VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...

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VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
vUWS TEMPLATE
INFORMATION DOCUMENT

 General enquiries about vUWS & specific post-migration questions
                   dft@westernsydney.edu.au

 General enquiries and comments about the vUWS template project
            Kim Heckenberg, Senior Digital Consultant
              K.Heckenberg@westernsydney.edu.au

                  19 February 2019 Version 1.4
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
Contents

1.      Cortex Overview ...................................................................................................................................................2
     Alignment to Securing Success .................................................................................................................................2
     Purpose .....................................................................................................................................................................2
     Background ...............................................................................................................................................................2
     Implementation Overview ........................................................................................................................................2
     Timeline ....................................................................................................................................................................2
     Training .....................................................................................................................................................................2
2.      Template Design ...................................................................................................................................................3
     Site Banner................................................................................................................................................................3
     Improved Site Structure and Navigation ..................................................................................................................3
     Home Page................................................................................................................................................................3
     Automatic Icons ........................................................................................................................................................4
     Learning Modules Approach.....................................................................................................................................4
     Guided Instruction ....................................................................................................................................................4
     Quality Standards Checklist ......................................................................................................................................4
     Adding and Editing Items ..........................................................................................................................................5
     New Features ............................................................................................................................................................5
3.      The Content Migration Process ............................................................................................................................6
     The Cortex Journey ...................................................................................................................................................6
     Site Freeze period .....................................................................................................................................................6
     Migrating Content ....................................................................................................................................................6
     Migration Log — sample ..........................................................................................................................................6
     Migration Map for Standard Items ..........................................................................................................................8
4.      Examples of before and after changes .................................................................................................................9
5.      Key Contact Information.....................................................................................................................................12

                              Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 1
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
1.        CORTEX OVERVIEW
The Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor - Digital                     DFT will apply Cortex to vUWS sites and move
Futures is rolling out a vUWS template that will                    existing materials into appropriate sections
be applied to sites across the University to                        DFT will provide training via Zoom sessions
increase consistency of the student experience                      which will be advertised to academic staff via
and to ensure alignment to international                            by email.
quality standards. This briefing book provides
information for academic staff about the                            Enquiries can be sent directly to Digital Futures
template: Cortex, along with the steps and                          at dft@westernsydney.edu.au.
timeline for the content migration process.
                                                                    TIMELINE
ALIGNMENT TO SECURING                                               Cortex will be applied across the University in
SUCCESS                                                             stages to schools. Migrations were started in
                                                                    late 2018 and will continue throughout 2019.
       A      Distinctively           Student-Centred
     University                                                     Unit Coordinators will receive separate emails:
                                                                         •    Confirming migration will be taking
       A unique learning experience that is
                                                                              place.
     innovative, flexible and responsive.
                                                                         •    To inform staff when to pause work on
                                                                              their vUWS site as migration is starting.
PURPOSE                                                                  •    Informing staff when the migration of
The central goals of Cortex are to increase                                   content is complete.
consistency, clarity and accessibility across all
vUWS sites, for all students studying at Western
                                                                    No content will be removed by DFT during
Sydney University.
                                                                    the implementation process. However, sites
                                                                    will be temporarily unavailable as Cortex is
BACKGROUND                                                          applied to a vUWS site.
Current vUWS sites across the University vary
in standard and structure. A quality                                TRAINING
benchmarking initiative identified the need to
                                                                    Information and training sessions will be held
improve visual and structural consistency
                                                                    via zoom to ensure academics are kept
across WSU vUWS sites. Accessibility for all
                                                                    informed and supported during the change.
students was highlighted as an area for
                                                                    Impacted academics will receive notification
improvement.
                                                                    about relevant dates/times when their site is
                                                                    due to be migrated.
IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW
Implementation of Cortex will be completed by
the Digital Futures Team (DFT) working
collaboratively with academic staff.

