e-learning: Notes for teachers

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Contents

  • Advice for distance learning
  • Copyright aspects
  • Video conferencing in teaching/ webinars
  • Online whiteboards
  • Additional software
  • Further support

The following tips for lecturers are intended as a complement to the central tips on e-learning from the Teaching Service Center and for the specific situation at the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences.


When converting a previous face-to-face course into an online course, the focus should not only be on the technology, but also on the teaching/learning relationship between teachers and students.

A face-to-face event cannot simply be replaced by a digital "live lecture". Furthermore, it cannot be assumed that all students will have stable internet access and devices at their disposal. Therefore, please do not primarily plan virtual face-to-face events with your students, e.g. via video conferencing systems, but use asynchronous formats (e.g. instructional videos, annotated slides) wherever possible. The great advantage of asynchronous online teaching is that students can learn regardless of time and place. Please make use of this advantage.
In order to give students a certain degree of planning security and structure in the summer semester, it is advisable to primarily use the planned time slots for your courses according to the timetable and to enable an interactive exchange with students and questions via a chat, a discussion forum, the posting of assignments or, for small groups, a video conference. We also consider it particularly important to maintain the timetable as far as possible because we have a complex semester structure at the department with different degree programs and many lecturers/lecturers, and if the times were completely abolished, a lot of confusion and uncertainty would be expected or would lead to a high coordination effort.

Advice for distance learning

The motivation of learners is particularly important for the successful design of e-learning content (the fish must like the worm, not the angler). Learning success can only be achieved if interest is aroused and maintained. Based on the assumption that some form of recording (video, audio, annotated slides, screen recordings) will be used for the most part, there are some differences to be noted compared to traditional teaching formats:

  • Learners can pause and repeat the recording at any time, but they can also skip it.
  • The recordings cannot be skimmed quickly to check for relevant content, important information, etc.
  • We recommend using pre-recorded instructional videos in moderation and supplementing them with tasks or reading lists from the library's online offerings, for example. It is also possible to use annotated PowerPoint presentations, which are generally easy to create from existing presentations. In distance learning, attention should be paid to the scope of the course. A unit for conveying information should last a maximum of 20-30 minutes and, if possible, be thematically delimited.
  • If a course lasts two hours in face-to-face teaching, for example, this does not mean that a two-hour recording is necessary. In face-to-face teaching, the auditorium is addressed, questions are answered, etc., and two-way communication takes place. Recording formats are different, here it is a one-way communication. You can certainly expect less time to be required for the online presentation compared to classroom teaching. However, additional "aids" must be available.
  • Create an overview of the content in text form for each recording with details of the topic and skip mark. E.g.:
    Topic 1 (0:00); Topic 2 (7:15), Topic x (19:41) etc.
  • Provide important information (dates, literature, links, etc.) additionally in text form, otherwise it is very difficult to find.
  • You can use Panopto for lecture recordings. All interested lecturers can write an email to the Teaching Service Center stating which course they plan to record and a suitable course folder will be created there. Teachers must register once in the system and install the program. Online training courses are offered by the SCL. Recording a Panopto training course
  • Lecture recordings via Panopto are possible in the following rooms at the faculty: Large Aula, Small Aula, H1 and H13. The necessary headset is in the large auditorium in the next room, in the small auditorium in the desk drawer. The ceiling microphone must be switched on in H1 and H13.
  • When planning online teaching, you should start by identifying the most important module objectives and providing appropriate self-study materials (scripts, PPT, texts, etc.). Concentrate on the essentials.
  • The Moodle learning platform should be used as standard for online teaching. The Moodle course should be well structured. Start with a welcome text, formalities for the course and instructions for use. Then structure the Moodle course according to the learning content. Panopto recordings can be integrated directly into the Moodle course. Other videos can be published in Moodle with a link. This eliminates the need for considerable storage space in Moodle and long download times for students. The students watch as a livestream.
  • The provision of information should be linked to an activating task. This can be designed to be repetitive, further-reaching, transfer-promoting or reflective. It is also possible to create and evaluate tests in Moodle. Where possible, the tasks should be designed in such a way that they alternate between individual and group work.
  • Learners should be given regular feedback, preferably visible to all, in a Moodle forum. Interaction is particularly important. In this way, you ensure that learners actively and intensively engage with the topic - and that what they have learned sticks better. Set the subscription to the forum from "optional" to "automatic". Participants will then receive an email every time a new post is made. They can decide for themselves whether they want to switch the forum back to "optional".
  • The teaching materials should be made available to students one by one from week to week, so that students have to deal with the content over several weeks, just like in a face-to-face course.
  • Learning should also be fun - even at university. With playful elements and a reward principle, you can activate the learners' motivation and even boost their self-confidence through small, immediately visible successes. In Moodle, the components of the "HotPot" activity can be used for this purpose.

 

Copyright aspects

Please pay attention to the following when uploading materials:

  • Up to 15% of the content of a textbook can be scanned and made available to students as a PDF on the learning platform as part of a course.
  • Up to 15% of a film, e.g. from a media library, can be made available to students on the learning platform. References to online video platforms, e.g. YouTube or the media libraries of public broadcasters, are always permitted.
  • Complete use is permitted for works of a small scope. For example, articles from a specialist journal can be scanned in their entirety and made available to students.

At this point, we would like to point out that the University Library offers the possibility of obtaining e-books from the University Library. Please only provide references that are available online.

 

Video conferencing in teaching/ webinars

The University of Kassel provides the Zoom tool. Initial registration is required before use. The program has the following functions, for example: Using the "Share screen" function, you can make your PowerPoint, documents or photos accessible to students and discuss them. You can also hand over the moderation to a participant so that this person can make their presentation accessible to the group. For groups of more than ten people, we recommend that participants switch off their microphone and video and only switch it on when they have questions and contributions to the discussion. By opening the chat function, participants (even those whose microphone is not working) can write questions or contributions to the discussion.

The data protection regulations have been adapted for the University of Kassel. The tool is suitable for online events with up to 300 participants and for forming/moderating subgroups in online seminars. German-language tutorials for Zoom: https://support.zoom.us/hc/de/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-Tutorials?flash_digest=7789e31a51949dcfada4c7ded7b81d48e45dd9dc

Recording a video conference or webinar is generally possible with the programs. As soon as you press the recording button, all participants are informed and must confirm that they agree to this. Otherwise, they will be excluded from the video conference.

Technical requirements and communication rules for video conferences: here

For exams, only Zoom may be used for confidential meetings.

 

Online whiteboards

The University of Kassel provides the Collaboard tool for this purpose. Initial registration is required before use.

 

Additional software

If videos are too large, you can use the freeware "Handbrake"(https://handbrake.fr) to transform the video.

The freeware "Audacity"(https://www.audacity.de) is ideal for editing audio tracks.

Both programs are available for Windows, Mac and Linux and also have a German-language version.

Create the finished audio recordings in mp3 format(audio formats). The final file size depends on various factors and settings(https://www.podcast.de/faq/antwort-36-Welche+File+size%C3%B6%C3%9Fen+result+from+the+MP3+files%3F/). A rough approximation is 1 MB per minute.

 

Further support

We would like to draw your attention to the services offered by the central facilities. The Teaching Service Center offers a telephone consultation hour on Moodle and webinars on various topics: https://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtung/index.php?id=1257