Currently viewing the tag: "NILE"
As Learning Designers, my colleagues Rob, Julie and myself are always looking for ways to help staff with the transition to Waterside and in (re-)designing their modules and programmes to take account of new ways of learning and teaching. To this end, there are a number of posts here on the flipped classroom, or on de-mystifying the CAIeRO for example, that aim to take away some of the apprehensions that we know exist.
What does teaching mean to you?
Another recent initiative has been a series of activities designed to help staff begin the process of reconceptualising how they teach and articulating their individual teaching style. In the midst of discussions around whether or not we are going to be a fully-online University (definitely ‘not’), or what the ‘new model’ for learning and teaching is going to be (the decision is for you and your team to determine- within certain parameters), it is easy to lose sight of the value of what staff do each and every day in the classroom – our face-to-face contact time (for an understanding of what we mean by ‘contact time’, including face-to-face and online, click here – sign in required). Through conversations with ILT generally and Shirley Bennett, our Head of Academic Practice, we hope to help our staff identify what it is that they value about their face-to-face contact time, and then use technology to help them do more of what they value in the classroom. In starting from this perspective, the aim is to conceptualise technology as an enabler, of excellence in learning and teaching rather than a driver.
In response to the question What do you value about your face-to-face teaching? staff have produced some interesting and sometimes unexpected visual metaphors that will be the subject of a later blog. The workshop/Away Day was also used to set a challenge around learning and teaching innovations through reflectiong on past innovations (to you) and sharing ideas with colleagues.
A 21st Century Learning and Teaching SWOT Analysis
Our Institute for Learning and Teaching have recently produced a short video that many staff may have already seen, showing the general direction of travel for the 2015-2020 learning and teaching plan. It is important to stress that this model is only one approach – if you have an alternative that is more appropriate to your teaching style and your discipline, then there is no reason for you not to explore how that might look in practice.
The key part of this arrow is the second stage – learning activities that help students to make sense of the content. These can be either online or face-to-face depending on tutors’ individual pedagogy and subject discipline. What works for one subject, might be wholly unsuitable for another – and this is why we are keen to help staff articulate their pedagogical preferences and continue the process of enhancing their own practice and, as a result, the student experience, rather than simply focussing on the latest piece of technology. As a way in to exploring some of these issues, we facilitated a ’21st Century Learning and Teaching SWOT Analysis’. By 21st century learning and teaching, we mean looking at how we prepare our students for employment in the 21st century, where technology is ubiquitous and constantly evolving, and how we use technology ourselves to enhance our learning and teaching. Identifying individual strengths and weaknesses concerning technology-enhanced learning, and highlighting some of the opportunities and threats these new ways of learning and teaching bring helped staff to begin the process of development and provides indicators of individual training needs.
Determining your blend
We also began the process of looking at how to determine what must be taught face-to-face (content or skills) and what could be taught online. Really, this is about thinking what you want your ‘blend’ to look like and builds on the earlier notions of using technology to enable you to do more of what you value in the classroom. Expressing this in terms of what and how students are learning and not solely in terms of what the tutor is teaching can be tricky but we have activities that can help with this. We can also help you to begin to see how this might look in NILE.
Many course teams and individuals have been engaging in various forms of blended learning within their practice for a long time. Determining how you might need to develop your own practices is not something that you need to do in isolation – as Learning Designers, we are here to help and there is also your School Learning Technologist you can draw on, as well as your colleagues.
Packing your Suitcase for Waterside
The day concluded with asking to staff to select what they would need to pack in their suitcases in order to get them from where they are today to where they have identified that they would like to be. This tongue-in-cheek exercise involved selecting from a collection of icons and images of things that you might take on holiday and can include, but is not limited to the following: a bucket and spade (to help you build something new); your Kindle to read while sun-bathing on the beach (mobile content creation and delivery); paracetamol (to help get rid of your headache); lifeguard and buoyancy aid (peer support, learn tech training etc); towel to reserve your (deck)chair (desk) and so on.