                  Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 2
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
2.       TEMPLATE DESIGN
The structure of Cortex is based on existing                   information, communication                       tools   and
vUWS sites with minimal changes and                            support.
regrouping of elements. The design is                          Cortex enables students to focus on
based on the internationally recognised                        learning rather than looking for the
Quality Matters standards. It has been                         information they need.
tested and it improves the sites it has been
applied to, moving them from ‘acceptable’                      In ‘post-Cortex’ units, teaching staff will be
to ‘exemplary’. Further elements are                           able to spend less time creating content
detailed below.                                                areas and deciding where to upload
                                                               materials and how to draw them to
SITE BANNER                                                    students’ attention.

A responsive banner viewable across all                        HOME PAGE
devices promotes a consistent Western
presence across all sites. This banner has                     The template Home Page combines
been customised to accommodate specific                        welcome message/s, unit overview, and
branding subsets within the Western                            unit information including the Learning
branding (such as the Sydney Graduate                          Guide.
School of Management, the Graduate                             This provides a clear starting point for
Research School and the Academy).                              students, an essential aspect of quality
                                                               standards. All the information a student
IMPROVED SITE STRUCTURE                                        needs to start the unit is now found in one
AND NAVIGATION                                                 place (see Fig. 1 on next page).

Visual and structural inconsistencies have                     During the content migration process DFT
been identified across University vUWS                         staff will relocate the information from the
sites. To improve consistency, important                       Unit Information content area to this page.
information and materials are grouped into                     The Learning Guide will be used for static
the following zones in the site menu:                          content such as unit learning outcomes and
     •   Home                                                  how to approach the unit.
     •   Learning Zone                                         DFT will fill as many sections as possible
     •   Communication Zone                                    with the information at hand to reduce
     •   Assessment Zone                                       workload for academic staff.
     •   Support Zone                                          After this process is completed academic
These zones present students with a                            staff may need to update some
consistent interface across all of their vUWS                  supplemental      information      such   as
sites, including interdisciplinary units.                      assessment due dates and teaching staff
                                                               contact details if it’s not featured on their
                                                               pre-cortex site.
The template establishes clear signposting
for students on where to find learning
materials, as well as assessment

               Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 3
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
GUIDED INSTRUCTION
                                                                 Research shows students are more likely to
                                                                 engage in learning when they understand
                                                                 how the materials and activities fit within
                                                                 the context of the unit.
                                                                 Cortex provides guided instruction for
                                                                 academics to describe the purpose of the
                                                                 modules and learning materials to students
 Figure 1. vUWS template homepage in collapsed view              (see Fig. 2, point 3).

The technical skills and recommended                             These prompts help teaching staff articulate
software section at the bottom of the Home                       expected      learning    outcomes      and
Page provides links for students to access                       achievements to students, encouraging
and download any tools that they need for                        deeper engagement with the material.
their studies. Instructors can add any unit-                     Academic staff can utilise these samples as
specific requirements at the top or bottom                       a basis to create their own instructions for
of this section.                                                 students.

AUTOMATIC ICONS
Item headings are automatically assigned
an icon illustrative of the heading title (see
Fig. 2, point 1). If an instructor creates new
items using a simple naming protocol, these
icons will appear automatically. A list of
item headings and icons can be found at:
https://dft.westernsydney.edu.au/docs/te
mplate-icons

