of information about needs and support), a completed project funded by Microsoft and managed by the Institute of Educational Technology (IET) at The Open University (OU). The speaker of this seminar was Dr Tim Coughlan, a senior lecturer in IET, who was part of the research team leading the project. “But, who is Taylor?”– you may be wondering at this point if you are curious to know the answer to the question raised in the title of this post. Continue reading How can Taylor help students with disabilities in Higher Education? →

Events, Generic, OpenAIED SIG

Can computers detect social bias?

The first 2021 seminar of the Special Interest Group focused on Artificial Intelligence in Education (openAIED SIG) was led by Josmario Albuquerque, a second-year PhD student at the OU Institute of Educational Technology, on Wednesday 7th July.

With a background in Computer Science, Josmario has been involved in IT projects related to Artificial Intelligence in Education, Learning Analytics, and the use of Computer Science to address social issues. His current research fits under the scope of these past projects, since he is studying group biases in online learning settings. During the seminar, Josmario suggested that human biases and stereotypes are still present in educational settings, diminishing several aspects of learning. Continue reading Can computers detect social bias? →