It is now possible to upload your students to grading committees via the csv upload option. This blog post works through the steps required to set up grading committees via CSV upload.
Continue reading “Inspera Digital Exams: Setting up a grading committee via CSV upload “Over the summer there have been a series of updates to the SpeedGrader tool within Canvas to improve the ability to provide feedback.
In this blog post, we will highlight some of the key changes to the SpeedGrader and how you can utilise these changes in your courses.
In SpeedGrader, after adding a submission comment, if this has not been saved, a Draft pill displays indicating that this comment has not been saved and a warning message is presented alerting the teacher that the comment has not been saved.
Previously there was no clear indication that a comment had been submitted and this would lead to students not seeing comments/feedback in their assignments.
With this update, it is clear for a teacher to see the status of a submission comment.
You can see in the example below that the submission comment has not been submitted and we have a draft pill alongside our comment:
When we press submit on this comment, the draft pill disappears which means the comment is visible to the student:
In SpeedGrader, some Rich Content Editor (RCE) features are available when using submission comments. The available RCE features include:
This allows teachers to style feedback and provide further resources via linking. In the example below, you can see a link is provided to further resources to assist the student:
This functionality is available at the top of the submission comments box as demonstrated below:
In SpeedGrader, an Equation Editor function has been added to the Rich Content Editor. This feature enables instructors to incorporate math equations into their submission comments.
In the below example, you can see the new equation editor function within the submission comments in SpeedGrader:
In SpeedGrader Settings, instructors now have the option to randomise the order of students within each submission status. This update helps mitigate grading fatigue and biases by ensuring a random sorting of students. Additionally, it enhances grading efficiency by maintaining this random order within submission statuses.
Below are step by step instructions on how to do this:
Please note that when the randomised students, the preference is saved as the default in the browser for the course. When logging in on another device, instructors must select the sort by options again.
The Digital Assessment Team in LTDS have various training webinars covering our Digital Assessment tools starting in the next few weeks.
You can check out the full list of sessions, dates/times and the links to book in our list of sessions.
Inspera for Professional Service colleagues
6 November 2024, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Creating and managing exam questions in Inspera
2 October 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
7 November 2024, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Marking an Inspera exam with auto marked questions
16 December 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
22 January 2025, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Marking and moderating an Inspera exam with manually marked questions
17 December 2024, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
23 January 2025, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Creating and Managing Digital Assignments
2 October 2024, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Online Marking & Feedback (Canvas)
4 December 2024, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Online marking and feedback (Turnitin)
11 December 2024, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
In the last academic year, our cycle came to a close with the support of Resit and Deferral Digital Inspera exams. Overall, there were 103 Resit/Deferral Inspera exams which ran between 8-16 August, with 101 exams being held successfully on campus. The Digital Exams Team were delighted to see an increase in the use of content features for this period, showcasing the wide range of benefits Inspera can provide.
The removal of the minimum threshold for the August assessment period, (in 22-23 Inspera could only be used for Resits if a certain number of students were due to take the digital exam) saw a vast increase in the number of module teams using Inspera. We can confirm the removal of the minimum threshold was a success and all Inspera users can opt for a Resit in 24-25 if their Semester 1 and/or 2 assessment runs as an Inspera Digital Exam.
