We are pleased to announce the latest release of iNorthampton which has been updated in response to staff and student feedback. This release builds on many of the requests which have been made, along with providing an excellent foundation for further development.
General Improvements based on feedback
“Need to be able to personalise the app more”
We have included the ability to define your role when using the app from the first launch. This puts a framework in place to enable us to deliver more personalised information in the future.
You are now able to rearrange the tools on the springboard to move the ones you use most to the top – or just to a new page (currently only available on iOS).
Specific improvements to current tools:
You want updates/improvements to Maps. “And maybe a campus walkthrough, using video or augmented reality”
The main campus maps have been updated and will continue to be updated as new maps are released.
We have made augmented reality functionality available for iNorthampton on the iPhone 4 and 4S. Users of these devices can now lay a map of key buildings on top of the picture they see on screen through their camera lens. This dynamically updates as the phone moves to reflect each building and its distance from the phone.
We are currently looking at a tour to be included in a later release.
You would like “to be able to check your library account and renew books”
The library website has become more ‘mobile friendly’ and you will be directed to this when you have conducted a search. You will see a link termed “View availability on Library Site” which will take you to the library site and allow you to login to check your account and renew books. We’re still looking into ways to bring these links into iNorthampton.
“There should be more content from the Students’ Union”
We have worked with the Students’ Union to add SU news, the SU Youtube channel and SU photo galleries. You will see these when viewing the ‘news’, ‘videos’ and ‘images’ links from the springboard whilst in either the ‘Current Student’ or ‘Prospective Student’ profiles.
“I want to get notifications/reminders from NILE”
This is now available as part of a separate download of Blackboard Mobile Learn rather than being part of the app at this stage – we hope to bring it into iNorthampton very soon. The separate Mobile Learn App is recommended for iPad users in any case as it has been optimised for this device.
The link to NILE within iNorthampton will still provide mobile access to all of your sites on NILE and has been used in a number of pilot projects in The School of Arts and also Science and Technology.
“Why can’t I get NILE on my Blackberry?”
You can – but you have to get the separate Blackboard Mobile Learn app. It’s not possible to build this into another app on the Blackberry platform as it stands. We’re hoping that upcoming changes to the Blackberry operating system will allow us to improve the iNorthampton experience for Blackberry users.
Improvements to the timetable module – “I don’t want to have to log in every time, and should show more of my timetable when I do”
The iNorthampton link to timetables has been completely redesigned for Phase 2 and now allows:
- The ability to pick any date in the academic year
- Timetable location now links to Google Maps to assist with finding the building where room is located.
- Improved help and advise
“Can we have a tool to report faults in halls?”
A telephone number has been included in the “Get Help” section of iNorthampton , and we are still investigating a more detailed GPS-based solution for a future development (sorry, no dates for this yet).
Suggestions for new features
“Please add bus times / traffic information / parking information / car sharing site / taxi numbers to the app”
Northamptonshire County Council have their own app (called NCC) for Android and iPhone, which was developed by staff here at the University. This already has live bus timetables, so we’d recommend you use this if you can. They also supply a text service to send bus times to your mobile. Sadly this does mean that the NCC won’t let us use the timetable data, but we’re looking at including links to the timetables on the website, as well as to traffic information and the car sharing website.
At present we can’t collect the data for how many parking spaces are free at any one time on site, but we have asked Infrastructure Services to look into this for us.
The University does not have a recommended taxi company, so we won’t be supplying taxi numbers, sorry.
“The app should include email, and access to file storage”
We took the decision not to include email, as smartphones already include a tool to integrate this. File storage is a little more complex, as iOS devices in particular do not have an accessible folder structure where files are stored. There are a few web-based alternatives available though. Apart from files in NILE, you can also access documents stored on the web (or in cloud services like Google docs or Windows Live) through a mobile browser.
“It would be great to include links to other apps that are useful for learning”
We didn’t want to bulk out the app with these, as they may not all be relevant to all users. However when we find useful apps, we will be adding recommendations to our LearnTech blog. If you’d like to make a recommendation, or write a guest post, just let us know!
“Opening times and menus for the restaurants would be good, and links to offers from Greggs!”
We’re looking at adding ‘places of interest’ to the maps in phase 3, and this will include all the eating places, hopefully along with opening times and menus. If you want offers from Greggs, they will give them to you – but only in exchange for a like from your Facebook account.
“A tool which shows the nearest free PC would be good”
We are still awaiting further development in this area and will update iNorthampton when this becomes available.
……and finally
We are also pleased to announce that Northampton’s experience with iNorthampton has also featured in an international Blackboard marketing campaign.
The app has been downloaded over 13,600 times during the past year.
If you have further suggestions to share, they are always welcome. Send them to the team at mobilefeedback@northampton.ac.uk.
