What's happening in the world of FASE EdTech this month? We recently wrapped production on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), an online graduate course and are working on the module prototype for upcoming development on the Economics and Finance course (also part of the Mining Industry Management Program (MIMP)). The courses in this program are fully online and are available to both graduate students as well as industry professionals seeking professional development opportunities.
What's happening over the next few months? August is the month that we turn our thoughts to the start of the new term. Consultations usually pick up towards the end of the month (book a 1-1 course consultation), which is our favourite time of year because we a) get to make suggestions on how to make things a bit easier or a bit more effective and b) get to hear about your ideas for the upcoming term. Before the term starts, we're making some changes to the Lecture Capture program and are consulting with existing program participants to ensure that any changes still achieve the goals of the program. If you were thinking about lecture capture this year, see our recommendations for in-person lecture capture (jump to Tip 04) or contact us so that we can help you decide.
If you do one thing after reading this newsletter, book your 1-1 consultation! Talking 1-1 is hands down our preferred way to offer support. It is also the best bang for your buck; we can get into the details and offer tangible ways to improve your course (and how you run your course). |
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ENGAGE
1. Knock out your September to do list
We've put together a list of resources that help you prepare for the start of term. Our goals are to streamline this process for you by ensuring you've thought of everything you need to think of and to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible (it's still work though, so we recommend starting as early as you can). Let's take your course launch to-do list down to zero!
I want to make sure my Quercus course is ready and available to students. Follow our Start-of-term Quercus checklist to get off on the right foot.
I want to up the design factor on my Quercus course but don't know where to start. Review existing Quercus course templates. You can import a template and then customize it for your course.
I want to introduce myself to my students before the course begins. Use one of our "Meet your instructor" templates to record an introductory video (you can also come into the studio and we can assist you in your recording).
I want to revisit my course design on my own time. Sign up for the asynchronous, self-directed Start Strong modules. These modules will help you review existing course elements and suggest options for you to implement in your course.
I'm new to U of T (or maybe it's just been a while) and I am looking for help to get started. We'd be happy to help via a consultation! We're here to brainstorm ideas and support you as you implement technology in your courses. |
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Quercus Updates (August 2024)
 This update highlights important changes to the "Assign To" feature in Quercus (including interface changes and new functionality). We also highlight the new MS Stream video trimming tool ( read the full update).
Jump to the change you're interested in:
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Quercus "Assign To" new functionality (the ability to assign Modules, Pages, and ungraded Discussions to individual students and/or course sections)
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Quercus "Assign To" interface changes (where and how the 'Assign To' option appears on the Quercus interface)
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MS Stream: Video trimming tool (how to use these feature for your videos)
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DESIGN
2. Thoughtfully craft a blended course (card activity)
Every once is a while, a supportive instructor (in this case, Prof. Deborah Tihanyi) provides an environment for us to try a new idea - in this case, a card activity designed to help instructors identify priorities for re-design. In June, we joined Prof. Tihanyi and the students in TEP1203 (a course in the Prospective Professors in Training Program (PPIT)) to trial the activity. Students conceptualized a course, identified course activities and their modalities, and then rated them using a matrix on how much they liked the activity for their course and how long it took to implement.
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Read the full blog post, Thoughtfully crafting a blended learning course (Card Activity), to learn more about the activity, what you can expect to get out of it, and a full set of instructions. If this is something you're interested in, we're also happy to schedule a 1-1 session or a group session (email fase.edtech@utoronto.ca to get started).
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IMPLEMENT
3. Prepare for the transition back to Turnitin
From the Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation (CTSI)'s Plagiarism Detection tool website: The University of Toronto is transitioning its plagiarism detection tool from Ouriginal to Turnitin, effective September 1, 2024. This change is necessary because Turnitin has acquired Ouriginal and will no longer be developing or supporting the Ouriginal platform.
Turnitin has now been enabled in all Quercus courses (see image of Quercus' Plagiarism Review dropdown options below). It will be available alongside Ouriginal until the end of August. As of September 1st, the Ouriginal option will no longer be available.
Looking for more details?
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CTSI will be coordinating a Turnitin faculty session, Plagiarism Detection: Switching from Ouriginal to Turnitin (August 26, 1pm-2pm (online)), as part of August’s Tune Into Teaching Programming.
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To learn more about Turnitin, refer to CTSI’s Turnitin Tool Guide page.
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To stay up to date on changes or updates, you can also refer to the ETO's blog post on the Turnitin transition.
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If you've sent the ETO an inquiry in the past two years, you've worked with Irina - she's been our first point of contact for anything and everything teaching-with-technology related since she joined the team in March 2022. More than that, she's introduced PowerBI dashboards to the team and is leading website migration project (from Drupal to Wordpress). Though we will miss her, we're happy to announce that Irina has been seconded as a Information and Data Analyst at UTM (until May 31, 2026). Congratulations, Irina! |
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RECORD
4. Select your lecture capture option for 2024/2025
There are few different techniques that you can use to capture your live, in person activities (e.g. lecture, demonstrations, tutorials, etc.) (see our comparison table of different lecture/content capture options). This guide will help you compare the options and select the appropriate recording option for you; you might even use a mix of solutions based on the type of activity you are completing. For example, OpenCast might work well for your lecture sections but you could use SnagIt to self-record portions of your tutorials. Keep in mind that generally you do not want to include students in your recordings; we always recommend editing these sections out before sharing with others.
