News & Updates

MyAberdeen Enhancements - November 2023

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Option to Insert Images
• Matching Question
• Student Submission Receipt
• Anonymous Grading in Flexible Grading View
• File-Based Assignment Submissions

MyAberdeen Enhancements for October 2023

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available for October online.

• Unsplash Stock Images for Courses
• SafeAssign Direct Submit
• Assign Submissions to Graders
• Partial credit auto-distribution for correct answers for Multiple Choice questions
• Send Reminder from Gradebook list and grid views
• Last access course alert default set to 15 days

Progress Tracking – enabled by default from Thursday 24 August

To provide students with a consistent user experience on MyAberdeen, Progress Tracking will be enabled by default in all courses going forward, including courses in AY 2023-24.  This will allow students to track their progress through the learning material. For example, students will see assignments marked as complete after submission and can manually mark documents as read. Staff can view students’ engagement with learning materials and activities (including assessments) by accessing the Progress tab in a student’s profile (via the class register) or by clicking on the ellipsis (3 dots) to the right of an item and selecting Student Progress.

Management of Panopto Content – in place from Tuesday 22 August

Following changes to Panopto’s business model, the University is now required to pay for the storage of Panopto content. Panopto now has two tiers of video storage - live video which can be viewed immediately, and archived videos where access can be requested by viewers clicking on the player. More details can be found on the How to Restore Archived Content page. This retrieval can take up to 48 hours.

Therefore, from this academic year going forward, the following automatic retention rules will be implemented within Panopto to manage the storage of older content.

• MyAberdeen Course Folders Policy - This will affect videos in MyAberdeen course folders:
  • Archive – videos older than 3 years, that have not been viewed in the last 1 year will be archived.  Content that has been archived is available to play but may take up to 48 hours.   
• Site Wide Policy - This is the default policy for all other videos:
  • Archive – videos older than 5 years, that have not been viewed in the last 1 year will be archived.  Content that has been archived is available to play but may take up to 48 hours.  

Archival policies will run automatically on the site. Retrieval from archive will occur based on request as indicated in the above link.

If you have old videos you want to retain, accessing and playing the video will prevent it from being archived.

MS Teams integration with MyAberdeen

In AY 2024-25 we plan on replacing Class Collaborate with MS Teams as the web conferencing tool within MyAberdeen course areas. We are therefore keen to work with early adopters of the integration between MS Teams and MyAberdeen. The integration creates a new Teams area, provides a link from your course area to the Teams environment, enrols your students and allows staff to easily invite users from your course area to a Teams meeting.  If you are interested in being involved, please email eLearning@abdn.ac.uk.

MyAberdeen Enhancements for July and August

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available for July and August online.

• Flexible Grading View - read about this new flexible grading interface or watch a 5 min video about it.
• Send reminders to non-submitters for anonymously graded assessments
• Formative label and Gradebook filter
• Partial and negative credit improvements for the Multiple Choice / Multiple Select question type
• Add exceptions for anonymously graded assessments
• Complete/incomplete grade schema
• Start, Continue, and View Assessment options and file submission update
• Progress Tracking and Start / Continue / Completed options for Learning Modules
• Learning Module image
• Unread Message indicator
• Students with alerts flags in the Course Activity Report
• Group Messaging improvements
• Groups in the top navigation bar and Group Spaces
• Ultra Accessibility Checker

Staff Update

Congratulations to our colleague Megan Buchanan for completing her two year Graduate Trainee programme.  Megan will continue working in CAD, but now as an eLearning Adviser.

Award for Designing and Tutoring Online Courses

eLearning team are extremely proud to achieve an Exemplary Course Progam (ECP) award for our Designing and Tutoring Online Course (DTOC).  The winners are selected by peers in the international education community and recognises instructors and course designers whose courses demonstrate best practice. The award recognises courses that demonstrate best practices in four major areas: Course Design, Interaction & Collaboration, Assessment and Learner Support.

Removal from MyAberdeen of Academic Year 2020/21 and Deletion of Collaborate Recordings for AY 2020/21

In accordance with University policy, course areas associated with the Academic Year 2020/21 will be removed from MyAberdeen at 5 pm on Tuesday 1 August 2023.  Please download any material from 2020/21 courses that you wish to retain.  Please note that Collaborate Recordings for AY 2020/21 will be deleted shortly after the courses are removed from MyAberdeen. If you wish to retain Collaborate recordings from AY 2020/21, please download the recording and upload it to Panopto.