Training for Semester 1 preparation is now available to book via the Newcastle University LMS. Please use the links below to book onto appropriate training as required:
Here are the important deadlines you need for the new academic year:
| Task | Deadline |
| Deadline to complete the digital exam form for Semester 1 | 25 October 2024 |
| Deadline to prepare question set in Inspera for Semester 1 | 15 November 2024 |
| Digital exams: hard deadline to submit backup paper for digital exams to Exam Paper Portal for Semester 1 | Within 2 working days of backup paper being sent to module team by LTDS, and no later than 6 December 2024 |
| Deadline to complete the digital exam form for Semester 2 | 19 February 2025 |
| Deadline to prepare question set in Inspera for Semester 2 | 8 March 2025 |
| Digital exams: hard deadline to submit backup paper for digital exams to Exam Paper Portal for Semester 2 | Within 2 working days of backup paper being sent to module team by LTDS, and no later than 11 April 2025 |
| Task | Deadline |
| Deadline to complete the digital exam form for the resit period exam (which was originally a Semester 1 exam) | 17 March 2025 |
| Deadline to prepare question set in Inspera | 17 April 2025 |
| Digital exams: hard deadline to submit backup paper for digital exams to Exam Paper Portal for the resit period | Within 2 working days of backup paper being sent to module team by LTDS |
| Task | Deadline |
| Deadline to complete the digital exam form for the resit period exam (which was originally a Semester 2 exam) | 1 July 2025 |
| Deadline to prepare question set in Inspera | 8 July 2025 |
| Digital exams: hard deadline to submit backup paper for digital exams to Exam Paper Portal for the resit period | Within 2 working days of backup paper being sent to module team by LTDS |
All information regarding deadlines for Inspera Digital Exams is also posted on the colleague facing website along with a wide range of helpful resources on all aspects of Inspera. Go to the Frequently Asked Questions section and deadline information can be found under ‘How should I prepare for an Inspera digital exam?’ and ‘Can I use Inspera for August assessment period exams?’.
The Digital Exams Team have recently updated the student facing website which includes access to newly created demo exams for students to practice using Inspera.
If you are marking an Inspera exam where students have been given an option to answer certain questions from a range of question options (i.e. students answer one out of three possible questions), this is known as Candidate Selected Questions (CSQs). When in use, the grading per student function (where markers would move to the next student awaiting grading using the downward direction arrow), meant that markers were shown the next student in the list, even if they had answered an alternate option.
Now, markers who move to the next student using the direction arrow next to the student information (as shown below), will find clicking the down arrow will take them to the next student who answered the same question option. This means that marking of a particular question can be achieved.
More information about the candidate selected questions feature can be found on the Inspera Help Centre.
It’s now possible to select more than one question and delete in bulk. Previously, the deletion was only possible per question. Deletions should only occur if you no longer wish to use the question, for example, if you found errors or will no longer use the question in future.
Deleting questions can be done via the Author Tab.
To delete multiple, select the tick boxes on the left hand side of the questions you wish to delete.
Multiple questions can be deleted simultaneously by using ‘move to trash’ – a pop up which will appear on the bottom panel.
The Digital Exams Team have created some new resources for colleagues. We have a brand-new website dedicated to the use of Grading Committees in Inspera. This website provides users information about what these committees are, how to use them and Frequently Asked Questions area.
We have also recently released information on our colleague facing Inspera webpages relating to Inspera Feedback Release, as well as an Inspera for Professional Services Colleagues area.
As we enter the assessment marking period, the Digital Exams Team want to share some marking ‘hints and tips’ for Inspera Digital Exams. Check out some of our hints and tips listed below.
The Digital Exams Team run two dedicated marking webinars which colleagues can book onto:
These training webinars cover a range of marking workflows, including how to amend auto-marked questions and adding annotations to manually marked questions such as essays.
There are a range of marking videos available on the Inspera L&T website which provide on-screen demonstrations of grading tasks.
If you would like to release feedback to your students on your auto or manually marked Inspera questions, check out our dedicated webpage on Inspera Feedback Release for further information.
If you have any questions about marking an Inspera exam, please contact the Digital Exams Team via Digital.Exams@newcastle.ac.uk.
If you have any hints or tips that you think we could add to the above list, please do share them with the Digital Exams Team.
LTDS now have a new range of short (10 minute and under) videos about creating your Inspera Digital Exam using the Authoring tool. These are available on our website, under the header Video guides for authors : https://www.ncl.ac.uk/learning-and-teaching/digital-technologies/inspera/
The content of these videos is designed to more briefly cover the 1-hour webinar available on the Learning Management System (LMS) ‘Creating and managing exam questions in Inspera’. These short videos group the content into more manageable self-help guides.
| Video title | Content covered |
|---|---|
| Getting started with Authoring Questions on Inspera | How to access the Author tool via Canvas Navigating the Author tab Filtering and Labels The difference between questions and question sets |
| Creating Questions sets on Inspera | Create and edit question sets Adding /amended marks awarded per question Previewing your question/question set Adding previously created questions into a question set |
| Basic Question set functionality | Sharing a question set with colleagues Printing a question set The Design tab |
| Advanced Question set functionality | Using sections in your question set Question randomisation Candidate selected questions Using stimulus Adding allowed resources |
For all Inspera Digital Exams running in the standard Semester 1 assessment period, the deadline for the finalisation of Questions Sets within Inspera is November 17th.