All of the new 2012 – 2013 NILE sites are currently set as unavailable to students by default, so when you have finished building your new NILE sites, you will need to make them available to your students. Students will be automatically added to sites where possible but will not see any content until it has been made available.
Once your content is in place you can go ahead and make the sites available so that when students are added to them, they can access the content immediately.
In order to make your NILE site available to students please follow these 5 steps:
- Enter your unavailable NILE site.
- Under the Control Panel (on the lower left of the window) select Customisation, and choose Properties.
- Under Set Availability, select ‘Yes‘ to Make Module Available
- Click Submit
The new upgrade to NILE also speeds up the process of making a NILE sites available if you have a number you need to access:
- Click on the arrow next to the house icon [See screenshot]
- Select another of your NILE sites.
- Get in touch with the Learning Technology team on LTSupport@northampton.ac.uk if you have any issues or questions, and keep an eye on our blog for more updates.
Roshni Khatri presented on her use of the iPad at the Learntech Conference 30-5-12.
Kyffin Jones, a Senior Lecturer in Special Needs Education for the School of Education explores the use of Skype in allowing students to pose questions to vulnerable young people, and reflect on the role of the media in representations of people with a disability.
Skype in Education (PDF, 74 KB)
If you would like to help us by reviewing some technology for learning and teaching, please contact the team.
Louise Bird, Senior Lecturer in Graphic Communication, reviews the Wacom Inkling, a product that claims to transfer sketches from paper into digital formats. Follow the link below (PDF) to find out what she thought of this product.
Wacom Inkling review (PDF, 450 KB)
If you would like to help us by reviewing some technology for learning and teaching, please contact the team.
As previously described in the blog posting on linking NILE to the Student Record System, new NILE sites have been created for the 12/13 academic year and are ready to be used. You should now move content from your old sites to the newly coded areas. Please refer to the guidance or alternatively watch the DidiVid support video on our YouTube channel to assist you with the steps below:
- Find the “Manage Your NILE Sites” box on your NILE homepage following the above guidance [NOTE: From Spring 2014 the ‘Manage your NILE Sites’ box moved to the ‘Sites & Organisations’ tab]. If you are unable to see this box then please mail LTSupport@northampton.ac.uk
- Find the modules which you will be involved in during 12/13. Ensure you select the correct module which should have a course ID which describes the module, the session, and the year of activity (e.g. DRA1018-STD-1213). The name of the module will be prefixed with the year of activity (e.g. 12/13 Technologies for Performance)
- Add yourself to the module using this guidance or alternatively watch the DidiVid support video on our YouTube channel.
- Follow the guidance inside the module template to copy material from other sites as needed. The template should be used where possible to assist you to structure material and provide students with a consistent experience.
- Create additional material and links within the new module as needed
- Ensure that you remove the old / copied Turnitin links within the “Submit your work” areas and create new Turnitin areas.
- When you are satisfied that all content is in place then make the site live to students
- Students will be automatically added to the site as they are confirmed as enrolled (ENR status on the Student Record System – Provisional students are NOT automatically enrolled). If a student changes modules during the year then they will be added to the new site within 15 minutes of the change being made on QLS (Currently they will also remain on the old module until removed by the tutor).
Sites have also been created for courses/programmes in addition to the session specific modules, and you will see these when conducting the search in point 1 (above). If you wish to use course sites you have the choice of using either those which are broken down by the session (in the same way as the modules. e.g. CBDDRAMA-1FT-1213). Alternatively you may wish to only have one course site for the whole year regardless of the session variation (e.g. CBADRAMA-1213). Both types have been created and regardless of the option you choose, students will still be automatically added but will only see the site you are using once you have made it available to them. For the dual coded sites these will normally only contain the students who enrolled in that year. Hence CBADRAMA-1112 will only have the students who were enrolled in 2011 [Note: from Spring 2014 a new ‘Quick Actions’ widget on the ‘Sites and organisations’ tab allows you to release sites to students without having to go to the site itself].
You should be aware that due to differences in coding on the Student Record System it is possible the enrollment of students onto the dual coded course sites may not cover 100% of those actually taking the course. The way in which the script works is as follows :
If a student was enrolled onto a module which has a ‘1’ prefix in the session code in 2010 then they will be added to the 10/11 version of the dual coded course (eg CBAAACFIN-1011)
If a student was enrolled onto a module which has a ‘1’ prefix in the session code in 2011 then they will be added to the 11/12 version of the dual coded course. (eg CBAAACFIN-1112)
If a student was enrolled onto a module which has a ‘1’ prefix in the session code in 2012 then they will be added to the 12/13 version of the dual coded course (CBAAACFIN-1213)
If there is is a whole cluster of students who were previously on a module which did not have a ‘1’ prefix (e.g. DLMD) then please mail LTSupport@northampton.ac.uk and we can investigate for you.