LEARNING MODULES
APPROACH
Cortex uses learning module terminology,
instead of teaching weeks, to achieve
consistency in the structure and order of
learning materials. Modules are not
restricted to any given time period, allowing
for greater flexibility across teaching
                                                                  Figure 2. Learning object with 1) automated iconography,
sessions, again reducing staff workload                            2) quality standards checklist and 3) guided instruction
(rework) across sessions. One module may
be taught over a number of weeks, or a                           QUALITY STANDARDS
number of modules may be taught in any
one week. The alignment of modules and
                                                                 CHECKLIST
weeks should be outlined in the Learning                         The template has been designed to align
Guide.                                                           with the Quality Matters rubric; recognised
                                                                 as the international standards in online and
               Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 4
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
blended learning. Details of this rubric and                    NOTE: Remember to update the Learning Guide
available support can be found at:                              schedule of activities to match the new module
https://dft.westernsydney.edu.au/tel/quali                      headings, etc.
ty-matters
                                                                NEW FEATURES
Elements from the Quality Matters rubric
are embedded in each item and content                           An additional feature is the expand and
area as a checklist explaining what is
                                                                collapse tool indicated by the    and
needed for maximum efficacy (see Fig. 2,
                                                                icons on the all pages in student view. All
point 2). The checklist is only visible to the
                                                                content is expanded as default, and users
instructor with edit mode on and is intended
                                                                can then collapse individual items as they
to be used to improve the quality of the
                                                                reviewed or finished with them.
vUWS site. Students cannot see these
checklist items.                                                Figure 3.. Collapsed and expanded views of
                                                                Cortex
ADDING AND EDITING ITEMS
The standard vUWS process for adding and                        Figure 4.. Collapsed and expanded views of
editing items remains unchanged. When                           Cortex
standardised headings are added to items,
icons (which are consistent across all units)
are automatically added. A list of item
headings and icons can be found at:
https://dft.westernsydney.edu.au/docs/te
mplate-icons
To edit material, click on the contextual
menu       icon which appears when the
mouse hovers over the item heading. For
more instructions, visit:
https://dft.westernsydney.edu.au/support
/#content-editor

LEARNING GUIDE CHANGES
The Handbook Summary for this unit has
been approved by the School Academic
Committee and must not be changed here.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit has
been approved by the School Academic
Committee and must not be changed here.
The Assessments for this unit have been
approved    by the   School     Academic
Committee and must not be changed
here. Only the due dates are to be added
here.
              Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 5
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
3.       THE CONTENT MIGRATION PROCESS

THE CORTEX JOURNEY
DFT        will       provide        specific                    SITE FREEZE PERIOD
communication/instructions       throughout                      Site content cannot be edited by the academic
migration. Site milestones include:                              staff whilst the migration is ‘In Progress’. Unit
1) Unit Coordinator notified that ‘Cortex is                     Coordinators will receive a specific email
     Coming’                                                     advising when the site enters this phase. During
2) If required, Unit Coordinator notifies                        this time Unit Coordinators should advise
   DFT of correct rollover site                                  teaching staff to pause uploading or editing
3) DFT will request the site on behalf of                        content on the site. It is estimated this freeze
   Unit Coordinators                                             period will last no longer than 2 weeks. DFT will
4) Unit Coordinator to receive an auto alert                     ensure the site migration is completed to enable
   re: site is available. Note, no action is                     sufficient time for final academic updates before
   required.                                                     site is available to students.
5) Unit Coordinator notified that ‘Cortex is
     in progress’                                                MIGRATING CONTENT
6) Unit Coordinator notified that ‘Cortex is                     As previously mentioned, DFT will move site
     completed’                                                  content into the new menu structure as per
7) Unit Coordinator to ensure unit is ready                      the ‘Migration Map for Standard Items’.
   for delivery
                                                                 _Unmigrated_ Folder
8) Site is ready for students
                                                                 Once a site migration has been completed,
Temporary change to site request
                                                                 any content that cannot be logically placed
process: Note that for the purpose of site
                                                                 will be moved to the ‘_unmigrated_’ folder.
migration, DFT will request the site to be
                                                                 This folder, located at the top of the left hand
created on behalf of the Unit Coordinator.
                                                                 menu, is not visible to students.
Once a unit is migrated, the process will
return to normal for future site requests (ie                    The ‘_unmigrated_’ folder will contain a the
for the subsequent teaching session the                          ‘Migration Log’. The Unit Coordinator should
Unit Coordinator will contact ITDS to                            review this document (and move any content
request their new site per normal process).                      required) prior to the site being available to
                                                                 students.

MIGRATION LOG — SAMPLE

               Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 6
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
All content items in the _unmigrated_ folder should be reviewed before the site is opened to
students.

