Category: TES and TESDCP

E content 2023 and 2024

Well, beginning 2023, the ELPPT teaching assessment includes e content (5% – depending on what you provide), thus it is important to submit ANYTHING that we have developed and used in our class in previous semesters. So, for this year, don’t miss a chance to submit our e content starting 5 September (Friday) until 15 October 2024. Yup, even though we might get the marks for our ELPPT at the end of the year, but for e content, the evaluation starts early and ends BEFORE December 2024.

Here are some FAQs that I got from my colleagues, so I will spare you the time to ask me similar questions by reading this post. (Tongue in cheek remarks ONLY).

How many materials that I submitted last year (2023)?

I submitted 4 materials (4 categories: gamification, video based learning, collaboration tools, and communication tools). Since I did not have any micro-credential materials, I have to diversify my materials. But since I like to try out new things in my class, so, I have to use more than one platform and thus, my materials are varied. So, what are the comments that I got last year?

What comments that I received last year?

Disclaimer: I know this might be considered confidential but for the sake of learning from my experience, I will give the “friendly” version instead (Don’t get me wrong. The remarks can be interpreted according to how we wish to perceive it, so it can be perceived either positively or negatively).

Here are the comments:

  • Teaching slide (R1)
  • Teaching instruction video (R2)
  • Text quiz (R1)
  • Non-interactive, using more than one external and internal link media (My own note: Can you guess the rank?)

One of my colleagues and I taught a same course (pair teaching). So we did a little experiment last year. For the teaching slide, I got R1, and she got R2. THE EXACTLY SAME TEACHING MATERIAL that we submitted but we got different marks. This is a good example of lack of reliability assessment. I believe that both of us were evaluated by different evaluators and thus, the different marks.

It might be considered as teaching slide because it appears to be like normal PowerPoint slide. But using Quizziz, I added some questions in between the slides. For example, the first question that I pose is on the 7th slide. So, for the evaluator who just look at the first 6 slides, he/she will only see explanation about a topic. But the evaluator of my colleagues might go through the next slide (7th slide) and thus, he/she might encounter the first question that I pose. For Quizziz, whenever there is a question, students have to answer the question before moving on to the next slide. In this case, there is an element of INTERACTIVITY between student and the material but, my colleague got R2 (Receptive-closed) and I got R1 (Receptive-basic). Isn’t it confusing that a same material of the same category is evaluated differently? I can’t help but laugh out loud. What can I do about it? Of course, Dr Nihra will always suggest me “Tolonglah semak markah ELPPT bahagian e content” but please take his advice seriously, unlike me.

Want another example of a confusing case? I submitted a material as collaboration tools in 2022, I got I2 (Interactive-closed) but a similar material from the same platform (for a different course) that I submitted in 2023 as collaboration tools in 2023 was evaluated as R3. Even though the materials are for different courses, but the types of materials and platforms are similar (there are class notes, online quiz etc.). Isn’t it confusing because what is the difference between R3 (Receptive-open) and I2 (Interactive-closed)? To tell you the truth, I was confused as well. But unlike 2022, all of the materials that I submitted were approved and thus, they were evaluated (and thus, got some marks). For 2022, there was a material that I submitted which was not approved but a similar material which I submitted in 2023 was approved. Both materials were developed using the same platform (Genial.ly).

Do I subscribe to the platforms where I develop/create my T&L materials?

Except Youtube, I subscribe several platforms such as Prezi, Quizziz, and Genial.ly. I still use the free version of Wakelet with limited features (when I started to use it a few years ago, it was free with cool features. But now, I have to subscribe to enjoy the cool features). To be honest, “upgraded” features and subscription plans seem to change on a continuous basis. It is a lucrative business. Indeed.

What and how to upload for e content – 2023?

  1. Log in to UTMPORTAL
  2. On your left side, click ACADEMIC tab so you can scroll down and select T&L Delivery and Resources
  3. Click T&L Delivery and Resources (it is in the middle, in between Home and Measure of Student Learning).
  4. You will see several boxes: Blended learning, ODL, OBE, NALI & HIEPS, E-content.
  5. Click E-content
  6. On your right side (there is an icon with + button Add New). Click the Add New icon
  7. Fill in the information needed such as Project name (I normally add the Course Title) etc. To be on a safe side, make sure you have a variety of materials which you can put in different categories. We can only add ONE material in ONE category.
  8. Click the Submit button if you are ready to be evaluated. Please double check if you have submitted the materials. It should not be in draft mode (will not be evaluated)

Note: ALWAYS make sure the date start develop and date end develop is for the current year. DO NOT put the date start develop as previous year e.g. 2022, 2021 etc. even though you develop the materials on that particular year and only use the materials in the current year i.e. 2023.