Reviewing our Staff Development Offerings from the Centre for Academic Development

The Centre for Academic Development is reviewing their events and workshops and would really appreciate your input and suggestions about possible future sessions that could be offered to staff.  Please do complete the very short survey entitled ‘CAD Staff Development Review’ to help collate responses for future offerings.

MyAberdeen Enhancements for May and June

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available for May and June online.

• Grading Attempt Selector Improvements
• Prevent Backtracking in Tests with Page Breaks
• Add Exemptions via the Gradebook Grid View
• Rubrics Improvements
• Send Messages from the Submissions Page
• Add Exemptions for Anonymous Assessments
• Upload questions from a file to test and assignments
• Anonymous Grading of Tests
• Add Exceptions from the Gradebook Grid View and the Student Overview Page
• Course Links Improvements
• Announcements in the Top Navigation Bar

Staff Update

The eLearning team would like to pass on our thanks and best wishes for the future to Kristina Benedikova who leaves us after 2 years to further her studies. 

MyAberdeen Enhancements April 2023

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Submission Page Sorting Controls
• Gradable Items View Usability Improvements
• Hotspot Question – Circle Shape and Usability Improvements
• Discussion Navigation Improvements
• Accessibility Improvements to Course Activity Report
• Student Progress Reports Update
• New Access points for Student Overview
• Course Content Title Search
   

Deletion of Turnitin Papers

If staff need to remove a submission from the Turnitin inbox, there are two options available: to remove from the inbox – this is sufficient in most cases - or request permanent deletion.  The option to remove a submission from the inbox will allow a student to resubmit without a match in the similarity report, for example if a student has simply submitted the wrong file.  Their second submission will automatically be filtered out of the similarity report and not be listed as a match, provided it is submitted to the same assignment.  Removing from the inbox is quicker as the option to delete permanently from the Turnitin database requires approval from the eLearning team, taking up to one week.   Requests for submissions to be permanently would only normally be required where perhaps confidential data has been submitted in error.  More information is available on the Turnitin help pages.

Upcoming Staff Development Events

• Discussion Panel: AI, ChatGPT and Implications for HE and Assessment – Thursday 9th March 1pm
• Digitally Enhanced Education Webinar – Wednesday 15th March 2pm (External event)
  • If you are unable to attend the internal discussion on the 9th March or you would like to hear perspectives from another HEI, you may wish to join this session hosted by the University of Kent.

MyAberdeen Enhancements

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Switching Between Multiple Attempts in Assessments
• Sorting Anonymous Assignments
• GradeBook Sorting
• Data and Analytics
• PDF Version of the SafeAssign Originality Report
• Deactivate Discussion Post Activity

Panopto Automatic Captions at Folder Level

To enable greater efficiency when captioning multiple videos, staff can now set automatic captioning to be applied to new videos by default at folder level.  Any new video added to this folder will automatically have captions generated, ready for correcting.  Enabling this option will not affect videos already in the folder.  To enable this option, follow these steps:

1. Open the Panopto folder
2. Select Folder Settings (cog wheel icon top right)
3. Select Settings
4. Under Captions, choose Automatic Machine Captions from the drop down menu

MyAberdeen Enhancements

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Improvements to Hotspot Question – Polygon Shapes for Greater Accuracy
• Sort Gradable Items
• Student Gradebook Sorting
• Show Course Group Members
• Progress Tracking:  Hidden Content Now In Report
• Progress Tracking - Ally Alternative Formats Tracked
• Mobile App - Full Profile Now Visible
• Extra Credit Questions
• Exemptions

Staff Update

Congratulations to our colleague Craig Stewart for completing his two year Graduate Trainee programme.  Craig will continue working in CAD, but now as an eLearning Adviser.

Is Your Course Ready for the Start of Term? 

New staff might be interested in our videos on the MyAberdeen Staff Toolkit.  These have been updated to focus on the Ultra course view and to reflect recent updates. If you are a Course Coordinator, please follow the guidance on how to add additional teaching staff to your course and how to make your course available. Additional teaching staff are usually enrolled with the role of “Lecturer”. The “Course Coordinator” role should only be used by Course Coordinator(s). Our course readiness checklist has been updated to help all teaching staff prepare for start of term.   