 Reasons why content has been               Digital Futures Recommendation
 placed in the ‘_Unmigrated_’
 folder
 Content is a replication of                No further action is required. This template reduces
 Learning Guide                             duplication of Learning Guide content. The student
                                            should always be referred to the Learning Guide as the
                                            single source of truth. This ensures that minimal site
                                            updates are required between sessions (e.g. date changes
                                            etc.)
 Content is out of date                     Delete old content
 Content not used and was                   Delete unused/archived content
 hidden from students
 Content was a duplicate copy               Delete any duplicate copies
 Content uses the old UWS logo              Update the content with the new WSU logo and move it
                                            to the relevant folder
 Content was floating and did               Delete the content or move it to the relevant folder
 not appear anchored to a
 teaching     activity (Digital
 Futures was unable to identify
 relevant folder)
 Content was not organised by               Separate the content and move it to relevant folder
 weeks (Digital Futures was
 unable to identify relevant
 folder)

             Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 7
VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
MIGRATION MAP FOR STANDARD ITEMS

Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 8
4.       EXAMPLES OF BEFORE AND AFTER CHANGES
     BEFORE                                                                          AFTER
     MENU Area

     Menu area has been separated into zones:
     •   Learning = all content relating to providing or
         accessing resources for unit delivery
     •   Communication = all applications used to
         communicate either between academics and students
         (e.g. Announcements) or between students (e.g.
         Discussions boards) are listed here.
     •   Assessment = Each assessment is a content area
         which contains any submission points (Turnitin /
         Dropbox) and information not in the Learning Guide,
         but relevant to the assessment. If there is no
         submission point or additional information a shorter
         overview of the assessment can be added.
     •   Support = Any service that supports student life
         within the university or vUWS is listed here.

     NEW ACCESS FEATURE

              Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 9
New accordion panels (student view).
They can be individually collapsed and expanded by clicking + / - at the end of the panel.
OR
Collapsed and expanded all at once using the + / - at the bottom right of the screen.
LEARNING MATERIALS AREA IS NOW LEARNING MODULES - Before

Learning Materials generally was set up in weeks or topics. Learning Modules replace this with
modules that can run in a single week or over several weeks depending on how the content in the
module is set up.
The new structure is more linear and for best practice, where possible, content will only go only one
level down (so one folder in a folder).
LEARNING MODULES - After

MODULES BLUEPRINT

        Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 10
The Module Blueprint folder contains a larger selection of pre-formatted items that can be copied
 into the modules a required. Please DO NOT DELETE.

MODULES FROM STUDENT VIEW
 The addition of the accordion action with items allows for students to expand and collapse
 information so reduces scrolling.

QUALITY MATTERS RUBRIC

       Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 11
Each module has a standard item already created with suggested text.

      A Quality Matters rubric checklist is provided to help identify best practice in content delivery (Edit
      view - grey panel in each of the items – not visible to students)

     OPENING TO STUDENTS
      The black bar across an item helps to visually identity whether an item has been released (opened) to
      students.

5.     KEY CONTACT INFORMATION

            Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 12
General enquiries about vUWS & specific post-migration questions should be emailed
 to: dft@westernsydney.edu.au

 School specific enquires should be emailed to the appropriate Digital Consultant:
 Stephanie Bourke – s.bourke@westernsydney.edu.au
       •     School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics
       •     School of Education
       •     School of Medicine
 Lisa Caldbeck – l.caldbeck@westernsydney.edu.au
       •     School of Business
       •     School of Law
       •     School of Science and Health
Rhoda O’Higgins – R.O'Higgins@westernsydney.edu.au
   •       School of Humanities and Communication Arts
   •       School of Nursing and Midwifery
   •       School of Social Science and Psychology

 General enquiries and comments about the vUWS template project can be
 communicated to:
 Kim Heckenberg, Senior Digital Consultant
 K.Heckenberg@westernsydney.edu.au

 DFT also have online resources available at http://dft.westernsydney.edu.au
 These include a vUWS Support Portal, information on Technology-Enabled Learning
 and a range of resources and support for learning and teaching at Western Sydney
 University.

 Visit http://westernsydney.edu.au/cortex for more information.

           Western Sydney University – Digital Futures – Cortex Information Document – V01.2018/19 Page 13
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