Examples of materials (Make sure the materials can be accessible or set it into PUBLIC MODE):

  1. Video based learning = YouTube video or any other video that you create such as using Genially etc. (make sure you allow students to write their comments to get 2 marks) = video based learning category. For videos that I created in Genially, it does not have a feature which students can add their comments, or ask questions which I or other students can answer, so, the marks that I got is 1 mark.
  2. Gamification = Quizzes or tests in Kahoot! or Quizziz etc. with more than five questions. 5 questions is the minimum. So, better make it more than five. PLEASE make sure you create the questions. For Quizziz, you can take questions from existing sets which are created by other users, but PLEASE at least add your own questions. In my case, what I do is I would browse at existing questions and if it is relevant, I will add it in the set of quiz that I am creating. But at the same time, I will revise some wordings (change the verb), add answer explanation and add other questions that I create myself. So, let’s say there are 10 questions, half of it will be from me and another half will be from other users. For add explanation feature, it allows your students to read explanation about the correct answer, if they answer wrongly. So, without your physical presence, your students can still learn from the predetermined explanation. This is an example of a set (quiz) that I make it public which contains feedback that students can refer to (only available to some questions though).
  3. Collaborative tools = Padlet, Wakelet etc. which contains 80% of your notes/materials and 20% of activities (e.g. questions that students can answer and discuss).
  4. Communicative tools = Prezi, Quizziz (interactive slide mode) etc.

How many marks that we can get if let’s say we submit one materials based on the above categories?

  • Based on my personal experience, the marks are varied. For example, I got 1 mark for a YouTube video (which allow students to leave their comments etc.) but I got 2 marks of a similar video in another year.
  • For Prezi note, last year (2022) I got 2 marks but the previous year (2021), I got 1 mark. What is the difference? The evaluator’s evaluation. The rubric is the same. The evaluators are different. In both sets, I added questions in the notes which students can reflect and interact but only the 2022 version has better marks.
  • For gamification, I also got different marks of similar materials. For this material with Dungeon and Dragons theme, I got 1 mark (year 2021). But for this material (last year 2022), it was not approve. It is not considered as gamification but interactive content (which category is that? If you ask me, there is no INTERACTIVE CONTENT category in the e content. It is one of the criteria of assessment as stated in the rubric). Genially is an apps like Canva in which you can create video, gamification content, poster etc. It has many features that you can select and use to create variety of INTERACTIVE CONTENT. I am still learning about the features in Genially. It is trial and error as I do not attend any formal training except watching countless hours of YouTube videos that people create about Genially.

Tips:

  • If you are pair/team teaching with your colleagues and your colleagues do not subscribe to any platform such as Quizziz, Prezi, Padlet etc. (which can be costly), you can negotiate with them to use their class notes or materials and you create new digital materials using the platforms that you have subscribed. I do this with some of my colleagues. PLEASE add their names too and MAKE their names VISIBLE because it might be semi-hidden in some of the features.
  • When you revise your class notes (pair/team teaching courses), please inform your colleagues and ask their opinion about the revised version. You can discuss with your colleagues the things that you can improve etc. and you can include that in your OBE report (CQI part). With proper documentation, you can even write an article to share your teaching practices in journals like Action Research Journal, Action Learning: Research and Practice etc.

FAQs (That I have asked Dr Nihra and others have asked me before which I asked Dr Nihra about it for confirmation)

  • Question 1: Can we claim a content which we created in 2020 but we never claimed it before as ELPPT evaluation and we still use the content in the current semester?

Answer 1: YES. You can upload the material in the E content for this year (2023) ELPPT evaluation. Make sure you put the start develop date and end develop date THIS YEAR. I made a mistake in 2020 when I put the start develop data in 2019 and the end develop data in 2020 because I developed the material during semester 2 which started in September 2019 and ended in January 2020. The material was not approved. But since it contained evidence of students’ interaction of asynchronous discussion which happened during the semester which ended in January 2020, I claimed the material for my 2020 ELPPT evaluation. It was approved and I got marks for that.

  • Question 2: Can I claim videos that my students created? It is a part of the assignments that I gave them.

Answer 2: NOPE. ANY material have to be created by you (or created together with another colleague who is the instructor of a course that you are paired with in either team or pair teaching). You need to make sure that you COLLABORATE with your colleagues to create, update and refine the materials.

  • Question 3: Can I upload the WebEx recording on YouTube and considered is an e content material?

