What is SONA Learn?

2

Students can participate in lab and online studies by accessing SONA. Once there, they can view their schedules, make changes to timeslots as necessary, send researchers emails directly, and contact the REG Coordinator if any inquiries arise.

Course credit participants should register in SONA and complete a prescreen questionnaire as soon as possible since studies may take time to post. Logging on often throughout the semester can ensure timely study posting.

SONA Learn is a Lecture Capturing System

Lecture capture refers to the practice of recording and making lecture content available to students online through learning management systems (LMSs) or videoconferencing tools, with recordings usually made accessible to them via an LMS or videoconferencing tool. While recording lectures can be complex, some devices can assist instructors in recording their content – including the SONA Learn system, which offers users a simple yet user-friendly interface for recording and editing videos and an advanced analytics feature that gives insight into viewer behavior.

Institutions have increasingly implemented lecture capture technology in an effort to enhance the student experience. Lecture capture allows students to review course material after class or on their own time after school hours – this enables them to focus on assignments and other work more efficiently, leading to improved grades. Furthermore, lecture capture can increase class participation rates and enhance course quality overall.

Lecture capture systems require three components – a video camera, microphones, and a recording system. Software used to record the lecture can be installed either directly on a classroom computer or laptop with these three components installed before being uploaded onto a server for on-demand viewing within LMS platforms.

Recorded lectures are made available to all students within several days after each live class and remain accessible until the end of the academic year. Students are strongly encouraged to access and view these recordings, as they provide an invaluable learning resource.

SONA makes it easier for students to earn study participation credits. Instructors can easily specify the criteria for each study and how many credits should be awarded, eliminating time-consuming manual tracking of participation. It also enables instructors to add multiple studies each term – students should check SONA regularly to see which studies they can participate in; in order to sign up, first complete a short survey about their preferred learning style before registering their user IDs with SONA to become eligible for enrollment in said studies.

SONA Learn is a Learning Management System

SONA is an online system for managing research participation by students and instructors alike. Researchers can set recruitment criteria and the required participant count, while instructors don’t need to keep track of individual student participation – making life simpler for both parties involved in conducting studies with relevance to them, earning course credit in return.

SONA will record your participation in online and lab studies as well as alternative assignments (such as surveys or writing assignments). Access SONA using your WatIam/Quest ID to gain access. Once logged on, you may log in as often as desired to view available studies, sign up for them, change scheduled appointments with researchers, and consider how many REG credits have been earned; however, you must register before beginning an alternative assignment in SONA.

Participate in experiments approved by SONA and earn up to two research participation credits per quarter for either required or extra credit in psychology courses. To receive your credits, register in SONA and complete its prescreen questionnaire; once complete, a confirmation email from the REG Coordinator should arrive within minutes.

Instructors should incorporate information about the SONA system into their syllabus, class website, or handout and outline how much each SONA credit is worth according to their point systems. Instructors should also indicate if they require or offer SONA credits as part of their courses. Designed as an aid for researchers recruiting subjects for IRB-approved experiments, over 900 universities worldwide use it as subject pool managers that ensure ethics compliance during research involving human subjects.

SONA Learn is a Learning Content Management System

SONA is an online system designed to assist researchers (faculty and graduate students alike) with recruiting participants for IRB-approved research projects, while helping instructors promote participation by offering required/extra credits in their classes. More than 900 universities worldwide use this SONA system to manage subject pools and ensure compliance with ethics standards for research involving human subjects.

Students wishing to participate in psychology experiments must first register with the SONA online system and complete a prescreen questionnaire. Once registered, a Subject Pool Administrator will email each registered participant their username and password for accessing the SONA website – once this login information is obtained, they should click the “Search For Studies” tab to locate available online and lab studies; after they’ve participated, they return to SONA site after completion and complete an evaluation form before returning home again.

If a student cannot make their scheduled time slot, they should cancel through SONA as soon as possible. Most studies allow cancellation up to 24 hours prior to their scheduled appointment time slot. Checking SONA frequently will help students stay abreast of new studies and time slots throughout the semester.

Instructors must offer alternative assignments for students who cannot or do not want to participate in experiments, such as reading/writing assignments, class participation, quizzes, or other activities. Students should regularly check their PSU email for Subject Pool/SONA updates as emails regarding this service may inadvertently get sent into spam or junk folders; once deactivated, accounts will still retain data, and participants will be informed prior to this happening by an email sent by their PI/Researcher notifying them when their Sona account will be deactivated so everyone will know when this will happen and on what date.

SONA Learn is a Learning Analytics System

Sona is an online platform used by both researchers and students to manage study participation credit. Students can easily view available labs and online studies, sign up for them, and record participation credits during the semester. New studies may be added frequently during this time; thus, it is wise to check back on SONA regularly! Once registered, you can view your schedule, alter timeslots as desired, email researchers directly, view schedule changes directly, and see the total REG credits earned through participation. SONA also features a column showing your REG credits earned.

Instructors can use SONA to promote research participation by offering required or extra credit in their courses, usually two credits for every half an hour of research participation (this should be noted on course syllabuses, online handouts, or class handouts).

SONA is designed for simplicity and offers an array of tools that can be tailored to meet the unique requirements of each study, lab or online. It provides tools that enable researchers to set up lab and online studies as well as manage participants, grant credits or cash after studies, monitor no-show rates, and increase participant pool participation by 25-50% while no-show rates drop by less than 5% at universities using it. Registering in the Psychology course credit pool entails creating an account in the Sona system and filling out a prescreen questionnaire. Once these steps have been accomplished, studies that offer credits or cash can begin taking place.