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Digital Assessment Webinar Training Programme Available

A photo of hands typing on a laptop keyboard.

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 Webinars

Inspera for Professional Service Colleagues

  • 9 October 2023 – 11:00-12:00
  • Further dates will be released for Semester 2

Creating and Managing Exam Questions in Inspera

  • 23 October 2023 – 9:00-10:00
  • 19 February 2024 – 14:00-15:00

How to Grade using Rubric in Inspera

  • 9 November 2023 – 10:00-11:00
  • 26 February 2024 – 14:00-15:00

Marking and moderating an Inspera exam with manually marked questions

  • 13 December 2023 – 09:00-10:00 
  • 25th January 2024 – 10:00-11:00 
  • 1st May 2024 – 14:00-15:00  
  • 6th June 2024 – 14:00-15:00 

Marking an Inspera exam with auto marked questions

  • 14 December 2023 – 09:00-10:00 
  • 24 January 2024 – 09:00-10:00 
  • 29 April 2024 – 14:00-15:00 
  • 3 June 2024 – 14:00-15:00 

Digital Assignments: Canvas and Turnitin

Creating and Managing Digital Assignments

  • 19 October 2023 – 11:00-12:00 
  • 29 January 2024 – 15:00-16:00 

Online Marking and Feedback (Canvas)

  • 5 December 2023 – 14:00-15:00 
  • 24 April 2024 – 14:00-15:00 

Online Marking and Feedback (Turnitin)

  • 4 December 2023 – 14:00-15:00 
  • 22 April 2024 – 14:00–15:00 

Any queries?

If you have any queries on any of the above sessions, please contact digital.exams@newcastle.ac.uk.

Meet the Team

You can meet the Digital Exams team in this LTDS Blog post.

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Evidencing Teaching Excellence for Promotion – Online Workshop

LTDS are running an online workshop Evidencing Teaching Excellence for Promotion on 7th September from 2-3pm.

This workshop is for any member of academic staff thinking of applying for promotion in whole, or in part on the basis of their teaching (whether they are on Teaching and Research or Teaching and Scholarship contracts).

The workshop is likely to be of particular interest to academic staff who are, or may be, intending to make an application to the 2023-24 or 2025-26 promotion rounds.

For more details, and to sign up for the workshop go to: https://elements.ncl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=644.

If you have any queries, please contact ltds@newcastle.ac.uk.

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Newcastle Educators – Using design thinking in the classroom

Newcastle Educators logo consisting of 3 stick figures with their arms around each other and the description: A peer community of educators at Newcastle University

Thursday 14 September 2023

Henry Daysh Building – 6.16 PGR Training Space

12:00 – 13:30 (with snack lunch provided!)

Newcastle Educators 2023 – 2024 Programme

Join us for this interactive session and by the end of this session participants will:

  • Have a basic understanding of design thinking and its potential in the classroom,
  • Have an idea how you might apply an aspect of design thinking in your own classroom,
  • Be invited to join our community of practice of educators interested using design thinking in the classroom.

The session will be delivered by Yulia Dzenkovska and Lucy Hatt from Newcastle University Business School.

Sign up for the session here

Yulia Dzenkovska is a Lecturer in Marketing (NUBS) specialising in services marketing and service innovation. Her interest in design thinking dates from her time here as a PhD student when she took part in a careers service design thinking event (EIT Health Innovation Competition) and won first prize!  Since then, she has developed her interest in this approach and incorporated it into her module “New Product and Service Development” with great success.  She is also the Employability Lead for her Subject Group.

Lucy Hatt is a Senior Lecturer in Leadership Development and Entrepreneurship (NUBS), with a particular interest in the value of the threshold concept approach for entrepreneurship, enterprise and employability educators.  She is the DPD for the MBA and leads modules on Innovation, Change and Enterprise which incorporate Design Thinking approaches.

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National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE)

The call for nominations for the 2024 National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) is now open and the deadline for nominations is 12 noon on Friday 3 November 2023.

The logo for the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS) is a highly prestigious award which celebrates excellent practice and outstanding achievement in learning and teaching in higher education.

The awards support individuals’ professional development in learning and teaching and provides a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes.


The Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence (CATE) celebrate collaborative work that has had a demonstrable impact on teaching and learning.

The logo for the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence

For more information about the awards, including eligibility and the application criteria, please visit the information pages on the Learning and Teaching website:

Nominations must be a maximum of 1000 words, addressing the relevant criteria and should be sent electronically to ltds@ncl.ac.uk no later than 12 noon on 3 November 2023.

