September 2024 technology updates
In our technology updates we announce the latest developments in UoA supported tools for teaching and learning.
In this update we feature improvements to Canvas, FeedbackFruits collaborative assessment, H5P interactive content, and Inspera assessment platform.
Canvas
SpeedGrader enhancements
View options: Instructors can choose between traditional, horizontal, or vertical views for rubrics.
The new SpeedGrader allows you to select view options for the rubric from a drop-down list. Options are traditional, horizontal or vertical.
Additional notes
- Rubrics cannot be edited or deleted once added to an assignment but can be duplicated for further edits.
- The traditional view is not available for rubrics with more than five ratings.
See the Canvas release notes for more.
New Quizzes – custom results feedback
This latest feature in Canvas New Quizzes allows instructors to tailor the feedback students receive after completing a quiz.
How to use
- Enable custom feedback: In the New Quiz settings, toggle on the “Show custom feedback with results” option.
- Add feedback: Use the Rich Content Editor to input your custom feedback.
- Preview feedback: Click the “Preview Feedback” button to see how it will appear to students.
Once students complete a quiz, they will see your custom feedback on the Results page, helping them to better understand their performance and areas for improvement.
The new quizzes settings page shows a button to enable the showing of custom feedback with results. There is a rich content editor underneath allowing the teacher to write their custom feedback.
See the release notes.
FeedbackFruits
The latest updates and new releases for FeedbackFruits are designed to enhance your teaching and learning experience.
Introducing Acai
Acai is FeedbackFruits’ suite of AI-powered coaching tools aimed at enhancing student learning and engagement. These tools provide personalised, real-time feedback to students, helping them improve their reflections and self-assessments. By leveraging advanced AI, Acai ensures that students receive tailored guidance, fostering better critical thinking and writing skills.
New releases
- Acai: Reflection Coach: Provides personalised guidance to help students write better reflections.
- Acai: Expanded Feedback Coach: Now includes self-assessment guidance based on teacher’s rubric.
The Feedback Fruits Reflection Coach window shows that a student has typed their statement reflecting on the assignment and the AI bot has responded with constructive feedback.
The AI-powered feedback coach enables students to write feedback and receive a response.
Language support
FeedbackFruits in Spanish: The interface is now available in Spanish, enhancing accessibility for Spanish-speaking users.
Improvements for all users
- Group Contribution Factor: Improved accuracy and user experience for grading group contributions.
- Group Formation: Enhanced performance and workflow for forming groups in Canvas.
For more: FeedbackFruits release notes.
H5P
This month sees several content type upgrades to enhance the teaching and learning experience in H5P.
Updates
- Resume Support: Now available for Branching Scenario, Memory Game, and Find The Hotspot.
- Course Presentation: Improved printing, translations, and accessibility.
- Agamotto: Better translations, slider positioning, resizing, and accessibility.
- Image Juxtaposition: Enhanced translations, accessibility, and formatting.
- AR Scavenger: Fixed fullscreen and behavior settings.
- Interactive Video: Improved ARIA attributes and video stability.
- Interactive Book: Fixed auto-scrolling and resume functionality.
- Fill in the Blanks & Crossword: Corrected report display issues.
- Summary: Fixed answer count display after refresh.
Inspera
The latest enhancements to Inspera are designed to improve the flexibility and functionality of your assessments.
New question type – symbolic math
- This new programmatic, automatically-marked question type allows responses as numeric values or algebraic equations.
- It uses the same core concepts as Numerical Simulation, with variables and logic set within the Program Model.
- Unlike Numerical Simulation, candidate responses can be algebraic equations that are automatically validated and evaluated.
Inspera screenshot showing the Symbolic Math input type is selected. The options are String Match or Algebraic.
Improved formatting options for essay questions
- Enhanced text formatting capabilities now allow candidates to use indentation and text alignment options directly from the text editor toolbar.
- This provides greater flexibility in structuring and presenting their responses.
The Inspera rich content editor showing the text alignment options are highlighted.
The Inspera rich content editor showing the indenting options are highlighted.
May these enhancements continue to empower you as teachers in your commitment to fostering collaboration and engagement with your students.
As always, should you have any questions or require assistance, seek support from IT Connect and Ranga Auaha Ako, Learning and Teaching Design Team. We’re here to help.
Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is accurate as of 28 August 2024. Please note that the features and updates mentioned above are based on available information at the time of writing, and there may have been further developments since then.
Page updated 26/06/2024 (minor edit)