Support Available for Improving MyAberdeen User Experience 

Do you need help with ensuring that your course materials are accessible to all students, including those with disabilities or specific learning differences? If so, the eLearning team are offering a new Course Accessibility Service for Course Coordinators, which will provide you with additional resource to enhance the accessibility of learning materials on MyAberdeen - both to improve the student experience and to aid compliance with digital accessibility regulations. More information about the Course Accessibility Service. 

Upcoming Workshops 

A range of workshops by eLearning are being offered for the start of term, see course booking for further information. 

Pilot of MS Teams integration with MyAberdeen 

We are piloting an integration between MS Teams and MyAberdeen. The integration creates a new Teams area, provides a link from your course area to the Teams environment, enrols your students and allows staff to easily invite users from your course area to a Teams meeting. If you are interested in being involved, please email eLearning@abdn.ac.uk marked for the attention of Gavin Innes.  

Feedback on the Inclusivity and Accessibility in Education Framework 

We are gathering feedback on the Inclusivity and Accessibility in Education Framework and its usefulness in terms of day-to-day practice. We would appreciate if you could fill out our feedback form to share your thoughts and any suggestions you have.  

MyAberdeen Enhancements 

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online. 

• View and edit grades for anonymous submissions prior to posting 
• Essay Question Model Answer 
• Non-posted grades included in Grade History 
• Test Question and Page Randomisation 
• Progress Tracking: Status and filters for group submissions 
• Bb Annotate: Create categories inside the content library 
• Show icons for Turnitin Gradebook and Grades 
• Discussions – No Activity After Due Date 
• Improvements to Messages recipient types by course role 
• Blackboard Collaborate is now known as Class Collaborate, still the same product, just under new ownership. 
• Mobile View: Expand and Collapse Course Faculty and Details & Actions sections

MyAberdeen Enhancements December

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Improvements for copying content
• Drag & Drop Improvements when rearranging files
• Question banks descriptions & search
• New course links tool
• Simpler exit actions for student preview
• New single student progress report
• Additional information about icons – alerting you to an accommodation or a due date exception

Deletion of Turnitin Papers

If staff need to remove a submission from the Turnitin inbox, there are now two options: to remove from the inbox or request permanent deletion. As a member of staff, you have the option to remove a submission from the inbox which will allow a student to resubmit, for example if a student has simply submitted the wrong draft of their essay.  Their second submission will automatically be filtered out of the similarity report and not be listed as a match, provided it is submitted once more to the same assignment.  Removing from the inbox is quicker and the as deleting permanently from the Turnitin database requires approval from the eLearning team.   Requests for submissions to be permanently would only normally be required where perhaps confidential data has been submitted in error.  More information is available on the Turnitin help pages.

MyAberdeen Enhancements in November

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Hotspot question type has been added, with support for keyboard navigation
• New option to add page breaks to tests
• Students are now notified if their connection is lost during a test
• Enhanced overview for an individual student within the Gradebook
• Weekly Course Activity Report under the Analytics tab
• Files from the Content Collection can now be added to Ultra Documents
• The Turnitin/Panopto icon will now be displayed instead of the rocket icon
• Unread Messages indicator within the messages tab on the base navigation

MyAberdeen Enhancements in October

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.

• Improved access to Student Grades Overview
• Student Progress report for course content
• Formulas added in content editors using the maths editor or by typing LaTeX equations accessible with screen readers are accessible with screen readers.
• Improvements to Blackboard App Settings

MyAberdeen Enhancements in September

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen.  Further information about the latest update is available online.  

• Rubric Copy Between Courses - Staff can now copy rubrics between courses from the Copy Content menu option.
• Question Bank Sorting Controls - Staff can now sort questions within Question Banks.
• Reply to Discussions When Grading - Staff can now reply to discussions when grading student participation.
• Grade History - The grade history for students now includes a log of changes to non-posted grades.
• Summary List of Inline Assignment Comments -  In an assignment, users can now see a list summarising all the inline comments in a side panel.
• Test Timer Notifications - Students will now be reminded of the time remaining in online tests.
• New Ally Alternative Format - Students can now choose to access learning materials online in a new alternative format called “Microsoft Immersive Reader”

 New Mobile App for MyAberdeen

The Blackboard mobile app for MyAberdeen has been updated, giving it additional functionality.  You can now do everything on the mobile app, just as you would on the desktop web version.  You can manage push notifications within the app settings or the Activity Stream on MyAberdeen.  Existing staff users should remove the old Instructor app. The app is available for Apple iOS via the App Store and Android devices via Google Play Store.

