Peerceptiv is a new peer review, group formation, and team member evaluation tool available in NYU’s Brightspace. If you currently use or are interested in using peer review exercises as part of your instruction, Peerceptiv can help you set up the workflow. It can be configured to automatically assign students to review X number of […]
Using Tech to Go Tech-Free: Preparing Students for Screen-Free Classrooms
As generative AI tools reshape how students engage with course materials and assignments, many faculty are responding to the changes these tools bring by experimenting with technology-free classrooms. For some, this is a way to remove distractions and reclaim focus. For others, it’s a chance to re-center learning on conversation, collaboration, and human connection. Of […]
What is OER?
According to the Creative Commons Wiki, OER, or Open Educational Resources, are “teaching, learning, and research materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.” To simultaneously offset cost to students and take advantage of the wealth of credible learning […]
Getting Students to Engage with Course Materials: Perusall
It happens all the time. An instructor assigns a reading that students are asked to complete before the next class. Shortly after the next class starts, it quickly becomes evident that few, if any, students completed the reading. The discussion stalls out and the instructor needs to quickly pivot to keep everyone on track. Enter […]
Preparation for Finals – Respondus Lockdown Browser
Working in academia, it can feel like our time moves in these all too swift cycles. We say “We can’t believe it’s that time already” so often, but it is so often true. And, it’s hard to believe it’s almost finals time already. If you missed it, take a look at our post about Student […]
What is H5P?
In the dynamic landscape of higher education, fostering student engagement and creating effective learning experiences are constant priorities. NYU just integrated H5P, a great tool used to create activities that do just that. H5P offers a wide array of content types (currently over 40!), including interactive videos (with embedded questions), quizzes (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, drag-and-drop), […]
Brightspace Course Reports: Content Reports
We’ve discussed Learning Analytics and the valuable ways they can inform our pedagogical decisions in this October 2024 blog post. As we hit the midpoint of the semester, it is a good time to remember some of the Learning Analytics available in Brightspace. Content Reports are particularly helpful for a quick understanding of how much […]
What is VoiceThread?
VoiceThread is a piece of educational technology fully integrated with Brightspace. Instructors can use the tool to create interactive media/lectures and students can use the tool to create multi-layered presentations or complete assignments. You can see some examples of the tool in action on the VoiceThread website. Some use cases include: Interactive Lectures: Rather than […]
What are Learning Analytics?
Terms like “learning analytics” and “data-informed teaching” have been thrown around quite a bit in last several years. But what do they mean? The Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) define learning analytics as, “the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and […]
5 Reasons to Use the Brightspace Grades Tool
Most (if not all) students reflect and focus on their grades in each of their courses. There are a number of ways that instructors can keep students informed about the progress they’re making in a class. Here are 5 reasons to use the Brightspace Grades tool to keep students informed about their grades. Transparency First […]