CIT recommends that faculty staff set up lesson plans in IVLE for all modules. This will allow students to get a week-by-week (or topic-by-topic) view of the module, as well as the relevant links to resources for that week (or topic). Here’s a quick Lesson Plan tutorial.

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You might have heard about the Wimba Podcaster in IVLE. Now, you can create threaded voice discussions in IVLE communities using Wimba Voice Board, which works on similar technology.

A threaded voice discussion is very similar to a regular discussion forum. A person starts a discussion thread and anyone can reply to that particular thread or start a totally different thread. The difference with Wimba Voice Board is that you record your voice instead of discussing with text. This audio-based discussion forum has great potential in language learning communities.

Before you start recording, you will need:
a) A Java-enabled browser. (download Java from Java.com)
b) A microphone connected to your computer. (You might need to un-mute the microphone and point to the correct device in your computer’s sound settings – Control Panel for PC, System Preferences for Mac.)

Let’s get started.

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IVLE 9 was launched on 27 June 2008. The latest version is similar in looks, with most changes made beneath the hood. Also, several features have been added or re-introduced.

Staff and Student Workspace new features
IVLE Communities

The popular IVLE Communities from IVLE 7 have made a comeback. The IVLE Communities allow users to create online user groups which can include both staff and students. Each community features Announcements, User management and a dedicated Forum and Workbin as well as space to share Weblinks.

What’s New notification
Notifications are sent on new files in the Workbin, forum activity, assessment opening, group sign-up and new announcements.

Wimba Podcaster and Voice Board
Wimba allows staff and students to create and share their own podcasts. IVLE Communities have a voice-based discussion forum to facilitate communication.

Centra Integration
Student groups doing their projects on IVLE have access to Centra, a virtual meeting tool that allows project group members to schedule and participate in meetings online. The virtual meeting tool will be launched through Exchange.

Staff Workspace new features
Module
Sub-modules are now detachable from the main module.
The duplicate module feature now allows the duplication of the Lesson Plan and the Workbin (structure only, without the files).

Project
Project SMS announcements can be sent.

FAQ
Readers can rate your FAQ using a star rating system.

Workbin
The enhanced interface allows drag-and-drop upload for an unlimited number of files.

Forum
Students are subscribed by default.

Multimedia
Uploads are linked to the Module (this reduces the number of steps from the previous workflow).

Student Workspace new features
Project
The project consultation interface has been enhanced.

Class Roster
Option to receive Private Messages via the Class Roster.

Mobile IVLE

Mobile IVLE 2.0 has been launched. This light version of IVLE can be accessed via browsers on mobile phones with a data connection. This is perfect for highly connected students and staff in NUS. You can access module information, including outlines, forums and workbins – all from your mobile phone. Access http://ivle.nus.edu.sg/mobile/ on your mobile.

Most lecturers use IVLE in a very functional manner. You do what you want, and then you exit. There are lots of buttons and links which seem unfamiliar or cryptic, so they are left unvisited. Yet other tools are often used, but have some nifty tricks which are not immediately apparent. Here is CIT’s list of IVLE secrets…

1. Use a full fledged calendar
You’ve all seen the little calendar on the sidebar of the IVLE Workspace. Did you know that it leads to a powerful calendar function? You can see your official lecture and tutorial schedule in that calendar, by day, week and month. You can even add your own schedule, just like a normal calendar.

2. Customize sidebar layout
Talking about the sidebar, if you don’t like My Organizer on the left or Student Events on the right, you can move them around or choose not to display them at all. Go to Personal > Customise > Display. Then move the sidebar web components using the arrows. Apply once you’re done.

3. Subscribe to CIT System Updates
CIT System Updates is where we inform you about scheduled maintenance and those unforeseen system outages for CIT services such as IVLE, webcasts, Breeze, NUS Galleria and the like. The latest updates can be found on the login page of IVLE. They can also be found at the CIT System Updates blog and on Twitter*. You can subscribe to updates via the blog’s feed or by email. If you are a Twitter user, you can get updates from our System Updates Twitter account.

* Twitter is a microblogging tool, which allows updates via the web or by SMS. It is a free third-party service, not provided by NUS.