On a more serious note, the underlying premise is to identify your training needs, and other ways in which staff can take steps to ‘get ready for Waterside’ and look at what you might do to respond to the challenges of 21st century learning and teaching or the implementation of Changemaker in the Curriculum.
If you or your subject team would like us to facilitate any or all of these activities at an upcoming Staff Development session or Away Day, or to help you design your teaching to enable you to do more of what you value, please email LD@northampton.ac.uk. You know where we are!
In LearnTech we are regularly asked by academic staff about where to get images for use in NILE, raising questions of copyright and attribution for use of those images.
Well, perhaps one useful place to start is with the following blog from John Spencer: Eight Free Photo Sites that Require No Attribution. It’s definitely a good place to start with ensuring that you have the appropriate permission to use the images that you have found on NILE, or in your slides.
P.S. The rest of his blog is pretty good too – worth signing up for as he sends out some useful tips and tricks for in the classroom and although generally directed at school teachers, I’ve picked up a few good ideas along the way – including this one 🙂
Click the image to start the quiz. It would appear IE9 (installed on UN computers) won’t open this link properly, so please use Chrome or Firefox.
You can find out a bit more about the free tool used to create this quiz in the NILEX site. Quizzes can be embedded directly in NILE.
Dr Terry Tudor, Senior Lecturer in Waste Management, introduced structured online learning activities (e-tivities) into his Masters modules after attending a CAIeRO for individuals course development workshop. Read the case study to see how these activities have helped to link his distance learning students with his learners on campus – and also helped them to improve their writing skills.
The report for this year’s mobile survey has now been published where we look at the way that mobile devices, apps and interactions are used and carried out at Northampton. There were 322 respondents who took the opportunity to let us know their thoughts on the University’s mobile provision and any developments that they would like to see.
The report provides a brief summary of the main findings of the survey, including an overview of technology ownership among staff and students, trends in mobile use, facilities on campus (WiFi etc), and feedback on the iNorthampton app (which you can find in the App Store, Play Store and on the web).
You can read the report here: Mobile Survey report 2014/15 (PDF, 1024KB)
Karl Flowers, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Creative Leather Technology assesses his students through presentations and has often found that it is difficult to schedule face-to-face time slots where all the required parties can make it. Allowing his students to independently record their presentations and submit them through NILE’s video streaming tool, Kaltura, overcomes scheduling issues, enables more use of technology for the students and enables sharing good practice between year groups.
Student perceptions of their learning and engagement in response to the use of a continuous e-assessment in an undergraduate module.
Naomi Holmes, School of Science and Technology
Dr. Naomi Holmes (School of Science and Technology) undertook the use of low-stakes continuous weekly summative e-assessment with a cohort of level 5 (2nd year) students. Biggs and Tang (2011) state that it is assessment and not the curriculum that determines how and what students learn. Learning needs to be aligned with assessment as much as possible to increase engagement, even if the result is that the student is “learning for the assessment”, and therefore accreditation. With this in mind the use of low-stakes weekly assessments was undertaken to help support learning (formative), and lead to accreditation (summative). Results show that both physical and virtual engagement with this (optional) module, and students’ learning and understanding of the subject increased because of this method of assessment.
We have collated the most common questions and answers below:
1) I can’t login to NILE
Please see details on the University Login page
Please first try to reset or generate a new password.
If your password has expired, you will still be able to log in to the user portal to reset this yourself.
If you have forgotten your password, please click on the above link and select ‘Forgot Password’.
If you continue to have log-in problems, please contact IT Services. You will need to have your student number to hand.
Email: ITServices@northampton.ac.uk
Phone: 01604 893333 (Monday to Friday 08:00 – 17:30)
Visit: Grendon Building, Park Campus (Monday to Friday 08:00 – 17:30)
2) I can login to NILE but cannot see my modules
In order to see the modules listed in the site box in NILE:
· You should have completed the enrolment process. Active enrolments are added to NILE every 20 minutes.
