Author Archives: Kenneth PINTO

About Kenneth PINTO

Educational Technologist NUS Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology

A commencement ceremony

The Centre for Instructional Technology (CIT) extends our heartiest congratulations to the graduands of 2016.

NUS Commencement 2016 was a special occasion for the graduates and their families as well as CIT.

We have been recording and streaming NUS Commencement ceremonies since 1999. This year was the first time that CIT streamed all 23 ceremonies live on the Internet in high definition (HD).

His Excellency Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore and NUS Chancellor confers the Honorary Doctor of Laws on Madam Halimah Yacob, Speaker of the Singapore Parliament

Streaming in HD on the Internet posed many challenges. Each ceremony lasted well over two hours. So, CIT had to cater for multiple redundancies for its recording equipment and streaming infrastructure.

HD allowed friends and family to witness this event anywhere in the world in high clarity. This is invaluable and memorable for those who live overseas or could not attend the event in person.

Over 7,000 viewers watched Commencement 2016 live on the Internet.

Commencement venue - University Cultural Centre (UCC)

CIT also pre-recorded congratulatory messages from Deans and Professors in HD before Commencement. The messages were played back during Commencement 2016 ceremonies. The videos allowed Deans and Professors to deliver their wishes to the graduates and their families.

This year, 10,395 students graduated from NUS. Commencement signifies the beginning of new chapters in their lives. It also marks their status as NUS alumni.

Once again, congratulations to the Class of 2016!

CIT's staff in the UCC Control Room

Turnitin has made major changes to the way that it integrates with other services.

As such, CIT has had to modify the way Turnitin works in NUS:

  • Turnitin integration in IVLE will be tighter and will be the recommended way for using Turnitin in NUS.
  • Log in to Turnitin directly using NUSNET user ID and password will be removed. To log in directly to Turnitin, you will need to use your Turnitin ID and password instead.

The changes will take place in three phases.

Phase 1: Tuesday 21 June 2016

  • Submission to and creation of Turnitin submission folders in IVLE will halt.
  • Existing submissions to Turnitin folders in IVLE and the respective originality reports can still be viewed.

Phase 2: Monday 27 June 2016

  • A new submission and viewing interface for Turnitin in IVLE will be enabled.
  • Previously created submission folders will no longer be accessible in IVLE.

Phase 3: December 2016 (exact date to be confirmed)

  • Direct login to Turnitin using NUSNET ID and password will be disabled.
  • Login to Turnitin will require your Turnitin ID and password.

Turnitin users in NUS will no doubt have many questions regarding these changes. CIT urges you to read a comprehensive description of these changes.

CIT is trialling a new customer support system - CIT Help Desk.

CIT Help Desk consists of three parts - IVLE Help for Staff, IVLE Help for Students and CIT Services Help. The latter is a combined help desk for CITs services other than IVLE.

CIT Help Desk connects to our existing documentation. When you start creating a help request, CIT Help Desk suggests possible solutions based on your input.

The form-based approach allows you to create help requests in a structured manner. It will save time, allowing CIT staff to get relevant details about issues upfront.

Once a help request is created, the relevant CIT staff is alerted and you will get a response. You can then carry on the support discussion with our staff via CIT Help Desk or via email.

Currently, the help desks are available for IVLE, Plagiarism Prevention (Turnitin and iThenticate), Blog.nus and Wiki.nus.

While CIT Help Desk is the preferred channel for receiving and providing support, rest assured that CIT staff will still respond to direct email requests and feedback.

If you have used CIT Help, please let us know about your experience with it (login with NUSNET ID and password).

LecturePad

CIT has updated the LecturePad Android app.

LecturePad allows students to watch IVLE Multimedia videos (not webcasts) and type notes simultaneously. These notes are synchronised to the timestamp of the video and can be used to jump to the specific point in the video that matches the notes.

Watch IVLE Multimedia videos and take notes

The latest version, available for Android 5.0 and above, allows users to record their own presentations, either using a blank canvas or presentation slides which they can annotate. The recording is saved on the phone as a video file which can be shared. This feature is useful for creating short e-lectures, presentations or small concept casts.

Download LecturePad for free and provide feedback at the Google Play Store.