TEU Update May 22 2025
Many colleagues choose to keep certain coursework grades and feedback hidden from students on Loop until such time as the official promulgation of their results, after which they make them visible in the Loop Gradebook. Some of you may manually make them visible on promulgation day, or, some of you may have configured Loop Gradebook to automatically make them visible on a certain day/time.
If the latter is true for you, please note that due to the change in date for promulgation of results (as notified by the Vice-President for Academic Affairs on 20 May), you may need to re-configure any automatic visibility dates/times you have previously set in your Loop Gradebook. Take some time to check if that is the case for you.
To change any visibility configuration you may have made:
- Navigate to your Loop Gradebook on your module page;
- Choose Gradebook setup;
- Select the Edit link next to a grade item (e.g. a particular assignment, and/or the course total) and then Edit settings;
- Choose Show more…;
- Next to Hidden until, select a new date/time from the dropdown menus (e.g. 11th June, the new promulgation date);
- Choose the button Save changes.
If you have not previously used this Hidden until feature, then no action should be required - you can manually make your Loop Gradebook items visible when you wish to.
If you need any assistance with Loop Gradebook, explore our dedicated resource on the Loop Staff Support Page. Alternatively, raise a ticket at DCU Help or attend one of our drop-in clinics - details in the footer of this email.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 28th at 2pm and join us for another engaging and insightful Sipping Point conversation! This session will explore the theme: Transforming Higher Education: From Micro-curricula Design to Innovative Teaching Practices.
Dr. Yalemisew Abgaz from the School of Computing will share insights on the design and implementation of a large-scale, university-wide module utilising a micro-curricula model. Following that, Dr. Marianna Pagkratidou from the School of Psychology will discuss her innovative teaching strategies and assessments, which blend modern, evidence-based pedagogy with non-formal educational tools, technology, and creative approaches.
These sessions are open to all DCU staff and you can find out more about the speakers and their talks here.
The next webinar in the MoodleMunch series takes place on Tuesday 27 May, 13:00. In this webinar, Dr Leah Ridgway from the School of Electronic Engineering will share their experiences of using the Loop Lesson tool to provide personalised learning for students, “choosing their own adventure!” through their learning (DigCompEdu competence 5.4 ‘Differentiation and personalisation’).
Our external speaker from the Law Society of Ierland will share an overview of their Moodle-based learning technology ecosystem and how it caters for the needs of professional legal education (DigCompEdu competence area 3 'Teaching and learning').
Register to attend this webinar on Zoom
New to the concept of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL)? Come along to one of these online introductory sessions for those which will be repeated on three separate dates (Thurs May 15th, 2 pm; Friday May 23rd, 11 am; Monday May 26th, 11 am) in May. Please pick whichever date best suits your schedule. Note that this introductory session should also act as a useful precursor to potential one-to-one or group CBL design sessions so it’s a chance to get familiar with the fundamentals before diving in.
Does your teaching practice relate to LGBTQ+ themes or topics? If so, you may wish to respond to the recent call for presentations for the second annual ‘DCU Pride in Teaching & Research’ event.
The event will take place on Thursday 12 June as part of the schedule of events for Pride at DCU.
Full details are available in the call for papers or on the expressions of interest form. Queries can be directed to prideplus@dcu.ie.
(The event also seeks presentations from DCU researchers, so please feel free to share with research colleagues, PhD students, postdocs, etc.)
The next ECIU CBL Community of Practice will take place on Thursday May 29th at 1.45 p.m. on the topic of Effective and Fair Assessment of Group Work in CBL. As always, we will be adopting the Reflective Team Approach to ensure we respect the one-hour slot and, more importantly, generate lots of concrete ideas for the presenter to reflect on. If you are interested in attending, please register here and a Teams link will then be forwarded.
The higher education student population is increasing in diversity and there are demands for increased flexibility in when and how learning opportunities are provided. Digital devices and applications are ubiquitous. To respond to these changes in higher education and the increasingly digital environment, educators have to develop their digital skills and adapt to more innovative teaching approaches.
Educators and those who support education are invited to participate in a rollout of the Open Course "Getting Started With Personal & Professional Digital Capacity", jointly facilitated by ATU and DCU. Those who successfully complete the course will earn a digital badge issued by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning.
For more information on what’s involved, the indicative course schedule, and to register, visit this link.
If you require assistance or guidance with teaching and learning or Loop related matters, avail of the below methods.
Support for technical issues
For Loop technical queries, go to help.dcu.ie. You can also attend one of our regular online Loop drop in clinics, details in the TEU calendar. The drop in clinics are particularly useful for more complex queries. The Loop Staff Support Page also provides a comprehensive range of resources on Loop and Zoom. For new users, the enrolment key for this page is ‘staff’.
Advice on using technology for Teaching and Learning
If you are looking for advice on developing your teaching practice, including but not limited to the application of technology, please contact the TEU team teaching.enhancement@dcu.ie. We will endeavour to respond to you as soon as possible.
Consultancy request form
Interested in requesting a workshop or more extended consultation on a specific topic? Use this consultancy request form.
TEU mailing list
Going forward, the TEU newsletter and other updates will be issued to the academic staff mail group. Anyone else who wishes to receive our communications, please click “Join Group” to be added to our mailing list. This is particularly important if you wish to receive updates on Loop related communications; professional development opportunities such as Advance HE supported journey, etc.