· You should be correctly enrolled on the module on the student record system. Contact your Student Administration Team to check enrolment details
· Your tutor needs to have made the module live on NILE.
3) I have modules listed but they are not the correct ones or some of my personal details are incorrect (e.g. name / email address).
Contact your Student Administration Team to check enrolment / personal details.
4) I cannot see my University timetable.
Your timetable should appear 48 hours after you have enrolled. If you have a timetabling query then email Timetabling@northampton.ac.uk
5) I have a problem with my laptop – in what ways can IT assist me?
IT will help you with installation of programs that are supporting your programme of study.
IT Services are more positioned to provide an overview and high level guidance on how to use standard office programmes however IT Services do not offer a formalised training programme to students. Please refer to free training advice and support.
IT Services will assist with any aspect of getting antivirus working on your machine or assistance with removing virus / malware or restoration to factory settings.
6) How and where do I print?
After enrolment it can take up to 24 hours for you to be emailed your University PIN which is required for printing and to access their library account.
- Using your student ID and PIN, you can credit up their student printing accounts at the machines in the library
- From computers in the library, print jobs are sent to all library photocopier printers
- To release a print job or to access a photocopier, it is:
- Student ID number (called PIN on the machines)
- 4 digit University PIN to print (called password on the machines)
7) How do I find out details about my student email and link this to my mobile device
You can get details of your email address by going to the University search4email page and then enter your username and date of birth. Please refer to the guidance provided by Microsoft on linking this email to your mobile device.
8) I have heard that there is a free offer for Microsoft Office
To download Microsoft Office 365 please visit the dedicated Microsoft site and login using your University email address and password.
All sessions have now been mapped to the UK Professional Skills Framework as attendees may include these as evidence for Fellowship applications or ongoing professional development. The NILE Suite has been used to group related sessions together. Where relevant the events have also been mapped to the developing quality standards for NILE sites.
The list below represents the scheduled sessions however they can be run as a bespoke session for three or more staff at any mutually convenient time. All sessions will be run in the Park Library T-Pod (1st Floor) unless stated.
Menu of sessions available:
- Enhancing NILE content using Xerte
- Virtual Classrooms using WizIQ
- Enhancing NILE with media for asynchronous learners
- NILE – Grade Everything (Managing multiple elements in assessment. Marking presentations / live performances)
- The App Cafe
- SaGE Essentials
- SaGE – Providing quality feedback using rubrics
- Managing Groups (and group assignments)
- NILE Essentials – Making the most of your NILE site
- NILE – Encouraging collaboration and NILE interaction using Blogs, Discussion Boards, Journals and Wikis
- NILE – Developing formative assessments in NILE
- Making best use of smartboards
- Increasing in class session interaction using the voting handsets
SaGE Essentials
(Link to the UK PSF – A3, K4)
NILE Suite Alignment: Assessment
This essential session is for both staff who are new to the Submission and Grading Electronically (SaGE) Project and those who need a refresher on the current process. The event will cover the SaGE workflow including marking in Turnitin; passing grades to the NILE grade centre; downloading grades to send to the SATs; and working with the External Examiner. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Foundation Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the SaGE workflow
- Able to grade work
| Date (s) | Time |
| 20/10/14 | 2-4 |
| 21/10/14 | 2-4 |
| 22/10/14 | 10-12 |
| 23/10/14 | 2-4 (Note this is at Avenue) |
| 24/10/14 | 2-4 |
| 5/11/14 | 2-4 |
| 10/11/14 | 2-4 |
| 20/11/14 | 10-12 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sage-essentials-tickets-12952281623 for Park based sessions
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sage-essentials-tickets-12952410007 for the 23rd October at Avenue Library (MG8a)
SaGE – Providing quality feedback using rubrics
(Link to the UK PSF – A3, K4, V2)
NILE Suite Alignment: Assessment
A dedicated session for those who have already attended the SaGE Essentials session and are confident with the basic SaGE workflow. The event will focus on both Turnitin and NILE rubrics. Rubrics are useful for various styles of marking and can be used for qualitative and quantitative feedback. (12 places).
