VUWS TEMPLATE INFORMATION DOCUMENT - Western Sydney ...
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 9New 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 10The 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 11Each 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 12General 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 13You can also read
