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Question Set Functionality in Inspera Digital Exams – Part 2

Introduction 

As we approach the Semester 2 (24/25) question set deadline on 7th March 2025, the Digital Exams Team are sharing another post about question set functionality in Inspera.  

You may also wish to check out our first blog post from Semester 1: Question Set Functionality in Inspera Digital Exams – Part 1. This first post covers a lot of the functionality around making your questions and enabling functions such as randomisation, random pulling and candidate selected questions. In this new post, we will cover some of the other functionalities available. These include:  

  • How to share question sets with colleagues,  
  • Accessing and printing PDF copies of the question set, 
  • Duplicating your question set. 

Sharing question sets with colleagues 

There are a couple of ways you can share your question set content with other colleagues or your external examiners. 

For other colleagues on your module team, you may find it useful to add them as a ‘contributor’ to your question set. This will allow them to view questions and preview them in Inspera. This is also particularly useful if you are creating the content together with another colleague. 

How to add contributors to your question set:
  1. Open Inspera (this can be done by clicking on your previous exam within Canvas assignment area) 
  1. Click on the Author tab 
  1. In the search bar type the question set name/module name 
  1. Find the question set you wish to print and click on the name to open this 
  1. Select the person icon icon (on the left hand side of the icons in the top right corner) 
  1. Search the person’s name and select them as a user from the drop down menu that appears 
  1. If you would like them to receive an email about this, please keep the ‘notify via e-mail’ box ticket 
  1. Click ‘Share’. 

Please note: if you cannot find a user when searching for their name, it is likely that they have not accessed Inspera via Canvas yet, and therefore do not have an Inspera account. They would need to access Inspera via Canvas to activate this, and for their name to show in the list. There is guidance available on the self enrol Inspera guidance course on Canvas. 

For external examiners, it is possible for you to add them as a contributor as well and ask them to access Inspera via Canvas. You may also wish to consider the option of downloading a PDF copy of the question set content from Inspera in order to share the question set content with them. 

Accessing and printing question sets as PDFs 

Within your question set in Inspera, it is possible to access and print your question set as a PDF. This could be to share a copy with External Examiners, or to create a paper copy if you are hosting a mock exam where you want a back up paper copy available just incase. 

How to print your question set:
  1. Open Inspera (this can be done by clicking on your previous exam within Canvas assignment area) 
  1. Click on the Author tab 
  1. In the search bar type the question set name/module name 
  1. Find the question set you wish to print and click on the name to open this 
  1. Select the print icon in the top right corner 
  1. On the right hand side click ‘download question set’ 
  1. The download may take a minute or two to prepare, once ready select download now 
  1. The download will be in your downloads folder 

Should you wish to change what is available on your PDF, you can use edit Settings. Once within the Print screen, drop down the settings bar. 

Settings allow you to: 

  • remove maximum marks 
  • remove ‘documents’ or instruction pages 

remove certain questions from the PDF (i.e. hide auto marked questions) 

How to edit the PDF of your question set 

You can edit your PDF using ABBY Finereader. You can familiarise yourself with the FineReader video guides, and detailed written user guides which have been shared by NUIT. 

How to duplicate your question set 

Once you have created a question set, you can re-use it. The Digital Exams Team recommend duplicating your Question Set and then editing, this means there’s a clear audit trail of the Question Set used in prior years. 

How to duplicate your question set:
  1. Open Inspera (this can be done by clicking on your previous exam within Canvas assignment area) 
  1. Click on the Author tab 
  1. In the search bar, type the Question Set name/module name (in this example a ‘demo’ Question Set is being searched for) 
  1. Find the question set you wish to duplicate and click into the tick box (on the left hand side) 
  1. An options bar appears along the bottom, click ‘duplicate’ 
  1. A message will appear about the duplication, click ‘continue’ 
  1. Click into this new ‘copy of’ question set 
  1. You can re-label the name of the question in the top left corner using the pencil icon. 

You can now make any changes to the Question set for an upcoming exam. 

Question set deadlines

Once the Module Leader has completed their Digital Exam Form to confirm the details about their Inspera Digital Exam, the next step is to start creating their question sets.  

Question sets are created by the module team and shared with the Digital Exams Team via email to Digital.Exams@newcastle.ac.uk.   

The question set deadlines for 2024/25 are detailed in the following table:  

Semester  Question Set Deadline  
Semester 1  15th November  
Semester 2  7th March  
Semester 1 August Resit (Semester 3)  17th April  
Semester 2 August Resit (Semester 3)  8th July  
A table with the question set deadlines for each semester. 