Want to know more? Sign up for our Webinar

If you would like to find out more about NTFS and CATE, please book a place on the webinar taking place on 10 August 2023.

Book NTFS/CATE webinar
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Authentic Assessment with Professor Tina Overton

Tina Overton

SAgE Faculty presentation on Authentic Assessment with Professor Tina Overton

Conversations about more authentic forms of assessment have proliferated of late, as Universities everywhere had to rethink assessment formats at short notice.

We are delighted and honoured that Professor Tina Overton has kindly agreed to work with the SAgE Faculty to help us examine how we currently think about assessment in STEM disciplines.

In this one-hour online session, Tina will share her experiences of implementing authentic assessment in Chemistry at Monash University, drawing from her distinguished career in STEM education.

A presentation will be followed by a Q&A session where you can raise issues of interest or concern about assessment in STEM subjects with Tina.

The session will be recorded and made available afterwards.

Time: Sep 15, 2021, 14:00 London

Colleagues can sign up here.

SAgE Faculty workshops on Authentic Assessment with Professor Tina Overton

In this one-hour online workshop, presented twice, Tina will encourage you to rethink your approach to assessment, to consider where you might already be providing authentic assessments, and to reflect on where and how you might want to do more in your programmes/modules. Supported by colleagues in LTDS, the session will be recorded and made available afterwards.

Workshop 1

Time: Sep 30, 2021 13:00-14:00 London.

Or Workshop 2

Time: Oct 4, 2021 13:00-14:00 London

Colleagues can sign up for either workshop here.

Biography: Professor Tina Overton

Tina was until recently Director of the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence, having previously been Distinguished Professor at Monash University where she successfully implemented large scale moves to active and context-based learning and authentic assessment in Chemistry. She has a 20 year plus track record in STEM education and is passionate about improving the student learning experience.

If you have any queries about these events please get in touch with LTDS@ncl.ac.uk

You might also be interested in other upcoming learning and teaching events and webinars.

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Getting ready for the new academic year

Colleague typing on a laptop

With the new academic year fast approaching, we at LTDS are offering a week of online interactive learning sessions to help you get ready for the new academic year.

Here are more details about the new and exciting sessions. You can enrol on each of the six sessions below.

Learning from strategic digital education projects 

This session will take place on Thursday 9 September, 12.00 – 13.00.

This session will outline the achievements made in three strategic blended learning projects in the School of Engineering, Newcastle University Business School and the School of Biomedical, Nutritional and Sports Sciences. It will demonstrate the changes made to programmes and provide an opportunity to ask how it was done in a Q & A.

Sign up to the session through elements.

How to Make a Podcast

This session will take place on Friday 10 September, 13.00 – 14.00.

Newcastle University Learning and Teaching podcast was launched recently. The appetite for podcasting in education is going through a surge in interest in using this engaging medium with students. This workshop will take you through everything you need to know to feel confident and capable to make your own podcast.  

Sign up to the session through elements.

Saving time and enriching your courses with Canvas Commons  

There are two sessions available on Tuesday 7 September, 14:00 – 15:00 and Thursday 9 September, 11:00 -12:00.

Canvas Commons gives us a really easy way of sharing, finding and importing course content into Canvas courses.  We can use Commons to share a whole range of content types including, assignments, pages, quizzes, images as well as entire modules.      

This hands-on webinar provides an opportunity to explore  Canvas  Commons.  You’ll add content from Commons to your sandbox course.  We will consider what you need to do before sharing content and  discuss  examples of how sharing content can save time and enrich your courses. 

Sign up to the session through elements.

Getting your Canvas course ready for next year  

There is a session taking place on Monday 6 September, 15.00 – 16.00 and you can find further dates here.

The aim of this short webinar is to support you while you create your new Canvas courses for the 2021/22 academic year.   You will learn the process for new course creation, how to build your canvas course, and how to check your content is accessible.

The topics that are covered include, blueprints, content and assignment import from the previous year’s course. As well as homepage, curse navigation menu, accessibility, and publishing your content and your canvas course.

Sign up to the session through elements.

Using H5P to create engaging digital content

There are three H5P sessions over the course of this week. Monday 6 September at 13.00, Wednesday 8  September at 9.00, and Thursday 9 September at 14.00.

What is H5P? H5P is a resource that lets you create simple interactive content like interactive videos, quizzes, games, presentations, and more.