Answer 3: You can record a video using WebEx and upload it on YouTube BUT NOT THE ACTUAL class session with your students that you recorded (in this case, the video will be more than 1 hour long). OR if you know how to edit the video and cut it into several parts, just try out your luck then! I am not the evaluator (*tongue in cheek remark!)

  • Question 4: Can I upload more than one material of the same category?

Answer 4: As of 2021 evaluation until now, we cannot upload MORE THAN ONE material of the same category. For example, if I have more than one set of test/quiz on QUIZZIZ or Kahoot!, I cannot submit more than one set (Gamification material).

E content 2023

The experiment that I conducted last year with regards to how the e content evaluators evaluate my e content materials, I put in a content under the category “collaboration tools.” using Wakelet. It has a lot of things, like a class note, an article, a formative assessment, a discussion platform, etc. All of it is on ONE platform (i.e. Wakelet), which brings together different materials from other places. With just ONE platform, students can get to their class notes, take quizzes, and even talk to each other. So, what were the marks that I got for this? I got 3 marks.

But, for gamification material, it was not approved. The comment from the evaluator was “Intercative content (sic)”. Since it was not approved, there were no marks for this. I submitted similar material using Genially in 2021 but for different topic, I got 1 marks. The inconsistency of evaluation is not my fault. The similar material using the same platform does not necessarily will be evaluated the same. Did I submit the same thing more than once? Nope. I have double checked it.

The material also can be rejected or not approved if you put the start date develop as 2022, not 2023. For example, if you are teaching the course in semester 1 2022/23 which started last year in October 2022 and ended this year in February 2023, DO NOT PUT the start date develop as 2 October 2022 and the end date develop this year even though IT IS THE FACT that you develop and use the material on that particular semester. ALWAYS put the start and end date develop of the same year regardless of the semester that you teach.

So, for those who feel sad that they do not get the marks for their e content as they expect, do not worry. It is not your fault. It does not mean that your teaching materials are not good. It is just that the evaluators might overlook some parts.

Note to the evaluators: Can you please give more constructive comments for rejection (not approved)? Thank you.

TES dimansuhkan berkuatkuasa mulai tahun 2023

Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Universiti Bil. 6/2023 bertarikh 21 Mac 2023 telah bersetuju agar komponen penilaian bagi sistem LPPT dilihat semula dengan mengambil kira keperluan semasa dan penilaian berasaskan kompetensi staf. Sehubungan dengan itu, berkuat kuasa mulai tahun 2023,penggunaan sistem penilaian kualiti pengajaran iaitu Teaching Excellent System adalah dimansuhkan.

 

TES: How to complete course file (new way)- especially for FSSH academicians

For FSSH academicians, these are the steps that you can use to complete the task

a) Make sure you complete the course file in the respective system.

b) Once you have completed the course file, go to the course file of a specific course, click View Course File (B3).   You will see the list of courses that you teach for that particular semester.  Make sure you click the relevant year for evaluation.  Do not choose the previous year courses! (tongue in cheek remark!)

c) To view the course content, click View of a specific course (at your right side).  

c) You might see a Print icon on the top middle.  Click that Print icon

You will see there is a link that you can copy (Click HERE to see example)

d) Copy the link and paste in TES (URL box)

Tips: Make sure you complete the course file well.  Meaning, double check if there is a missing document which you might have not uploaded yet.  You can submit ONLY ONE course (they emphasize QUALITY, not QUANTITY).  But if you want to submit all courses by using only one link, you can save all links in a Google Doc.  Just link the Google Doc or Google (make sure the link is set as “Anyone with the link” as a viewer.

But please be aware that this does not related to programme auditing in which the auditor(s) might look at your course file randomly.  So, if you only complete one course file, thus, it might jeopardize your programme to receive proper accreditation.  

 

TESDCP: What is new in the course file (TESDCP)?

There is a new feature in TES (Course file).  We have an option either to upload the documents as usual or you can link (copy-paste URL) the course file that you use.  For example, if you use Google Drive, copy-paste the link here and make sure you make it as public – so people can see it without having difficulty.   

In this picture, you might see that there is a red notification (* not compulsory).  This is because I have completed the course file using the old style.  I did this back in July 2022 immediately after we presented the marks.   But apparently, I have to provide the link of the course file in the URL box.   If not, the B3 (Yearly Validation) will be empty (not Green).

Previously, it is time-consuming to complete uploading documents at two different systems.  There is no doubt about that. Who am I, though, to challenge that? I only comply grudgingly. I am aware of individuals who give up and could not be bothered to upload the materials to the appropriate systems. Occasionally, a simple hands-on uploading can be challenging if we do not know where the required documents are saved.

Normally, I would simultaneously upload course materials to TES and the faculty’s course file system.  This is the “old” practice.  Because I am aware with myself with selective memory, I know where the documents (files) are and so do not need to search for them later.  Alhamdulillah, with the new feature, I no longer have to do that.  I just need to complete my course file in one system and copy-paste the link in TES.   (Refer to B5 – Link eLPPT – in yellow color)

Note: I would like to extend my gratitude towards those experts who created/upgraded the systems to make things easier for us as compared before.

 

Part 3_Star rating for ICESYS: What you should know?

Before you apply for the star rating, you need to register your project first.  After the registration was approved, only then you can apply for star rating application.  To register the project, there are certain things that you need to prepare (in writing).   What I did is, I type the description in words or notepad and I just copy paste it in the system.  It is easier this way as the system cannot idle long.

You need to write description for 

a) an executive summary (300 words)

b) problem statement (300 words)

c) background (300 words)

 

Other than that, you need to select and fill in information on the relevant boxes such as duration, location, SDGs, objectives, milestones, output and such.

In addition, you need to upload certain documents as attachment such as report, survey (observation, questionnaire and analysis), proposal, flowchart, letter of appointment, collaboration letter, milestone and paper work.  

In my case, I also uploaded participant attendance, report, survey results and letter (if you use Google Form, just download the report and save as PDF).  

You can recycle the same documents for your star rating application.  

Once you have filled in the boxes with * and uploaded the relevant evidence, you have to submit this registration application first, before you can apply for star rating. 

Tips:  Please make sure that your registration is completed and approved a few days before the final deadline for star rating application.  For “last minute people”, make sure your project is approved before you complete the star rating application.  You can do it within an hour (or so) if you have all the necessary information and documents at hand.  

 

Part 2_Star rating for ICESYS: What is the difference between the five star rating?

There are specific differences of criteria for different star rating.  In addition, the documents or evidences needed are also different.  

Star rating 1:    The community has a positive orientation towards the programme.  An attendance exceeds or equal to 80%.  The two documents needed: 1) Attendance List and 2) Official document of community involvement consent (it could be in a form of letter or certificate of attendance or recognition).

Star rating 2:    The community consider the programme relevant and needed.  A formal university-community cooperation agreement exists.  Stakeholders generally agree to the implementation of the programme. The two documents needed: 1) Questionnaire / Interview and 2) Letter of Collaboration.  If you have attendance list, it is an optional (better to have it).

Star rating 3: The community action programme results in change in attitude/ knowledge/ skills or aspirations.  Participants exhibit a change in attitude, knowledge, skills and/or aspiration. The three documents needed: 1) Survey form, 2) Interviews Transcription & analysis and 3) Video – before and during program

Star rating 4:   The community programme results in a change of practice.   Participants adopted the innovations that were introduced.  The three documents needed: 1)  Observation checklist, 2) Interviews Transcription & analysis and 3) Video – before and during program.  Report is not compulsory (but once you have it, it will be rated to 5 star).

Star rating 5: The community is empowered and can independently sustain the practice that was introduced through the programme.  Participants continue to practice innovations without UTM’s assistance.  The four documents needed: 1) Report (contains description of event, put pictures etc. and if you have conducted survey, include the findings of the survey too in the report), 2) Observation checklist & analysis, 3) Video – before and during program and 4) news – media coverage (provide the URL link of the media coverage such as UTM news).  In addition, you also need to state the impact of program and sustainability value (need to write a description about this in the report)

 

 

Part 1_Star rating for ICESYS: Required documents

There are certain things that are needed for star rating that you apply in ICESYS.  

Make sure you have the following (if not all, it is suggested that you have the starred documents):

a) Facility/Tools/Equipment/Machinery/System invented for the community (Write the description – PDF file)

*b) Letter of Appointment or Official document of community involvement consent

c) Letter of Cooperation (Official document of community involvement consent)

d) Letter of Intent (LOI)

e) MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)

f) MoA (Memorandum of Agreement)

g) Intellectual Property (IP) (Give the evidence of IP number etc. – PDF file)

h)  Award (Upload the certificate which indicates the award that you won – PDF file)

*i) Attendance List (Make sure you take the attendance of participants during the program)

*j) Questionnaire / Interview (Survey form, Interviews Transcription & analysis) – It would be better if you prepare a formal report which contains information about observation checklist & analysis.  This is needed for Star rating 4 and 5.

*k) Video – before and during program (I do not know how to combine video within a video so, I just created a video which I included pictures that I took during the program)

l) News – media coverage (This is needed for Star rating 5)