Training webinars  

The Digital Exams Team deliver a training webinar ‘Creating and managing exam questions in Inspera’ which colleagues can sign up to via the Elements training system. The training session covers an on-screen demo of setting up and adding questions to your question set. 

If you have any queries about creating your question set, you can head over to our dedicated Creating Question and Content Creation Features webpages. You can also contact the Digital Exams Team via Digital.Exams@newcastle.ac.uk.

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Digital Accessibility Demo Day – 5th March 2025

What does “accessible” mean?

What difficulties do students have accessing the material we provide?

How do students surmount those difficulties?

How do you improve the accessibility of your material?

We’re putting on an event to help answer those questions.

It’s important that all of our digital services are accessible to their users, whether they’re students or colleagues. The Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations set out some legal requirements that we must meet.

But digital accessibility is a complex topic and many colleagues have found it hard to understand what they need to do to ensure their teaching material is accessible.

At our digital accessibility demo day, you can have a go at accessing university teaching material at a selection of stations simulating different access requirements and supports, including:

  • Screen reader
  • Speech to text
  • Keyboard-only interaction
  • Low vision
  • Low mobility
  • Magnification
  • Canvas Ally

We’ll have plenty of pointers to guidance and training opportunities to help you improve the accessibility of your material.

People from LTDS, NUIT and the Disability Interest Group will be there to offer support and answer any questions you may have about digital accessibility.

Time and location

The event will take place 13:00 – 15:00 on Wednesday 5th March 2025, in the Boiler House.

The Boiler House is in the middle of campus, between the Armstrong Building and the Student Union. Access is step-free.

There’s no presentation as part of the session – just drop in and talk to one of the facilitators.

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Introducing NULA Data Interpretation webpages

NULA provides valuable insights into student engagement by consolidating a range of data sources. As colleagues, we know that interpreting this information effectively can make a real difference in supporting student success. To help you make the most of this powerful tool, we’d like to announce the launch of a new webpage dedicated to helping colleagues better understand and use the data provided by NULA.

What’s New?

This new resource has been designed to support colleagues by providing:

  • Examples of NULA data: using dummy data, there are practical examples of student engagement to explore and draw inferences from
  • Tips for interpreting trends: videos are provided to support interpreting the data, highlighting key trends and data points, in each practical example

Visualising key differences in the student profile view

As a reminder, the student profile in NULA offers two distinct views that provide complementary insights into engagement:

  1. 2 weeks display under Modules: the metrics within the Modules section give a focused, short-term view of a student’s engagement over the last two weeks, allowing you to spot recent trends and patterns.
  2. Historic view under Engagement history: this offers a longer-term perspective, showing patterns and trends over time to identify consistent behaviours or shifts in engagement.

Additional Support

For further guidance, additional support is also available through the Traffic Lights and Metrics pages. These resources offer deeper insights into interpreting NULA data and understanding key indicators.

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SpeedGrader Update – Coming in Spring 2025

Video Update

What’s New?

In Spring 2025, there will be some updates to Canvas SpeedGrader. This update makes SpeedGrader faster and more stable, while keeping the interface easy to use. The grading process you know will stay the same, but with some improvements behind the scenes.

Previously, courses with large cohorts or assignments with large file submissions experienced frustratingly slow loading times. This update aims to enhance SpeedGrader’s performance, making navigation quicker and more efficient.

In addition to performance updates, there will be minor interface changes to assist with navigation. Although small, these changes will help with the usability of SpeedGrader. After these changes, the interface will still have the familiar SpeedGrader feel.

Let’s dive into the changes made to Canvas SpeedGrader…

Sections Selector Dropdown

The section selector now has a streamlined interface, making it easier to navigate between different class sections. Previously, filtering by section required more steps. With the new Sections Selector Dropdown, you can quickly filter submissions by section.

In the Student Dropdown List, you’ll now see a Sections header. Under ‘Showing,’ you’ll find the current section that the list is filtered to (point 1).

To apply a new section filter, click on the Section filter (point 2). A dropdown list will then appear, as shown below:

In the dropdown list, you’ll see all the sections associated with the assignment. A tick mark will indicate the section currently applied as the filter (point 3).

To choose a new section filter, click on the name of the desired section (point 4).

No Submission Alerts

The alert for assignments without submissions has been enhanced to be more prominent and visually clear.

Previously, this would be indicated with the assignment showing as blank in the DocViewer. It is now clearly indicated that there is no submission.

You can see in the below (point 1), this is now clearly displayed in the DocViewer.

Grade Status Selector

Changing the status of a submission is now easier with a new dropdown box. However, it’s generally not recommended to use this feature, as our assignment statuses are tracked via the NESS system.