MyAberdeen Enhancements in August 2022

There have a been a large number of enhancements to MyAberdeen over the last few weeks, in particular with significant improvements to tests. The following are the main updates for August:

• New mobile app
• Import and export of groups
• Messages can now be sent before course is available
• Student Preview user can be deleted
• LaTeX can be rendered in Ultra
• Question banks can be created and edited

Further information about the latest update is available online.

MyAberdeen Enhancements in July 2022

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. Further information about the latest update is available online.

Ultra Course View

• Updated Panel for Messages - Messages can now be authored and read on a larger panel for improved user experience.
• “LTI item” now renamed to “Tools (Panopto) - Previously, when inserting a Panopto video to an Ultra Document, users would select Insert “LTI item” to select a video. This has been renamed to “Tools Panopto”.
• Copy Question Banks - Staff can now copy question banks from the Original course view to the Ultra course view.
• Prohibit Backtracking in Tests - When using the option “One question at a time”, staff can now also select to prohibit backtracking within a test.
• Grade History Download - Staff can now download a record of the changes made to grades from the Gradebook as an Excel file or comma separated values file (CSV).
• Edit Test Question Points - Staff can now change (override) the points a student earns on an assessment question.
• Test Question Filtering Improvements - Students can now more easily filter test questions, for example to show unanswered questions.
• Categories for Graded Discussions and Journals - Staff can now assign a category that does not match the assessment tool used.
• Multiple Choice Question Improvement - To enhance the user experience, the text “Choose at least one correct answer” has now been removed from tests.
• Inline Rendering of files in Course Content, Folders, and Learning Modules - Documents and images can now render inline in Course Content, folders, and learning modules - that is, displayed within the browser but out with an Ultra document.
• Improvements to Rendering of Equations - Mathematical equations are now rendered in course areas using scalable vector graphics (SVG) format.
• Points Overall Grade Calculation Option - It is now possible to calculate the overall grade by total points, rather than being weighted by percentage. We recommend continuing to use the weighting percentages.
• Blackboard Collaborate – Breakout Groups and Polls now available when using the AWS Chime option, Breakout Groups can now be paused and resumed, anonymised mentions in recordings also includes @ tags, option to reduce background noise now available.

Panopto Enhancements

Home Page

• New look and feel – repositioned Create button on our Panopto web site to be more prominent, and centralised search bar for enhanced usability.  The option to download the Panopto recording application can now be found in the Create menu.

Creation

• Faster post-edit video processing – creators can now publish in seconds after editing a video.
• Smart chapters - automatically indexes videos with a table of contents for easier navigation.  More about Smart Chapters on Panopto support pages.

Captioning

• Improved automatic captions - an update to the automated speech-to-text engine has improved ASR caption quality.
• Find and replace - quickly find and replace all instances of an incorrectly transcribed word.  Panopto will now also highlight words in captions generated with low confidence (see screenshot).

• New keyboard shortcuts - keyboard shortcuts have been added for common actions used during caption editing, including pausing and resuming video playback, at the current caption’s time-point.
• Caption end time - when editing a caption, you can now specify an end time.
• Site level dictionary – the eLearning team can now add a list of common specialised words or proper nouns to the Panopto dictionary at site level to improve the accuracy of automatic captions.  If you would like words added to the list, please email these to elearning@abdn.ac.uk

Other

• RSS Feeds - Panopto will be deprecating the use of RSS feeds in Panopto for increased security.

MyAberdeen Enhancements in June 2022

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. Further information about the latest update is available online.

Original and Ultra Course View

• Blackboard Collaborate - A new option to use Collaborate on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Chime technology is available within the session settings.
   

Ultra Course View

• Embedded Documents - Common file types can now be embedded in an Ultra document or assessment, as well as having the option to download.
• Blackboard Ally - Staff can now use Ally to check the accessibility of WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) content in Ultra documents, for example when editing text and images.
• Multiple Attempts in Group Assessments - The option to allow multiple attempts to group assessments is now available to staff.
• Journals – now allows unlimited entries, improved navigation, improved pagination and a count of graded journals for staff.

