myeLearning Resources, Activities and UDL

Good day Colleagues,

Welcome back to our Tuesday Teaching Tips (TTT) Blog.

By now, many of us have commenced our courses, and in some cases, this has not been without a few bumps in the road. But the CETL is here to help you along the way by preparing you for what’s to come, and to guide you through it for the most impactful results. In last week’s installment of TTT, we provided you with guidelines in accessing your myeLearning course (see previous post). This week, we want to take things a step further, from accessing to using myeLearning. We are happy to provide you with tips in uploading resources (content) to your course site. But before we explore the avenues for uploading content, let’s understand what myeLearning  and myeLearning resources are all about.

 

A- What are myeLearning Resources?

One of the main platforms for course delivery at the UWISTA is myeLearning. This Learning Management System (LMS) allows you to provide course content/materials for your learners. Course materials can range from reading materials, videos, and webpages, to diagrams/illustrations, presentations, case studies and weblinks. In myeLearning, materials are called resources, and can be in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Excel, Word or PowerPoint presentation documents, PDFs, audio files (mp3s), video files (mp4s), and images (PNGs, JPEGs). Adding resources to your myeLearning course site allows students to access, review and prepare for upcoming class sessions, activities and assessments, and/or review content.

 

B – How Do I Add Resources to my Course in myeLearning?

Adding resources to your course is extremely easy, intuitive and can be done in six (6) steps. These steps can even be shortened to 2-3 steps for a bulk uploading of files. If you are using the regular approach, the following steps will guide you in adding resources to your myeLearning course:

1. From your course homepage, click Turn Editing On. This is located at the top of the right side of your course homepage

2. Scroll to the first block in your course homepage and click Add an Activity or Resource

3. A pop-up window will appear, with a list of myeLearning resources and activities. Click on File (NOTE: if it is a hyperlink/web-link, then click on URL. If it is a folder, then click on Folder)

4. A new page will appear. In the title/name field, type the name you would like to give the file, URL or folder. NOTE: This should be a title that is easily identifiable by students.

5. Scroll to the new box with the blue arrow within, and add your files/documents. This can be done by clicking on the blue arrow OR by dragging your files from the external folder to the blue arrow (NOTE: if it is a URL, you can copy and paste the link in the appropriate space)

6. Scroll to end of the page and click Save and Return to Course. The resource(s) you just created will appear on your course homepage. You and your students can click on the file/folder/URL to open and access the information.

To upload multiple files at the same time, you can simply:

1. Go to your course homepage and Turn Editing On

2. Drag and drop the files from your folder/device onto the course homepage.

3. Once on the course homepage, you can drag the files in the order you would like.

Kindly note, myelearning has undergone an upgrade that has led to some small changes in the appearance/layout and navigation of the site. An orientation to these changes can be accessed via the following resources:

1. What Has Changed in the Upgraded Version of myelearning

2. myelearning Upgrade – New Essential Features for Teaching and Learning

3. myelearning Upgrade – New Advanced Features for Teaching and Learning

For a more thorough orientation to adding content to your course in myeLearning, please feel free to view the webinar recording An Orientation to myeLearning and/or view the following recourses with step-by-step instructions and illustrations for your convenience:

If you would like to copy your course content from a previous course shell, you may also find the following additional resources useful:

User-Guide: Adding a File Resource to your myelearning Course

User-Guide: Linking to a Website (Adding a URL)

Video Tutorial: Adding a File Resource to your myelearning Course

If you would like to copy course content from a previous course shell, you may also find the following additional resource useful:

User-Guide: Importing Course Content into a New Course Shell 

C – myeLearning Activities and The Lesson Activity

In addition to the provision of course resources or materials, Activities provide a more engaging way to facilitate students’ assessments, interaction, and active learning. myeLearning activities refer to any task required by students usually for assessment or revision purposes. These activities may include quizzes, essays, projects, discussion fora, and even H5P activities. One Activity that has substantive potential but is sometimes under-utilized is the Lesson Activity. In myeLearning, the lesson activity enables allows you to deliver content and/or practice activities in interesting and flexible ways.

A teacher can use the lesson to create a linear set of content pages or instructional activities that offer a variety of paths or options for the learner. In either case, teachers can choose to increase engagement and ensure understanding by including a variety of questions, such as multiple choice, matching and short answer. Depending on the student’s choice/responses, and how the teacher develops the lesson, students may progress to the next page, be taken back to a previous page or redirected down a different path entirely. In so doing, The Lesson Activity allows for self-directed learning, and may be graded, with the grade recorded in the myeLearning gradebook. To learn more about the Gradebook Activity, here’s a video webinar that will guide you through setting up the Lesson activity in your myeLearning course.

In addition to providing avenues for assessment and feedback, one of the benefits of using the Lesson Activity in myeLearning is the provision of multiple pathways for learning; a tenet of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework.

D – Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing curriculum and instruction that’s accessible to students with a wide range of abilities. UDL is grounded on three primary tenets:

1. Multiple means of representation: Present information in different way. This is essentially the WHAT of learning.

2. Multiple means of action and expression: Provide different ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge. This is the HOW of learning.

3. Multiple means of engagement: Use students’ interests and provide challenges at an appropriate level. This is the WHY of learning.

 

Would you like to learn more about UDL and the ways you can incorporate it into your teaching context?

Well, the CETL is happy to announce it’s special session “An Introduction to Universal Design for Learning UDL“. Collaborating with our partners from Humber College, this panel discussion will explore the principles of UDL and its role in the creation of more inclusive and effective learning experiences. To register for this online session, please click on the following image or link:

Click Here to Register

We hope the aforementioned resources are helpful.

Should you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Regards,

The Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning (CETL),

The University of the West Indies (UWI),

St. Augustine.