5 itslearning Updates for October 2020
To bring in the change of season, itslearning has incorporated several
updates for October 2020. Many of the updates have been added to user accounts
throughout this week and should finish processing by October 18th for most
BCSC users. Learn about the exciting new updates to itslearning, including
integrations with Jamboard, improved accessibility with the addition of
immersive reader, assign work to specific students or groups, and more! Review
the presentation
below as well as the individual points for more information, lesson ideas, and
tutorials (written and video).
1. Immersive Reader available on assignments, notes, announcements
Immersive Reader, an accessibility tool by Microsoft, has been added to
itslearning. Currently, this tool is available in the assignment tool, note
tool, and announcements. Itslearning plans to integrate the tool throughout
the platform based upon user feedback.
Immersive reader is a helpful tool for improving the accessibility of digital
text. It acts as a screen reader, reading the text aloud to students and
provides the ability to alter the reading speed and voice used. Furthermore,
it can provide translations, a picture dictionary of terms, grammar indicators
(indicate which words are nouns, adjectives, etc.), a breakdown of words into
their syllables, line readers to help students focus while reading, and
adjustments for font size, style, and color. Immersive reader can be a helpful
resource for supporting multiple means of representation in the classroom,
specifically options for perception and language and symbols.
2. Assign to Specific Students
Want to assign a task to one student (or a few)? You can now quickly assign
itslearning assignments to specific students (or class periods-course groups)
without the need to create folders and adjust permissions. The itslearning
assignment tool now includes a feature called "assigned to" which allows the
teacher to select specific students or groups to receive the assignment. Only
the students given the assignment will be able to view and participate. This
new feature could be helpful for giving work to BRIDGE students, sharing
review activities for specific students, assigning specific project tasks to
groups, and more!
If you would like to give folders, pages, and other itslearning resources, you
can use
permissions settings
to make folders visible to certain groups.
3. Itslearning and Google Jamboard Integrations
Love to use Google Jamboard, the digital collaborative whiteboard tool? Staff
and students can now easily open Jamboard files from itslearning as well as
create copies of Jams within itslearning for student use. Teachers can quickly
add Jamboards from Google Drive to their "resources" tab in their course. In
addition, staff can also use the itslearning assignment tool to give students
a copy of a Jamboard for concept mapping, graphing, and visual thinking
activities.
For more tips on using Jamboard,
visit our past blog post!
4. Rich-text editor adjustments
The rich-text editor on itslearning now supports keyboard shortcuts, improved
accessibility of images, and improved resizing of images within content
blocks. Within a content block, teachers can use the image button to insert an
image. After adding an image, double clicking the image will allow you to add
alt text for the image as well as a caption for improved accessibility.
Keyboard shortcuts also work, as well. CTRL + V can be used to paste images,
numbered lists can be added by inputting 1. and entering, and special
characters such as 1/2, etc. by typing in the text box.
5. New, improved ePortfolio
Lastly, itslearnings ePortfolio tool also received a makeover in the latest
update this October. The ePortfolio tool on itslearning can be used for
research projects, website development, showcasing student progress over time,
and reflecting upon growth. In the newest update, the tool now better
resembles the itslearning interface and allows for more customization,
including the creation of multiple ePortfolios, design themes, and addition of
multimedia onto ePortfolio pages.
Image courtesy of
Jon Tyson on Unsplash
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