Previously, this status was managed by a pencil icon located in the top corner of the marking pane in SpeedGrader.

To change a submission status, click on the dropdown box and selected the appropriate status.

This is demonstrated in point 1 below:

Rubrics

Rubrics are now consistently displayed in the new traditional (grid) view. This view is very similar to the rubrics you’re used to marking with, though there are some minor changes.

The Instructor score is now displayed at the top of the rubric, making it easier to see while marking an assignment (point 1).

Providing feedback for rubric criteria is now easier with the feedback entry box clearly displayed (point 2). Previously, you had to access this feature via a button. Having the feedback option readily available encourages more frequent addition of comments to rubric criteria.

Media Attachments

Uploading and managing media attachments in submission comments is now more intuitive, thanks to an improved dialogue and a more straightforward deletion process.

Deleting an attachment has been made more intuitive with the introduction of a rubbish bin icon, replacing the previous red ‘x’ button (point 1). This change not only modernises the interface but also makes the deletion process clearer and more user-friendly. The rubbish bin icon is universally recognised, ensuring that users can easily identify and use this function without confusion.

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Vevox: December New Features Release

Vevox have made some updates to their features which were featured in their December product update. Find out more about the new features available, including the introduction of: 

  • Live ‘Before and After’ poll comparisons 
  • Demographic Segmentation   
  • Rich text options for question formatting 
  • Pie chart and number cloud displays available in the PowerPoint add-in 

‘Before and After’ Poll Comparison

It is now possible to run the same poll question twice and use a toggle option in present view after repeating the question in order to see a before and after comparison. This can be done live in your polls for you and your audience to see.  

This feature is only available in the present view of the Vevox Dashboard, and not in PowerPoint. 

Potential use cases: See shifts in understanding in lectures or training sessions. 

The ‘compare with previous poll’ toggle option icon in Vevox present view. 

Demographic Segmentation

It is now possible to identify trends with demographic segmentation functionality in questions. You can use the multichoice question type, to ask a demographic question such as ‘What stage of study are you in?’ at the start of your session. When you run any subsequent multichoice questions, you can choose to display the results by those demographics by using a toggle option. 

This feature is only available in the present view of the Vevox Dashboard, and not in PowerPoint. 

Potential use cases: See how answers or opinions differ among groups of students or participants. 

The ‘show a demographic split’ toggle option icon in Vevox present view. 

Rich Text Options for Question Formatting

Within the question creation area, there are now some rich text editing options available to help you when writing your questions. The new formatting available includes bold, italics, underline, bullet points, and new lines. 

The rich text editor options in the Vevox question creation area.

Pie Chart and Number Cloud Display in PowerPoint 

The option to use pie charts to display results and use number clouds as a question type were made available in the Dashboard present view back in September. They are now available in the Office 365 Vevox PowerPoint add-in. 

Additional information

For more information about Vevox, please see the dedicated Vevox webpage on the University’s Learning and Teaching website and also on Vevox’s own Blog.   

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NULA Update V1.19

With the launch of the Newcastle University Learning Analytics (NULA) system we will be posting regular blog updates to inform our users of the latest developments within the system.

Finding students

We have updated how the lists of students are displayed; you can now find your personal tutees when selecting students you are “directly” linked to. To find any other students you can use the “by modules” or “by courses” options. A full guide on how to find students is available on the learning and teaching website here.

Tagging

The ability to tag a stuent using the star icon next to the students name is now available.

You can then filter a list of students to only show tagged/untagged/all students as shown below.

Student overview

When you view a student’s profile the first item you will be presented with is the student overview, which shows a quick snapshot of the students most recent engagement and lists some basic information such as the students contact details and personal tutor.

For further information on NULA and additional resources, visit Learning Analytics (NULA) | Learning and Teaching @ Newcastle | Newcastle University Or contact the team at learning.analytics@newcastle.ac.uk

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Celebrating Excellence in Learning and Teaching: Recognising Advance HE Fellowship Achievements 

On November 6th we came together as a community to celebrate the achievement of 198 colleagues across our university who gained Advance, HE Fellowship recognition (D1-D4) during the 2023/24 academic year. This milestone reflects a significant increase from 161 colleagues in 2022/23 and demonstrates the growing engagement and commitment of our staff to advancing teaching excellence.   

At the heart of this achievement is a collective dedication to providing an outstanding educational experience for our students. Reflecting on and refining practice to align with relevant pedagogies underscores the values we uphold as an institution. As Sarah Graham, HaSS Dean of Education, remarked: 

“It’s really positive to see this growth in recognition. As a community, it’s important that we keep spreading the word and raising the profile to support more colleagues in achieving recognition.” 

