Quality Handbook Supplement 12B - Requirements for the use of digital technologies in learning, teaching and assessment

2.1 Dates, times and locations of School Forums for the coming year should be published on NOW at the start of the academic year.

2.2 Course Learning Rooms should include the following content, as a minimum:

1. Course handbook, or equivalent
2. Course Assessment and Feedback Plan
3. Course news
4. Module option choices (where appropriate)
5. Information about student academic representation
6. Response to undergraduate course survey (as a Course News item)
7. Course tutorial information (or link to tutorial Learning Room)
8. Name and institution of the approved external examiner(s)
9. External examiners’ reports and course team’s response

2.3 Module Learning Rooms should include the following content, as a minimum:

1. Completed Module Learning Room template pages within the following units:
   • Start Here
   • Module Information
   • Assessment
   • Support
2. Module news.
3. Library resource list.
4. Contact information, if not in module handbook.
5. Selected materials and resources for directed learning (e.g. details of tasks, PowerPoint slides, hand-outs).
6. Results of module survey (excluding comments), the module leader’s response and any resulting actions.
7. Details of the mode of delivery of the module (e.g. in person, online, or blended). “Module Overview” page of the module Learning Room template provides space for this information.
8. Accessibility report. The “Learning Room accessibility statement” page of the module Learning Room template provides space for this information.

2.4 The default Learning Room home page must be adhered to. The default home page has been designed to support consistency in design, accessibility and best practice in layout. The four default units, namely: “Start Here, Module Information, and Assessment units”, and related content items must be retained and updated accordingly.

2.5 The Start Here unit consists of the Welcome to the Module template. This should be updated with a brief introduction of the Module Lead and the module itself. It also contains the Learning Room Accessibility Statement, which Module Leaders should review and update.  The Module Information unit consists of 7 content topics, 6 of which are editable of which 5 relate directly to the module. They must be updated before the learning room is made available to students, as follows:

• Module Overview: This should be completed providing the module aims, delivery mode, schedule, module content, and peer support and collaboration sections. This enables students to understand how and when the module will be taught, and how they are expected to interact with each other.
• Engaging with this Module: This section should be completed to provide an overview of how students are expected to engage with their module content and also outlines any special technology requirements needed.
• Learning Outcomes: The learning outcomes for the module should be listed to support students in understanding what they will learn.
• Module Help and Guidance: This section should be updated with the contact information for key module staff, with the availability and preferred method of contact listed provided.

2.6 The Assessment section contains the Assessment Details content item, which must be completed with information as to how students are to be assessed during the module, together with any relevant information such as marking matrices and links to relevant assessment regulations.

2.7 The assessment briefs for any assessment must also be provided ahead of the learning room being made available to students, and must include the submission date, method and format of the assessment, and method of submission, together with any instructions.

2.8 To support students with locating module content, a clear, well-constructed navigation structure must be applied, using well-considered naming conventions. This must be applied consistently across the learning room and the course.

2.9 Learning materials must be hosted alongside related items and structured into unit folders that reflect how they are to be delivered, i.e. weekly or by topic or theme. Instructions must be provided alongside any task or activity set to ensure that students are clear about what they should do. The use of due dates, start dates and/or end dates also support students planning and time management.

2.10 Content should be appropriately positioned within the provided content structure as applicable, in a consistent manner, using clear naming conventions, and conform to Accessibility guidelines (see section 6 below).

2.11 Assessment results should be available via NOW Online Results within three days of the Board of Examiner’s meeting (more detail is provided in QHS 15E).

2.12 There may be some exceptions where no online presence is appropriate. For example, modules delivered entirely at a client’s location where online provision is not wanted or not possible; and modules which are not running in a given academic session or year.

3.1 Interim course monitoring should include consideration of the use of NOW as a key aspect of the quality assurance and enhancement of the course; intended improvements should be included in the Course Development Plan.

3.2 Schools may identify important cross-School matters relating to digital technologies through their consideration of Interim Course Reports, Course Development Plans and Periodic Course Reviews; intended improvements should be included in the School academic plan. It is expected that Schools will consider: current and planned fully online courses; School-initiated developments in the use of NOW or other technologies; innovative uses of technology to support teaching, learning and assessment practice; and associated matters.

3.3 Meeting the minimum requirements for NOW Learning Rooms does not preclude the use of other NOW features or third-party tools, such as cloud services and apps. For foundational activities where security, standards and data management are important, NOW should be used; except in cases where approved third-party tools fulfilling the criteria for the required security, standards and data management facilities may be used when appropriate NTU guidelines for such tools have been followed. These activities include: provision of course materials; assessment and coursework submission; course administration and communication; and access to core resources.

3.4 Third-party administrative tools, including plagiarism detection software, must be used in line with prevailing University and School policies and guidance.

4.1 Summatively assessed work may be submitted via one of the web-based systems approved for the purpose. Currently approved systems, meeting security, data management and examining requirements include NOW, PebblePad and Aptem.

4.2 Feedback from students show that consistency and clarity in the handling of their submitted work is important as they know what is expected of them. This should be considered when deciding on the means by which course assessment items are submitted.

4.3 Summatively assessed coursework and dissertations should be submitted in one format only wherever this is practicable. This is to ensure version control and to provide clarity to students. If submission of the same material in an alternative format is required, a consistent deadline should be applied. The benefit of reducing printing costs for students should be considered in decisions about the required format of submissions.

4.4 In using PebblePad or Aptem, course leaders will want to take into consideration how engagement, as measured through the Student Dashboard, is affected by PebblePad/Aptem submissions, which are not currently reflected in Dashboard data.

4.5 Online submissions are subject to the same assessment considerations (see Quality Handbook Section 15) as any other submitted work.

5.1 It is essential that all materials, including diagrams, images and video clips, meet the copyright agreements held by the University. All colleagues who upload materials to NOW have a responsibility in this regard.

5.2 Advice and support about copyright is available from the Learning and Teaching Team in the Library.

6.1 It is a legal requirement that all course materials are provided in an accessible format in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and as part of the Equality Act (2010). All colleagues who provide materials have a responsibility in this regard.

6.2 Guidance on creating accessible learning materials can be found on the Academic Development and Quality web pages.

7.1 The following support for digital technologies in learning and teaching is available:

• School digital strategies for learning and teaching, and School support:  Learning and Teaching Managers
• Staff development for digital practice, including NOW: Education, Quality, and Partnerships (EQP) / Flex Team
• Advice on information literacy, ePortfolio, Turnitin and resource lists: Learning and Teaching Librarians
• Technical help for NOW and other information systems: ITS Service Desk
• Advice about wider IS support for learning and teaching: IS Business Relationship Managers
• Support for students using NOW and PebblePad: Library
• Support for staff using Pebblepad: Library