Category: Digital Technologies

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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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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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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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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)”
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Vevox: Recent new features released!

Vevox have made a few additions and improvements to their features in recent product updates. Find out more about the new features available, including the introduction of number clouds, pie charts and the chance for participants to add labels to their Q&A questions. There are also some suggested use cases on the new features which are optional for use. 

Rating Scale Question Type 

  • This question type allows you to ask participants to rate multiple items on a scale of 1 up to 10 and create labels for the highest and lowest values.  
  • Since you can ask participants to rate multiple items under one question, this reduces the need to create multiple questions. 
  • Suggested use case: rating scale questions could be used for evaluation type questions or surveys. 

Add images to options in multiple choice questions (MCQs) 

  • It is now possible to add an image alongside every answer choice – this means you can use images as answers, or even add them for decorative purposes to help engage with participants.  

Poll creation and updates within Microsoft PowerPoint and Teams integrations 

  • The ability to create polls directly within both the PowerPoint Add-in (as well as Microsoft Teams) is now possible. This is for all question types, including the newly introduced rating scale question type and images as answer choices. 

Participant-driven Q&A labels 

  • As a session host, you can create and choose labels to share with your participants. 
  • Participants can now add these labels to their questions/comments before adding them to the Q&A board. 
  • Suggested use case: If you are delivering a session which includes different topics, you may want the ability for your participants to label questions per topic, so you can answer questions relating to each topic at a time. 

Optional downvotes in Q&A  

  • Within the Q&A function, the ability to like or ‘upvote’ responses is useful to see agreement within your audience on what questions to answer or what views attendees are agreeing with, 
  • It is now possible to ‘switch on’ the option to ‘downvote’ responses. 
  • Suggested use case: This could be used for agreeing or voting on which ