Category: Teaching

What is UTM REC?

UTM REC refers to UTM Research Ethics Committee. There are three categories of committee: 1) Clinical research committee (Headed by Assoc Prof Dr Ahmad Zahran Md Khuzairi), 2) Non-Clinical research committee (Headed by Dr Tan Joo Siang) and 3) Animal Research committee (Headed by Dr Fuziaton Baharudin).

There are two sessions of roadshow on 10 and 11 October 2022 (Monday and Tuesday) via WebEx to inform academicians and others about UTM REC.

It was established under the purview of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation), with three objectives. Prof Dayang Norhayati Abang Jawawi is the chair for UTM REC.

These are some of the points that I picked up while attending the 10 October 2022 session and 16 February 2023 session.

Why do you need ethical approval?

Some journals require consent and ethical approval that the respective researchers have acquired which indicates the research has been conducted with ethical standards.

Other than that, it is also needed for grant application (for some research grants).

When should we acquire ethical approval from UTM REC?

Before the research is conducted. For social science, it means that before a pilot study is conducted, ethical approval needs to be required. Any ongoing research (data collection) or completed research is considered as too late to apply for ethical approval, thus the application will not be processed.

For example: Once you have finished crafting your research instrument such as survey or interview protocol, you can apply for the ethical approval. Make sure you submit the research proposal with the instrument which explain about the process of data collection, research protocol (consent form, interview protocol etc.) and such. Non-clinical research must also acquires ethical approval even though it does not involve any pharmaceutical intervention, medical tools etc. Legal protocol which is used in law research also has to be approved by the research ethics committee.

“Applicants are advised to submit their ethics clearance application as EARLY as possible prior to their data collection.“

Do we have to pay for the ethical approval from UTM REC?

Yes. RM150 is the price for one ethical approval application (ONLINE submission or manual application by filling in PDF form).

Do I need to fill in any form to apply for ethical approval?

Yes. You need to fill in this PDF form according to the category related to your research. If your research involving human being, for example a health-related research on skin implant, you need to apply for the approval from clinical research committee.

There is also an online form that you can fill in your application.

How long do I have to wait for the ethical approval from UTM REC after I have submitted my application?

The duration can be up to 60 days depending on the research complexity.  This is because the meeting by UTM REC will be held once every two months and the approval emails will be sent to applicants via official email ethics@utm.my.

Where can you find out more information about UTM REC?

Go to UTM Research Ethics Committee website. You may find the link to the ethical approval application in the website too.

Should you resubmit to UTM REC if you make any changes DURING the data collection that indicate there are adverse effects or change in terms of research protocol to the respondents and thus changes need to be made and data collection will be resumed after the amendment?

YES. If there are any changes that due to adverse effects to the respondents or change of dosage/machine (for clinical research) or research protocol (for non clinical research) the principal researcher needs to inform UTM REC and resubmit for ethical approval due to the changes needed.

For example, for students from School of Education who use teaching intervention in class, it is suggested to apply UTM REC and if there is any changes during the intervention in terms of the protocol due to adverse effects, UTM REC needs to be informed about any immediate action taken to ensure the adverse effects is minimized but at the same time, research protocol needs to be resubmitted.

When does it not require for you to resubmit to UTM REC?

If there is any change of researcher (add or removal), you do not need to resubmit ethical approval but you just need to inform UTM REC.

Do you need a certification of Good Clinical Practice to conduct research?

ONLY clinical research requires the researchers to be certified with Good Clinical Practice board (you need to attend a course and take an examination).

What kind of research that does not require ethical approval?

If your research use documents, archival records like books, etc. which does not involve human or/and animal, you do not need ethical approval.

If you do educational intervention such as classroom teaching intervention, do you need to apply for ethical approval?

At this moment, it is highly suggested and recommended that you apply for ethical approval because your research involves human (the possibility for adverse effects is there even though it is aimed for the benefits and improvement on learning).

UTM Blended Learning Reporting System 2022 (Nullified)

Where can you get the blended learning certificate?

  1. Go to http://elearn1.utm.my/caps
  2. Log in by using your email and staff number
  3. You will see the list of courses and blended learning level. Only level 5 will have the + button (blue color) activated where you can download your certificate. (Click the + button to see the button where you can download your certificate)

Note: This is only valid for 2022 Blended Learning. For Blended Learning 2023, it has different URL link.

Note:  When I attended the workshop in September 2022, the link was different.  Do not use this link http://elearn1.utm.my/15163/CAPS/elearning/v5/

Elearning 1, 7, 3, 2

What is Elearning 1, 7, 3, 2?

The number 1, 7, 3, 2 refers to the aspects/elements that you need to complete in complying to the blended learning format.

1 refers to the course information that you have to upload in your Elearning.

7 refers to seven units of teaching and learning materials that you upload in the Elearning. It could be your class notes, any article that you want your students to refer to, videos that you want the students to watch before your class starts etc.

3 refers to three online learning activities that you have to set and make sure the students engage in the activities that you have assigned. It could be forum (for students to discuss about specific topic) or feedback etc. We have to make sure online discussion could be conducted through synchronous or asynchronous ways. For asynchronous discussion, we have to make sure we show “lecture presence” during the discussion. There are several ways to do this.

For example, we can give students few questions to discuss (asynchronous) but in a synchronous mode later, we could discuss their response or answer. In this case, our presence can be felt even though we give students time to give their response at their own time.

Another way is, we can give questions to students to discuss and we can chip in during the discussion even though we do it virtually.

2 refers to two assessments that you give students in a form of a quiz (it could be graded or non-graded assessment), or assignment (where students upload their assignment)

Last but not least, you have to make sure the average access of students to log in is at least twice per week so that the active index would be 28% per semester (active index).

How to add questions in bulk on Elearning?

There are several ways to add questions in bulk. But the one that I have tried is using notepad (text). It is quite straight forward. From the questions that have been vetted (which normally is saved in Words Doc), we just copy-paste the questions from Words Doc file to Notepad.

Step 1

Just make sure your question might appear like the following example. There is no numbering for each question as it will be automatic. Make sure you have the options for answers (A, B, C, D (multiple choice question) or A and B (if it is true/false). Do not forget to write your answer scheme (caps lock)

Example of question:

B F Skinner was one of the pioneers in behaviorism.

A. True
B. False
ANSWER: A

Step 2

Go to your Elearning

a) Click Setting

b) Choose Question bank

c) Click Import

d) Choose file format -> Click Aiken format

e) Import questions from file -> Drag and drop files here to add them.

Step 3

Double check your questions in Preview.

Step 4

After you have uploaded the questions in bulk, you can create a quiz/final examination and select the questions that you have added in your question bank in the quiz/final examination.

For example: If you have 60 questions in your question bank but for your final examination, you only need 40 questions, just select 40 questions to be added in your final examination.

Elearning berwajah baru bagi sesi 202223

Mulai sesi 202223, semester 1, Elearning di UTM akan berwajah baru disebabkan oleh Moodle dinaik taraf kepada versi yang lebih terkini. Sesi taklimat akan diadakan mulai Oktober 2022 sebanyak tiga kali. Elearning bagi semester dan sesi baru (Semester 1, 2022/23) boleh diakses mulai 3 Oktober 2022 (Isnin). Oleh kerana semester baru akan bermula pada 16 Oktober (bagi kampus JB), terdapat lebih kurang 2 minggu kita boleh menyediakan Elearning bagi kursus yang akan diajar pada semester hadapan.

Quillbot: Paraphrasing tool (Part 2)

I am addicted to use this tool. I have a few things that I need to edit. But knowing how stressful I can be during this period, I know that I might experience writer’s block. So, I set certain timing to check my writing using this paraphrasing including the worksheet that I use for the tuition class.

In addition, I also have to edit an abstract for an article. At first, I thought the word count is around 400-500 words but after looking the instruction written in the template of the article, I noticed that the word count is lesser than that, 200-300 words. I need to delete more than 100 words. It is not easy.

Using Quillbot allows me to shorten the abstract within seconds! This is interesting but I have to be careful that I might be dependent on Quillbot to edit my writing, rather than relying on my actual writing skills.

Quillbot: Paraphrasing tool (Part 1)

One of my friends showed me a tool to check spelling, grammar, and other things. I was excited, but when I found out that the paid version has more features, I was a little unsure. There are a few types of subscriptions that we can choose. But yesterday, as I was struggling to come up with better phrases and words, my friend (you know who I’m talking about!) who happened to be sitting next to me opened up Quillbot. She was able to come up with better phrases and wording in a matter of seconds.

Wow! I was impressed, and without further delay, I took out my credit card and began the subscription process. However, I was unable to complete the transaction. Something is wrong. I informed her that I was unable to complete the process. She did something incredible! I would be eternally grateful to her for her kindness. I began using Quillbot before 8 a.m. today. I used the tool to improve my writing. I used an abstract of my student’s thesis, a personal project, and some previous postings on this blog to get myself familiar with Quillbot.

I am aware that this technology is useful, but how will it assist me enhance my writing skills? (the skills that I possess without relying to any tool).

Teacher Dr.

Ita messaged me to inform me that the students were asking her if I would come this weekend. “Teacher Ita, Teacher Dr datang ke minggu ni?” Knowing that, I know that I could not say No to them. They are excited to meet me. It is not easy to have students who are as excited as them. Right?

I do not know why they are excited to meet me. It could be because of the junk food that I brought last time (chocolates from UK that my cousin gave me which I do not able to finish). It could be because I pay attention to all their rants and worries. Being an outsider, I could be perceived as someone who they can confide in and someone who is older as their parents, minus the nagging (tongue in cheek remark!).

Even though they usually would say “Teacher, jangan cakap tau dengan cikgu lain” before pouring out their hearts, I would keep some parts to myself (which is personal) but if it is matters related serious issues (such as, creative examples how they bully the juniors without being caught), of course, there is no such thing as teacher-student confidentiality. I would definitely let the school counselor knows about it. The school counselor was shocked that I could get first hand information from the unidentified perpetrators. Well, bullying is serious offense and it can be escalated into criminal acts. So, something needs to be done.

Making a difference in someone’s life is a rare occasion. Most of the time, we might overlook certain parts and thus, miss the chance to make a difference.

I know that my involvement in this little project can be rated as community project and I might be able to contribute to whatever rating and ranking to the faculty, but I think, let’s make this thing as a personal endeavor without any additional agenda. 2in1? Nay. Let’s make it as one on one thingy. Nothing else matters.