This training webinar offers a 30-minute introduction to H5P looking at some of the benefits in using this tool, followed by an optional 30-minute task where you can try creating some H5P content, with guidance.

Sign up to the session through elements.

Digital assessment – outlining the possibilities and processes

This session will take place on Thursday 9 September, 15.00 -16.00.

Assessing students in new ways and delivering feedback remotely during the pandemic has given us as a community of educators and learners a wealth of new experiences and ideas.  As we begin to return to campus, further digital assessment opportunities open up with the introduction of the Unversity’s new digital exam system Inspera Assessment. 

This session will share some of these new possibilities and provide an opportunity to reflect on what to retain from our recent experiences, as well as exploring how digital assessment can further enhance authentic assessment and ensure it is accessible to all our students. 

Sign up to the session through elements.

If you have any questions please get in touch with LTDS@ncl.ac.uk.

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Online External Examiner Training

People working on a computer

Starting this September, Newcastle University is working with Advance HE to offer online External Examiner Training. The training will run over two months and is aimed at aspiring, new, or experienced examiners. It will support you to:

  • understand the role of the external examiner as articulated in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, and be confident to undertake it; 
  • develop a deeper understanding of the nature of academic standards and professional judgement, and explore the implications for external examining; 
  • use evidence-informed approaches to contribute to impartial, transparent judgements on academic standards and the enhancement of student learning. 

Participation in the course can be used as evidence towards gaining (Senior or Principal) Fellowship of the HEA. 

The course begins on Monday 13 September 2021. You will be guided to complete five units over two months. Each unit takes 2-3 hours to complete, and on the whole there are 4 hours of online contact with the team.

More information can be found in the External Examiner Training Poster.

Colleagues should register by Friday 16 July by completing this form.

Should you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact ltds@ncl.ac.uk

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Advance HE Innovation in Teaching Practice Workshops

During 2019-20, Advance HE will be running a series of one-day Innovation in Teaching Practice Workshops.

With teaching excellence still a major focus of the HE sector, and increasing pressures across institutions to respond to policies such as the subject level TEF in England and challenges such as the mental wellbeing of both staff teams and students, Advance HE’s workshops will provide practical guidance on improving your teaching practices working alongside peers from a range of institutions and disciplines.

Click to book onto an Innovation in Teaching Practice Workshop

As members of Advance HE, staff at Newcastle University are able to receive discounted rates for Advance HE development programmes, conferences and events. Although there isn’t central funding for such events, your school may wish to fund relevant opportunities.  Whether you are near the start of your career, an academic, a member of professional services, a senior leader in an executive team or working in governance, Advance HE have timely and tailored development opportunities for you and your teams.

Find out more about Advance HE programmes and events

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Changes to the Learning and Teaching Development Programme from September 2019

By Graeme Redshaw-Boxwell, Learning Enhancement and Technology Team Manager

Following on from a University wide consultation undertaken at the start of the academic year, LTDS have further developed the Learning and Teaching Development programme for 2019/20.

From September 2019 the Learning and Teaching Development programme will move to a combination of both face to face and online support.

This new holistic offer will include pathways through the programme which can support:

  • Staff new to Newcastle University:
    o Looking for how they can get started with Newcastle University supported teaching, learning and assessment tools, techniques and pedagogies with a set of Learning and Teaching Essentials online, face to face workshops and webinars.
    o Needing to evidence their work for professional recognition by Advance HE against the UK Professional Standards Framework through the Newcastle Education Practice Scheme for probationary requirements.
  • Professional services and academic staff wishing to take advantage of support in evidencing their work for professional recognition by Advance HE against the UK Professional Standards Framework through the Newcastle Education Practice Scheme (NEPS).
  • Existing staff in using technologies and exploring pedagogies to enhance learning, teaching and assessment through new Quick Guides online, and scheduled workshops and webinars in September and January.
  • Programme teams in developing new or revising existing programmes or programme portfolios with bespoke sessions.
  • School based bespoke sessions which build on Learning and Teaching Essentials and Quick Guides.

What’s different?

A new set of Learning and Teaching Essentials and TEL Quick Guides will be available online, for reminders and self paced familiarisation with tools, techniques and policy related to learning and teaching at Newcastle University. There will be fewer scheduled workshops and webinars, which, from September 2019 will be focussed in September and January.

Scheduled workshops continue to be listed at http://elements.ncl.ac.uk and all LTDS run workshops described there can also be offered as school based bespoke sessions.