We do still have some spaces left on our 1-hour webinar ‘Creating and managing exam questions in Inspera’ which is taking place on October 23rd virtually. Book your space on the Newcastle University LMS.
We are seeking an enthusiastic Academic Lead to oversee the development of Digital Assessment at Newcastle University and drive improvements in line with our Education for Life strategy. The Digital Assessment Group supports the use of digital assessment and feedback tools such as Inspera, NUMBAS, Turnitin and Canvas. Reporting to the Digital Education Sub-Committee (DESC), the postholder will work with representatives from across the university to help guide, enable and support the innovative use of digital assessment and feedback tools.
For more details see the Academic Lead for Digital Assessment Role Description.
This is a non-remunerated role but has potential to enable demonstration of positive educational impact across the institution.
To express your interest in this role, please provide a short biography and outline for how you see Digital Assessment evolving in the future. This should be no more than 1 side of A4 and submitted to Susan Barfield (susan.barfield@ncl.ac.uk). Selection will be based on the expression of interest and an informal interview of shortlisted applicants (w/c 13 November 2023).
If you would like to learn more about what this opportunity involves please contact David Kennedy, Dean of Digital Education (david.kennedy@ncl.ac.uk) or Susan Barfield, Lead for Digital Assessment LTDS (susan.barfield@ncl.ac.uk).
We are pleased to share our Digital Assessment Training Programme for 2023-24. Our training sessions are delivered as webinars via Microsoft Teams.
Inspera Assessment (the university system for centrally supported digital exams) is supported by the Learning and Teaching Development Service with a range of training options open to all staff.
Follow the links below to find out more about each session and to book onto individual sessions via the University’s elements system.
Inspera for Professional Service Colleagues
Creating and Managing Exam Questions in Inspera
How to Grade using Rubric in Inspera
Marking and moderating an Inspera exam with manually marked questions
Marking an Inspera exam with auto marked questions
Creating and Managing Digital Assignments
Online Marking and Feedback (Canvas)
Online Marking and Feedback (Turnitin)
If you have any queries on any of the above sessions, please contact digital.exams@newcastle.ac.uk.
You can meet the Digital Assessment Team in this LTDS Blog post.
As the new 2023-24 academic year begins, we’d like to introduce the Digital Exams Team here in LTDS, who lead on the University’s Digital Exams via Inspera. A team of Learning Enhancement and Technology Advisers work together to facilitate digital exams through Inspera Assessment. Inspera Assessment is the University’s Digital Exam system used for present-in-person secure online assessments.
First up we’ve got Maddie Kinnair who is one of our two Inspera Co-Leads. Maddie joined the team in September 2022 and has worked within the area of Learning and Teaching for 6 years. Maddie first joined HE in 2014 and has previously worked in the School of Computing, HaSS Faculty and within Central Services.
Maddie is also the lead for our peer assessment and feedback tool Buddycheck.
Next up, we’ve got Kimberly May-O’Brien, our second Inspera Co-Lead. Kimberly joined the team in July 2023, having worked at the University since 2019. Kimberly previously worked in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, as well as the central Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team.
Finally, we have Susan Barfield who started working at the University 13 years ago, initially in NUIT as part of the ReCap team, she then joined LTDS in 2019 as lead on online marking and feedback using Canvas and Turnitin, whilst also supporting digital exams.
You can find out more about Inspera and the training webinars and videos available to colleagues via the LTDS website.
If you have any queries around Digital Exams, you can contact the Digital Exams Team via Digital.Exams@newcastle.ac.uk.
Numbas is the other centrally supported Digital Exam platform. You can contact the Numbas team via Numbas@ncl.ac.uk.