This work complements some of the other changes happening over the summer and into the autumn. For an update on changes and updates then here’s the link
Frequently Asked Questions:
1) I seem to now have many variations of sites when I only had one last year – do I need all of these ?
NILE has now created one module site for each session which is stored on the Student Record system (QLS). Sessions have been used in many different ways on QLS – sometimes they signify different start dates and at other times they signify a module which runs in different locations or a different mode of delivery.
If you have sessions where the content AND assessment timescales are identical (perhaps where it is just the location which varies) then the Module Leader may opt to combine these on NILE by emailing LTSupport. They should remember that when combined – all communications will go to all of the students on the module unless otherwise specified.
If the session content is the same but the start dates / assessment timescales are different (e.g. Some students start in September and others start in February) then the sessions should be kept separate since the students will need different communications at different times and need separate assignment submission areas. You can copy material between modules if it is important to share updated material – email LTSupport if you need assistance on this.
2) The new template which are provided on the Course and Module areas are restrictive – Can I add to these or change the wording ?
The wording which now appears on the left side of the module templates was agreed by the Learning and Teaching Committee prior to the PSR and then re validated by the University Student Experience Committee (SEC) more recently. It is based on a clear module layout and wording which students have been requesting on feedback to NSS and ISS. The material which is proposed on the template forms the minimum standards for a NILE module and this will be quality checked later in 2012. Some staff may already be exceeding the content and layout which has been proposed and we would wish this continue……and ideally form the basis of exemplary sites to showcase to other staff. Any reduction in module content or significant change of wording from the basic template should be agreed by the SEC prior to student delivery. Many of the menu items such as “Submit your work” or “Reading List” must remain due to consistency throughout NILE.
If you need to clarify any of the above points then please mail LTSupport@northampton.ac.uk
During the May 2012 Learntech Conference, awards were giving to those tutors who had been rated by their students as providing a well designed NILE site.
The full list of the winners and the nominated modules is available to view.
Tim Joaquim (President of the Student Union) awarded the certificates and noted that it is important that staff spend the time to create NILE sites which enhance the student experience.
A selection of the comments which students made regarding the winning sites are shown below:
| The tutor has a very different approach when using the Nile site. He has a very unique way of presentening the site design and navigation and the content that he uses is just superb. Very helpful, and has really enhanced my learning while I have been in and outside university.He does not just use the Nile site for his lecture notes. But, he also puts new material on the Nile site, also online lectures and a array of activities for us to do. That will enhance our knowledge not only in lectures but for the upcoming assignments. |
| It clearly outlines the criteria to help one achieve success in the module. |
| You receive a great amount of help for each assessment and for seminar work. You also are told straight away about updates as soon as they can be put up on NILE. All the lecture notes and seminar work is put up straight away giving you plenty of time to do your work and giving enough time to do other module work. The criminal law tutors go out of their way to help students who are stuck providing help over email or face to face help…which helps those that are shy. You are also provided with quizzes which help you to revise and motivate you as the revision is put across in an interesting activity. |
| The tutor spent time putting articles and other information on to nile which has helped enormously with learning, and for future reference. her module was outstanding and this is reflected in the content on nile. |
| As an international student with no previous experience of site like NILE as a resource, the tutor the way she present the information on the site, is really helpful and efficient. Always there to help her students, my experience as an international student was enhanced by the collaboration of my tutor. |
| The good thing about Nile is that i can access your learning material, communicate with the lecturers easily and from anywhere. |
| Kept up to date quickly. Guidelines given to direct students in an informative way. Very helpul and allayed a lot of anxieties. Innovative and informative materials given to us as students. |
| It is definitely a place where I can find all I need to do the module. To me the NILE page is my virtual tutor. |
| Very well organised with lots of useful information and resources. Interactive multiple choice quizzes are also very useful in identifying areas of weakness for revision. |
| The powerpoints are always readily available before the lesson so you can read up and prepare yourself for what you will be learning. Also there is extra reading information for extra research. All the information on this Module proves that a lot of time and effort is put into this NILE site. |
| Everything is easy to find, convenient & organised. The site is functional holding all the essential module information; yet easy signposting to relevant further reading is an excellent way of allowing students to continue analysis into a topic without having to trawl through Westlaw.The NILE Site is also updated with topical relevant module related information. This sparks interest in the Module and also helps relate the topics to the ‘real world’.Ultimately we are all perturbed by crime;yet this website makes it so devine |
| Site is clear and has everything we need to access from each week. Easy to find group blogs and assessment hand in or feedback. |
For more detail on how NILE sites may be enhanced, please contact the Learntech Team
Mike Twigger presented on using PebblePad within modules at the Learntech Conference 30-5-12.
Lisa Hanson talked about how she has enhanced the student experience in NILE for International students using a range of interactive tools. The presentation was made at the Learntech Conference 30-5-12
Anne Segalini presented on enhancing the student experience using technology at at the Learntech Conference 30-5-12