MyAberdeen Enhancements in April / May 2022

Please find below some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. April’s update was large but also delayed and so this MyAberdeen Enhancements communication is larger than normal and includes some additional functionality for Ultra tests that some staff have been eagerly awaiting. You may also have noticed the new “in-product updates” pop-up within MyAberdeen itself. Further information about the latest update is available online.

Original

• Text tips for images

Ultra and Original

• Session Time Out Warning
• In-Product Updates and User Engagement Surveys
• Course Activity Related to Grades Report
• Undo and Redo in Bb Annotate (available later this month)

Collaborate

• Live data insights

Ultra

• One Question at a Time
• Prevent Grades from Auto-Posting
• Calculated Numeric Question Type
• Download Results
• Functionality for Students in Tests
• Staff Access to Submission Receipts
• Student Feedback Display Controls
• Weighted Overall Grade Calculation
• Unlimited Journal entries
• Displaying Code Snippets
• Usernames Visible to Staff
• Granular Content Copy
• Mobile App Improvements

MyAberdeen Enhancements in March 2022

Below are details of some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. Further details about the latest update are available in our guide.

Updates Applied 3rd March

Ultra: New Peak Panel When Creating Learning Modules

When staff create a learning module in Ultra, all settings now appear in a peek panel (layer on right hand side). From the peek panel staff can:

• Name the learning module
• Set the visibility of the learning module for students
• Add an optional description
• Apply forced sequence to the content in the module. Note this option is no longer available on the Release Conditions panel

Ultra: Learning Modules Forced Sequence

Staff can now add more content to a learning module when the forced sequence option has been applied. If staff add or change content, a warning is displayed: "Additions and changes in content can make students who already started the module follow a different order."

Ultra: Sticky Header in Tests

Tests now have a header to improve the user experience. The header is sticky, meaning that it is always visible as a student navigates the test. This header also appears in assignments that include questions. Please note, the header does not appear when the test is viewed on a small window or mobile device. The new header displays the following helpful information:

• A progress bar
• Time remaining if the instructor has set a time limit
• The number of answered questions out of the total questions in the test or assignment

MyAberdeen Enhancements

Below are details of some notable enhancements to MyAberdeen. Further details about the latest update are available in our guide.

Updates Applied 10th February

Original: Force Completion changes to better support Multiple Attempt Tests

The Force Completion option now requires a time limit and automatic submission. This change enforces the submission of incomplete or abandoned attempts.

Original and Ultra: Incorrect submission date on assignment submission receipt

The assignment submission receipt previously included the timestamp when the student started the attempt. The timestamp now shows the time/date the student submitted the attempt.

Ultra: Prohibit late submissions

Select this setting in assessments to enforce a hard deadline and disallow a late submission. In-progress and saved attempts will auto-submit at the due date. Note that selecting "Prohibit late submissions" auto-enables "Prohibit new attempts after due date" (see following update). Students with accommodations can continue working past the due date. This feature does not work with Peer Review or Group submissions. 

Ultra: Prohibit new attempts after due date

Select this setting to prevent students from beginning a new attempt after the due date. Staff can enable the "Prohibit new attempts after due date" option on its own. This supports a scenario when students should have the full amount of time available on a timed test. A student can resume any attempt saved before the due date passes. This supports a scenario where the student experiences a disruption during the assessment. Students who submit an attempt after the due date will have their submission marked as late. This feature does not work with Peer Review.

Ultra: Pronunciation display and recording

Users can now add text guidance and an audio recording of their name to their user profile. Users can use the text guidance to describe the pronunciation of their names for other users or they can record the pronunciation of their name. Text guidance and audio recordings appear with pronouns next to their name in course areas. This feature does not work in the Safari web browser.

eLearning Team Updates

This month we welcome Paulina Martinkova to the eLearning team, who joins our two year Graduate Trainee programme. 

January also sees the launch of our new Course Accessibility Service which is aimed at raising awareness of accessibility issues and supporting staff to fix issues with course documents. The service, carried out by our eLearning Support Assistants, is currently being piloted with a small number of courses in the Ultra view.

MyAberdeen Enhancements

This month sees the switch-on of the pronouns feature within MyAberdeen. Users can now specify their pronouns on the profile pages to appear next to their name in discussions and messages. Currently, the pronouns only appear in the Ultra course view with functionality for the Original course view expected in the future.