Learning outcomes:
- Able to setup and use rubrics
| Date (s) | Time |
| 6/11/14 | 10-12 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sage-providing-quality-feedback-using-rubrics-tickets-12952470187
Managing Groups (and group assignments)
(Link to the UK PSF – A3, K4, V1)
NILE Suite Alignment: Assessment / Collaboration
Regardless of the size of the cohort, the ability to manage groups is an important part of using NILE. Groups allow focused activity, assessment and communication which will enhance student engagement. In addition to learning about the setup and management of groups you will also focus on the NILE assignment submission area which may be used as an alternative to Turnitin submissions. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Collaboration Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning outcomes:
- Understand how to setup and organise groups
- Appreciate the range of functionality with groups
- Understand how the NILE assignment submission area may be used with groups
| Date (s) | Time |
| 14/11/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/managing-groups-and-group-assignments-tickets-12952494259
NILE Essentials – Making the most of your NILE site
(Link to the UK PSF – A4, K4, V2)
NILE Suite Alignment: Content / Management
This session will introduce the NILE sites which are being used for all module and course areas. Find out the Top Ten most common mistakes with existing NILE sites and how to avoid them to improve the student experience. Attendees will develop confidence with working in their NILE area to add new and exciting content. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Foundation Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Appreciate the range of NILE sites and comon student problems with finding content
- Reflect on your own NILE site based on areas for improvement
- Understand the range of tools to enhance NILE sites
| Date (s) | Time |
| 16/10/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nile-essentials-making-the-most-of-your-nile-site-tickets-12952514319
NILE – Encouraging collaboration and NILE interaction using Blogs, Discussion Boards, Journals and Wikis
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, V1)
NILE Suite Alignment: Collaboration
This session will allow participants to explore the Blogs, Journals, Discussion Boards and Wikis tools inside NILE which encourage greater collaboration. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Collaboration Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the range of tools available to enhance collaboration within NILE sites
| Date (s) | Time |
| 28/10/14 | 2-4 |
NILE – Developing formative assessments in NILE
(Link to the UK PSF – A3, K4)
NILE Suite Alignment: Assessment
Formative assessment may be used by students to better track their progress and understanding. It may also be used by tutors to ensure that students are engaging and understanding the course material. This session will explore the test, survey and question pool tools within NILE. There is a range of functionality which provides the option of auto marked formative (and summative assessment) with question choices like multiple choice and fill in the blanks. These tools may be used with features such as adaptive release and the performance dashboard to allow greater student interaction with content and a higher level of tutor understanding of student engagement. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Participation Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Understanding of the range and value of formative assessment
- Appreciate the tools which may be used within formative assessment
- Ability to implement range of appropriate tools within their own course
| Date (s) | Time |
| 17/11/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nile-developing-formative-assessments-in-nile-tickets-12952556445
NILE – Grade Everything (Managing multiple elements in assessment. Marking presentations / live performances)
(Link to the UK PSF – K4, K5)
NILE Suite Alignment: Assessment
This session will explore the NILE Grade Centre where all grades created by students within NILE are held and managed. In addition to being the link between NILE and the Student Record System, this tool allows you to manage the student view of grades, collate grades between assignments (SmartViews) and manage grades and feedback on physical artifacts and performances/presentations. (12 places).
Learning Outcomes:
- Appreciate the functionality available within the Grade Centre
- Understand how the Grade Centre may be used with performances/presentations.
| Date (s) | Time |
| 11/12/14 | 10-12 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nile-grade-everything-tickets-12952578511
Enhancing NILE with media for asynchronous learners
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, K4)
During this session you will be able to bring along your own ideas for small videos and produce these during the session. Following a short introduction to a range of tools this practical session will encourage you to use these to create material which may be used within existing and planned courses. (12 places).
You will be able to use material which you create within this session within Welcome Sites for new students.
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Foundation and Participation Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Appreciate the range of tools for asynchronous learners
- Ability to implement tools within their own NILE site.
| Date (s) | Time |
| 15/12/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/enhancing-nile-with-media-for-asynchronous-learners-tickets-12952606595
The App Cafe
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, V2)
NILE Suite Alignment: Content / Collaboration
With more and more people accessing the internet via mobile devices, The App Cafe provides an opportunity to look at the implications of mobile devices and apps in HE and how we can better use them in learning and teaching.
We want to hear from you. This is a participative ‘by you, for you’ event with an opportunity each month to share the apps you already use in the classroom with fellow staff across all disciplines.
With take-aways like ‘Your 5-a-month’ (top apps for learning and teaching), coffee and even cake, this is one lunchtime event in LLS you shouldn’t miss.
First Monday of every month (excluding bank holidays)
| Date (s) | Time |
| 6/10/14 | 1-2 |
| 3/11/14 | 1-2 |
| 1/12/14 | 1-2 |
Register on:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-app-cafe-tickets-12952837285
Enhancing NILE content using Xerte
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, V2)
Xerte is a great alternative to PowerPoint or Word to enhance basic content in your NILE sites
Xerte can provide rich information and interaction for learners at all levels. You can have a look at an example of material produced in Xerte at: https://xerte.northampton.ac.uk/xertetoolkits/play.php?template_id=118
(12 places).
Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to confidently use Xerte
| Date (s) | Time |
| 12/12/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/enhancing-nile-content-using-xerte-tickets-12952921537
Virtual Classrooms using WizIQ
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, V2)
NILE Suite Alignment: Collaboration
WizIQ is an online learning platform / classroom fully integrated into NILE. The rooms are designed to provide an online virtual classroom learning environment to supplement synchronous online activity. (12 places).
Attendance at this session will assist engagement with the Collaboration Quality Standard for NILE sites.
Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to confidently use WizIQ
| Date (s) | Time |
| 4/11/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/virtual-classrooms-using-wiziq-tickets-12953078005
Making best use of smartboards
(Link to the UK PSF – A2,K2,K4)
Many opportunities now exist to increase the amount of student interaction within traditional lectures. Smartboards are located in many of the teaching spaces but are often only used to display PowerPoints. This event will introduce the range of tools which allow the Smartboard to ‘come alive’. This event will provide practical experience on using these tools. (12 places).
Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to confidently use the Smartboard
| Date (s) | Time |
| 18/11/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/making-best-use-of-smartboards-tickets-12952642703
Increasing in class session interaction using the voting handsets
(Link to the UK PSF – A2, K2, V2)
NILE Suite Alignment: Content / Collaboration
Many opportunities now exist to increase the amount of student interaction within traditional lectures. Voting handsets may be used to increase the amount of feedback students provide within sessions. This event will provide practical experience on using these tools. (12 places).
Learning Outcomes:
- Ability to confidently use the voting handsets
| Date (s) | Time |
| 2/12/14 | 2-4 |
Register on: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/increasing-in-class-session-interaction-using-the-voting-handsets-tickets-12952680817
All of the sessions above and a number of other sessions listed below are also available on request for bespoke events (such as for Subject group training). Please contact your Learning Technologist or mail LearnTech@northampton.ac.uk for details on arranging these.
We have updated the service updates link on the NILE welcome page – if you have issues out of hours with NILE this should highlight any problems.
For entries containing the word ‘Link’, the check is a very basic one – does the URL respond with an ‘OK’ status? For all the others an attempt is made to read data from the provider’s service status and give a little more detail. As these vary and this application is new, errors are possible (likely!). There are links to the provider’s feed if this application fails.
If you have any more systems you’d like to be included in a link or better check, please let us know.