The technique you choose will depend on:
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what classroom you are in
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what type of content you have
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how you'd like to share the content
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if you plan to re-use the content
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your technical aptitude
New this year! We are piloting a new lecture capture service: Course Capture using borrowed ETO hardware (for course staff members). If you have a course that is primarily chalk n' talk (or you don't use digital presentation tools), this service will enable one of your teaching assistants (or other course staff) to record your course activities. The ETO will provide training, equipment borrowing, and editing support (if desired). Once we finalize this service, we'll add it to the ETO's Service Catalogue. If you are interested in this service, email fase.edtech@utoronto.ca to sign up (or for more information).
Unsure about what would work best for your course? Schedule a consultation with the EdTech Team to review your options. The ETO also offers a special capture service (intended for guest lectures, demonstrations, labs, or other special lectures).
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QUICK TECH TIP
Extract text from an image
Whether it’s a scanned document, a PDF, or a photo, manually transcribing the text in an image is tedious work. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to copy text from any image so you can edit it as needed. Watch the video below to learn how to extract text from an image (using Snagit).
Here are a few scenarios where extracting the text from images can save you a lot of time and effort:
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Data entry: Skip the hassle of typing and quickly convert printed notes into digital text.
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Error correction: Easily correct typos.
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Content repurposing: Reuse text from images or PDFs for other documents or presentations.
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Have you installed SnagIt? TechSmith Snagit is available to Faculty, Staff and Students with a valid UTORid. To download, visit the Academic, Research & Collaborative Technologies Snagit License site here and log in with your UTORid and password. If you are working on a managed machine, you might need to contact your local IT Team to assist with installation.
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LEARN
4. What we took away from 2024 conferences
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Each conference season, the ETO team tries to attend a few conferences, including the Teaching and Learning Symposium (TLS), the IT@UofT conference, Adobe World Conference, and the Crowdmark Community Conference. We try to summarize key takeways in a blog post (you can also read about stuff we learned in at Collision in 2023 and across U of T conferences in 2022).
In the blog post, we expand on these takeaways:
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Bring the tactile world to the digital
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Avoid trendy design if you're aiming for accessibility
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Find the design sweet spot in assessment design
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Draw inspiration from other domains (e.g., game design)
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Assessments speak to values
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EXPLORE
Faculty Questions of the Week
Each week we answer a real question that we've received about Quercus and other Academic Toolbox tools, keeping the questions timely and relevant to you. You can select on the question to read the full inquiry and response or see all previous faculty questions of the week.
Read the Faculty Questions of the Week
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 Why can't I extend the end date of a Quercus course from 2022? (July 17, 2024) | I am trying to add a colleague. I understood from your guide that I would need to extend the course end date before I could add him, but it's not working. |
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New (or updated) ETO Technical Guides
We usually update our technical guides as questions come in, changes are made to systems, or as we come up to certain dates in the academic calendar.
Here's what we've been up to over the past month:
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How to create a playlist for Stream videos (new) | This guide covers how to create a playlist for videos hosted on the Stream platform, improving video organization and enhancing the viewing experience for users.
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How can I add Microsoft Forms and Callouts to a video in MS Stream? (new) | Learn how to add interactivity options such as Forms and Callouts to your Stream videos to make them more engaging.
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Decide what video recording and editing software works for your project (updated) | An updated comparison table of suggested video recording and editing tools (including TechSmith Snagit, Stream, PowerPoint, and TechSmith Camtasia). We removed a few tools that are no longer suggested (Microsoft Photos and QuickTime Player, which no longer have the recording and editing features). We also added information about accessibility options for each tool, indicating whether captioning is available and how it can be managed.
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CLICK
Worthwhile clicks from the Web
Looking for something to read/watch/listen to? Each month we round up things that we've interacted with that we think are worth sharing:
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No Web Without Women. A collection of innovations by women in the fields of computer science and technology.
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How to Secure The Best Guests for Your Podcast. Discover expert tips and strategies on how to secure the best guests for your podcast. Learn how to identify, approach, and book top-tier guests to elevate your podcast’s quality and reach.
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Want to Do Better Work? Just Say No (Faculty Focus) | Summer is a great time to reflect on the last academic year. As you do, consider, for a moment, all the things you were “voluntold” to do beyond your formal job description. Were they truly aligned with the institution’s mission and supportive of your career?
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Gradually, then Suddenly: Upon the Threshold (One Useful Thing) | A fundamental feature of many important technologies is that they improve over time. The reasons are complicated and varied, but we expect that each new generation iPhone camera is an improvement over the one before, that electric cars get more mileage every year, and that televisions get both better and cheaper. As I have discussed in the past, AI is following a similar, though more rapid, improvement curve.
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Curious about the photos in the banner?
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This month's banner images are a few photos taken by the ETO team during the past month:
Row 01: Left: Hurley on the deck (Inga Breede)
Row 01: Right: Indoor lap kitty, Oliver (Anna Limanni)
Row 02: Left: Clover and Stella hunting for pigeons! (Maggie Laidlaw)
Row 02: Right: Winnie and Frankie on the sun porch (Allison Van beek)
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