4. Reduce clutter with the Lesson Plan
On the surface, the Lesson Plan seems quite convoluted. It’s a powerful tool, especially if you’re a seasoned IVLE user who has lots of resources already set up. Think of it as a meta-tool, where all the appropriate content and tools can appear on a week-by-week or a topic-by-topic basis. Watch the Lesson Plan video tutorial here.

5. Assign Forum access to specific students in class
You’ve created Forums. You’ve also created Class Groups. Put the two together, and you can assign specific students their own discussion forum! This is useful if you have assigned discussion groups. Learn how to set this up here.

6. Start a blog for your Module
Using NUS Module Blogs, you are a click away from setting up a blog for your module. You can post while students can reply. We can enable student posting, but this has certain caveats. Your current students for the respective modules are automatically allowed to comment on the module blog. The blogs are public by default, but can be made private on request. Start a Module Blog from the link on the Workspace sidebar under Services.

7. Start community-interest groups with MoBlogs
Not to be confused with Module Blogs, MoBlogs as the name implies, allows mobile blogging. But the big thing about MoBlogs is that it is a community-based tool. It is ideal for starting interest groups and has space for a group blog, discussions and other community functions. Start a MoBlog from the Communities tab on the Workspace.

8. Create podcasts and audio clips
You can create 15-minute podcasts and audio clips right here in IVLE. All you need is a headset with a microphone. The instructions on how to do this are here. The best thing is that students can do this too! This is terrific for language modules. You can get students to record audio clips for class.

9. Create sub-modules
Many lecturers have requested this feature, so we have delivered sub-modules. These are modules within modules in IVLE. Sub-modules have all of the functionality of top-level modules. This is might be useful if there are several lecturers for a module who want their own space.

10. Access online learning
Students (and staff) can take comprehensive online courses at the Learning Portal.

Do you have any tips and tricks which haven’t been mentioned? Share them in the comments!

IVLE’s multimedia capabilities have taken a great leap forward with the integration of the Wimba Podcaster. With this new service, faculty staff and students can now create voice clips through IVLE.

These clips can be added to IVLE’s Multimedia Bank for sharing with a class. They can also be podcasted or exported to different file formats.

Read on to learn how to create and publish your own audio content in IVLE.

Creating an audio clip

1. In the IVLE Workspace, mouseover Resource Banks. Click Multimedia Bank.

2. Click Media on the right-hand sidebar.

3. Click Create Media.

4. Select Podcaster, then fill in the description. Note that the description is for a series of audio files. In this example, it is called Lecture Podcasts. You need not create media each time you want to create a new related clip. Click Apply.

5. Click View.

6. A pop-up window will appear. You will receive a “Warning – Security” popup window. When it appears, click Always or Run to allow Wimba Podcaster to run on your computer. You will see the recording interface. You might want to click the Setup Wizard to check if your computer meets the requirements for recording audio on the Wimba Podcaster.

7. Click New.

8. Enter the Subject and description of the audio clip. Click the Record (red dot) button to start recording your audio clip. Click Stop (square) button to stop the recording. You can review the recording by clicking Play (triangle). Click Post to finalize the audio clip.

9. To add more clips to this series, start from step 5. To create a new series, start from step 1. You can also export the clip to various formats if you want to upload it elsewhere.

Publishing an audio clip to a module

1. In the IVLE Workspace, mouseover Tools. Click Multimedia.

2. Click Create Multimedia.

3. Select the Parent Module. Name the Title. Leave the Number of Multimedia Channels to 1. Click Create.

4. Click Media on the right-hand sidebar.

5. Click Create Media.

6. Click From Multimedia Bank. A pop-up will appear.

7. Select the series created earlier, in this case, Lecture Podcasts. The Media Title and Description fields will autofill from the information in the Podcaster. (Refer to Create an audio clip step 4.) Choose Yes for Publish Media if you want your students to access the audio clip immediately from the Student Workspace. Click Apply.

8. View (or listen to, to be more precise) your handiwork on the Workspace!

This issue’s IVLE article appears in Spotlight. Please refer to IVLE 8 – Reasons for upgrade and measures being taken.