Colab User Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Colab?
Colab is an interactive presentation tool designed for collaborative learning and reflection.
Through a multitude of features Colab facilitates for interaction and participant involvement. By involving the participants new opportunities are created to expand the understanding of concepts, acquire new knowledge, and build upon the preexisting knowledge of the students.
You can create your own sessions from scratch or upload existing content (such as PowerPoints) and then add interaction to them. You can also use CoLabs from our library. A Colab consist of steps. The steps you can choose between in Colab consist of different interactive features that facilitate participant involvement in engaging ways.
The learning sessions you create in Colab makes it easy for the learners to build upon each other’s contributions. This means that the learners are continually assessing their own and other’s work as a foundation to produce something better together. With Colab you are using the group to change the group.
How to use Colab?
Colab is a tool for creating, editing and conducting learning sessions with multiple participants.
You can create your own Lab by combining different steps and filling them with text, images and questions.
When you are conducting a session a code will be automatically generated so that the participants can connect with their PCs, tablets or mobile phones to interact with tasks and questions.
After a completed session you can export a report with the questions and answers from the participants in a separate file. This information can be shared with all or a select group of participants with the click of a button.
How to start a session?
Click start on the page called my labs or click start a new session when you are in editor-mode. This will take you to the presenter view.
You exit presenter view by clicking end presenter view in the hamburger menu or by clicking the escape button on your keyboard.
If you have already used a Lab in a session you have the option between continuing that session or starting a new one. If you start a new session, a new session-code will be generated for the participants to connect to the Lab.
How do the participants connect to the session?
The participants connect to the session with a unique six-digit code at https://learnlab.net When you are in presenter view, the six-digit code for the session will be visible in the banner on the top left side of the screen. You can enlarge the code by clicking show code in the hamburger menu.
When you are in presenter view, the six-digit code for the session will be visible in the banner on the top left side of the screen. You can enlarge the code by clicking show code in the hamburger menu.
How do I export the participants’ answers?
You can export the answers from the participants in either a PDF- or an Excel file. Open the Lab you wish to export data from and select show general settings under the Lab’s title on the right-hand side -> export data -> here you will find a list of dates where the Lab has been used for sessions -> choose the date you wish to export data from under the icon for the desired file format.
How do I upload a PowerPoint to a Lab?
Create a new Lab and choose “upload a presentation from your computer”, either by dragging and dropping the file or by opening the file explorer.
If you want to upload a presentation into a Lab you have already created, open the Lab in editing mode and go to general settings, from there select upload presentation.
The file must be in either .ppt or .pptx format. Most presentation programs support exporting to those formats. Note! Colab does not support animations in imported files.
How Do the Different Steps Function?
Content Step
The Content Step has many of the same functions as a slide in PowerPoint. It allows for text, images and links to present information.
Multiple Choice
In this step you add a question along with predetermined alternative answers for the participants to choose from.
The step is a useful tool to challenge the participants to make active choices as they have to take a stance on different statements or questions.
Word Cloud
The Word cloud is a visual and quantitative display of concepts from the participants.
The Word cloud maps the students’ associations with different concepts. By examining the contributions from the other participants, one is able to expand and develop new understanding.
Open Question
This step is designed for open questions where the participants answer with text.
The students develop deeper understanding if the teacher asks good questions. The questions should facilitate for the discovery of new concepts and nuance pre-existing understanding.
Video
In this step you can show the whole or a part of a video by either uploading a video-file or using a link (for instance a link to a YouTube video).
Videos create variety in teaching, activates existing knowledge and familiarizes the students with new subjects. It is a strong audio-visual tool which can also facilitate critical thinking.
Image Cloud
In this step the participants can upload one or more images from the internet or their own devices. All the images are show on the presenter screen where the students can like and comment on each other’s images.
The image cloud visualizes images and concepts. The step can be useful to quickly gauge the pre-existing knowledge and impressions the participants have of a subject.
Rubric
The Rubric step has two to four columns where the participants fill in text. For instance, the step can be used to compare arguments for or against statements.
Rubric is a tool to sort and formulate reasoning. By comparing different arguments, the participants can justify their choices. They also get the opportunity to compare their arguments with the arguments of other participants.
Survey
Create a survey to conduct in real time with your participants. The answers are anonymous.
The survey maps the participants’ wishes, interests, or needs.
The survey can facilitate more motivating teaching and increased student activity. Surveys can also function as self-assessment for the participants.
Quiz
You can create a quiz using text and/or images. There is an option to include a timer. It is also possible to assign the participants into teams competing against each other.
The Quiz step engages the participants in a fun way. They get the opportunity to make active choices and solve problems, either on their own or in a collaborative way. Quiz makes the students reflect on their knowledge and take a critical stance to the different alternative choices.
Ranking
You add words, sentences, or images in a specific order. The participants try to figure out the correct order.
The Ranking step challenges the participants’ understanding of concepts. By ranking the concepts, the participants gain a deeper understanding of what separates them.
Match
Here the participants match to or three words, sentences or images that belong together. You choose the words, images or sentences and the participants figure out which concepts belong together.
With the Match-step the participants can discover the relationship between concepts in a fun and engaging way. Match is a game-based step where the participants can cooperate or work independently to figure out which concepts belong together — and in so doing, develop their understanding of old concepts or discover new ones.
Collect Story or Idea
In this step you can collect an IdeaLab or StoryLab from the participants. They upload an Idea or Story from their library. You decide if they should be able to upload from both or only from one of them.
Hand Out Story or Idea
In this step you can share an IdeaLab or StoryLab from your library to the participants. They can download their own copy that they can then edit freely. For instance, you can share a task you want the participants to work further on.
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