Welcome to the August edition of the Connected Learning Newsletter. The Connected Learning team supports learning and teaching at VU by providing expertise in technology-enhanced learning, curriculum design, innovative pedagogies and video production.
We hope you are doing well and excited for Block teaching in 2022.
Below is some information on
Block Key Dates | VU Collaborate News | Tip of the Month | Learning and Teaching | Upcoming Events
*use the links to get straight to each section
Block Key Dates
Find out about block space creation dates and preparation for upcoming teaching periods.
When are Delivery Spaces created?
Delivery spaces will be available 2 weeks prior to your teaching period, and 5 weeks prior for placement units. To check for the teaching period, refer to the VU calendar.
Delay in Space Creation for Sem 2 Block 2
During the cutover of the Student One Consolidation Project (5th August 2022 – 16th August 2022) new learning spaces will not be created and student enrolments will not be automatically updated. All delivery space for block 2 will be created on 17 Aug.
If you need assistance, please contact the IT Service Desk on +61 3 9919 2777 (option 1) or via VU IT Support Hub.
Which Master Space will be used?
| Delivery Mode | Master Space |
| 4 weeks block On-campus | Online Master Space |
| 4 weeks block Online Real-time | Online Master Space |
| 4 weeks block Online Self-paced | Online Self-paced (OSP) |
| 8 weeks block | 8 weeks Block Master |
| Off-shore units | Offshore (OFS) |
| Off-shore block units | Offshore Block |
What should I check before the block starts?
*Use this checklist to review and adjusts all components in the VU Collaborate Delivery Space after it has been created and before students have access to it.
Winter Block Final Friday
The Final Friday for this block will be Friday the 26th of August. Please ensure your results are finalised in VU Collaborate by 5 pm on that day.
Results will be released to students on the following Monday. For more information on Final Friday, refer to Everything you need to know about Final Friday
VU Collaborate News
Extending our On-Campus Support for VU Collaborate
From the 1st of August, the VU Collaborate Help team has extended support hours for VU staff through our Hives at selected campuses.
These sessions run from 9 am to 4 pm:
- City Tower (T1516): Mondays & Tuesdays
- Footscray Park (L201): Wednesdays & Thursdays
You can come in to get a straightforward answer about something specific in 5 minutes, or you can bring your laptop to work on building content or assessments for an hour. You can also work alongside a team member in order to ensure your questions are answered as you work.
Refer to Training & Support for more details.
Introducing a new feature – Work To Do widget
The Work To Do widget provides students with a summary of upcoming or overdue assessments, which encourages them to complete the assessments on time. It can be easily found on VU Collaborate Homepage from the student view.
This feature displays the following learning activities:
- Assessments: Dropbox, Quizzes, Discussions
- Surveys
- Checklists
- Content
To make your assessments appear on the Work To Do widget, ensure they are set with a due or end date. Refer to the relevant learning activity guide to learn how to set end and due dates: Adding Due Date and End Date.
Creating H5P fill-in-the-blanks tasks with advanced feedback
The H5P Advanced Fill in The Blanks allows you to create fill-in-the-blank questions with advanced feedback for specific incorrect answers. You can also allow students to choose possible selections from a dropdown list.
Currently, Advanced Fill in the Blanks is not fully supported on the VU H5P dashboard, however, you can experience this content type using the download and re-use function.
Refer to the guides below for more information.
You can also come along to our H5P session and learn how to reuse existing content. Register here: Creating engaging learning activities with H5P (12PM 18th Aug 2022).
Tip of the Month
As a teaching staff member, you can create and access up to 5 personal sandpits.
What are Sandpits?
Sandpit Spaces are your personal online spaces which you can use to learn or experiment with VU Collaborate features and tools. Sandpits are not used for teaching with students, so students are not enrolled in these spaces.
You can create additional Sandpits (up to 5) following the instructions: Creating New Sandpit Spaces
Learning & Teaching
Save the date for the 2022 Learning and Teaching Symposium & Celebration. Last year, VU hosted a successful event, attracting over 540 registrations, 100 presenters and 50 presentations.
The symposium aims to foster connections, examine our distinctiveness and innovation in the Australian education sector and learn from each other in these rapidly changing times. The program will feature a keynote address, panels, Q&A sessions and themed presentations.
This year, we once again held a successful whole-of-VU Learning and Teaching Symposium, and planning is underway for a hybrid format of virtual and in-person presentations split over two days.
- Day 1: Tuesday 6 December, 12.00 PM – 4.30 PM
- Day 2: Wednesday 7 December, 9.00 AM – 1.30 PM
Look out for an email in the coming weeks with details on how you can submit abstracts for presentations and register for the event.
For any questions, feedback or suggestions, email ltsymposium@vu.edu.au
Upcoming Events
August 2022
| Semester 2 Block 2 Delivery Space Creation | 17 Aug |
| On campus Hive Drop-in (City Tower – T1516) | Mondays & Tuesdays |
| On campus Hive Drop-in (Footscray Park- L201) | Wednesdays & Thursdays |
| Using the Dropbox Originality Check | 11 Aug 12:00 PM |
| Creating a Feedback Fruits Peer Review | 16 Aug 12:00 PM |
| Creating engaging learning activities with H5P | 18 Aug 12:00 PM |
| Student access to Sem2 Block 2 Delivery Spaces | 22 Aug |
| Sem 2 Block 1 Final Friday | 26 Aug |
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