The flexibility and inclusivity of the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) enables colleagues across diverse roles – academics, technicians, professional services and central services staff to achieve recognition. Notably, we celebrated the success of education managers, technicians, and colleagues from the Library, Careers, and LTDS. Their contributions enrich the fabric of our learning and teaching culture, further aligning us with the wider sector’s standards. 


The event also highlighted the pivotal role of mentorship. Dr. Paul Hubbard, Chair of the Board of Studies, expressed gratitude to PSF mentors, including newly recognised colleagues stepping forward to support others. This spirit of mentorship strengthens our community, as mentors not only guide peers but also exemplify continuous professional development. 

Special congratulations went to Ben Steel, this year’s recipient of the Dr. Phil Ansell Award for Mentoring, which honours exceptional support for colleagues pursuing Fellowship recognition. 

Being recognised under one of the four categories of Fellowship is not the final destination and can be a springboard for ongoing contributions to our learning and teaching community. Opportunities include;  

Participating in the 2024/25 University Learning and Teaching Conference on April 3rd, 2025. 

Joining networks like Newcastle Educators or discipline-specific groups. 

Sharing innovations by submitting case studies to the Case Studies of Effective Practice database. 

Considering national recognition through the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) or the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) . 

If you would like any information about how to apply for a Advance HE Fellowship recognition, or anything discussed in this blog please do get in touch with the Academic Practice Team  apt.lts@newcastle.ac.uk.  

Proud moment for D1 Associate Fellow – Kolapo Odeniyi.   

NU Med Education Day and Celebrating Success Event – 15th October 2024  

During October 2024, Pro Vice Chancellor of Education, Professor Ruth Valentine, visited NU Med hosting an Education Day and a ‘Celebrating Success’ event for colleagues who have recently completed successful PSF applications. During the education day, Professor Valentine focused on the new University Education Strategy (Education for Life 2030+), and looked at how branch campuses can contribute to achieving its key objectives – Education for Life and other important education priorities moving forward.  

The joint Education Day also provided an opportunity to strengthen connections between NUMed and NUIS colleagues, both for academic and PS teams. 

Pic A NU Med colleagues attending the Education Day 

The NU Med Garden Cafe hosted the celebration as the institution honored the achievements of staff members who excelled in their professional growth and development under the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). The event also recognised the invaluable contributions of mentors and those who completed the Advance HE External Examiner course. 
The event kicked off with an address by Professor Ruth Valentine, setting the tone for the celebrations. The event emphasised the importance of mentorship and professional development in fostering a thriving academic environment. 

Recognition was given across several categories: 

D3 Senior Fellows: A testament to their leadership and contribution to teaching and learning excellence. 

D2 Fellows and D1 Associate Fellows: Acknowledged for their commitment to upholding and advancing professional teaching standards. 

Advance HE External Examiner Course Graduates: Celebrating individuals who enhanced their expertise in quality assurance practices in higher education. 

The event concluded with a lunch and networking session, providing a wonderful opportunity for the NUMed community to connect, reflect, and share best practices. 

Pic B – Celebrating Success Event  

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Introducing students to Newcastle University Learning Analytics (NULA)

To introduce NULA to students Jasmine Banks, Education Officer at the Students’ Union, found out more about the system in conversation with Dr Lindsey Ferrie, Academic Lead.

They discuss:
How NULA will benefit you
What you can expect
What you need to do

Watch our Introducing NULA video featuring Jasmine and Lindsey and read Jasmine’s article on the Student Noticeboard to find out how students are being updated.

Why this is important for colleagues

Students are being reassured that NULA is there to help support their learning, not to monitor or judge them. Keeping this in mind can help you talk to students about their data in a way that feels open, positive, and focused on their success.

What’s next?

Students have been encouraged to watch Jasmine Banks’ conversation with Dr. Lindsey Ferrie to learn more about NULA, and we recommend you do the same. This will give you a deeper insight into the messages they’re receiving, enabling you to mirror this approach in your tutoring practice.

For further information on NULA and additional resources, visit Learning Analytics (NULA) | Learning and Teaching @ Newcastle | Newcastle University Or contact the team at learning.analytics@newcastle.ac.uk

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Marking Workspace Updates in Inspera (Autumn 2024)

Introduction 

Over the last couple of months, Inspera have been making some updates to their Grade workspace. Graders may have noticed some name changes in the appearance or naming in the Grade area. Ahead of our Semester 1 assessment period, the Digital Exams Team wanted to share some information about the changes you will see. 

To complete marking within Inspera, graders will use the different workspaces in the Grader workflow: 

Continue reading “Marking Workspace Updates in Inspera (Autumn 2024)”