Explore ways to design graded and non-graded learning activities using multimedia, such as interactive videos, H5P activities and simulated or virtual reality experiences. Find guidance on embedding audio, video and quiz questions in Moodle to encourage active learning and student engagement.
Multimedia can be used as alternative types of graded and non-graded learning activities. You can use interactive multimedia to encourage students’ active learning and engagement. Students can even create their own multimedia as part of assignments.
H5P is a tool that allows you to easily create a range of mobile-friendly interactive multimedia content. You can create a variety of interactive activities using a range of simple templates. Students can use interactive activities to self-assess their own understanding and learning, for example drag and drops, image hotspot, quizzes, virtual tours and more.
You can embed H5P activities directly in Moodle with the text editor. For example, use H5P interactive activities in labels, books and lessons to display your content in visually interesting ways. You can write instructions to clearly signpost what you want students to do and why, providing additional context preceding an interactive activity.
Recommendations
H5P activities have no collective database. It is recommended for formative individual student work and it is not recommended for group work.
If required, H5P activities can be integrated with the Moodle Gradebook. Embedded H5P activities by default are not integrated with the Gradebook.
Write instructions to clearly signpost what you want students to do and why in your.
Example
In FSC5040, an end of unit revision self-checking knowledge quiz was created using the H5P course presentation activity. You can combine multiple H5P activities by inserting different question types on each slide. You can set question behaviour to allow students to retry and check correct answers and set up customised automated feedback.
Credits: Dr Margaret Murray, Research Assistant, School of Chemistry
You can easily embed a quiz within a video to greatly focus the learning, prompt students to test their knowledge on the topic, reinforce key concepts, improve knowledge retention to provide a more interactive and engaging learning experience. You can create interactive quizzes inside Panopto videos or Youtube videos using Panopto, H5P or Echo360. Choose the platform that best suits your teaching needs. View a quick breakdown of the differences in the table below.
A wide variety of questions and interaction types (Read more)
Multiple choice questions
Free text questions
Image questions
List ordering
Simple mathematical equations
(Read more)
Statistics and analytics
In-depth analytics and statistics for both video and quiz responses (Read more)
Limited analytics including activity completion and attempt tracking (Read more)
Aggregated statistical information about student’s online engagement and participation for each recorded lecture in your unit (Read more)
Gradebook integration
No integration with Moodle Gradebook
Can be set up to be integrated with Moodle Gradebook if required, though this is not recommended.
No integration with Moodle Gradebook
Video editing
Basic video editing functions that allow you to make cuts and trims and add clips. Specify Youtube clip start and end time (Read more)
Ability to specify video start time
Basic video editing functions that allow you to make cuts and trims (Read more)
Example
In FSC5040, interactive videos were used throughout the unit to allow students to check their knowledge and understanding of the video content. You can set question behaviour to allow students to retry and check correct answers and set up customised automated feedback.
Credits Dr Margaret Murray, Research Assistant, School of Chemistry
Simulations, sometimes referred to as "Serious games", allow students to engage in experiential learning in simulated structured virtual environments. This can be beneficial when using traditional learning methods one or more of the following: expensive, dangerous, logistically impossible or not scalable, boring or not measurable. Research indicates that students welcome experiential learning opportunities and that these opportunities allow students to develop awareness of the complicated pragmatic issues in real life scenarios. Serious games also allow students to learn from mistakes without incurring serious consequences present in real life.
Considerations
Developing simulated learning activities requires significant time, investment and resources. Software must be also maintained and updated over time.
Examples
Developed in collaboration with international educators and industry, Pharmatopia provides a simulated environment where students can formulate and make their own tablets, in order to demonstrate how ingredients in the tablet affect its properties and explain the tablet making process.
Scott Grant has created, developed and implemented a unique approach to learning Mandarin Chinese in a foreign language classroom context that combines the affordances of a 3D multiuser virtual world with task-based language learning pedagogy. This approach is designed to complement traditional foreign language classroom based learning by creating opportunities for students to utilise the language they learn in the classroom in realistic everyday scenarios that might be encountered in China, and can be adapted at any language level.
Credits Dr. Scott Grant, Lecturer, Chinese Studies Dr. Hui Huang, Senior Lecturer, Chinese Studies
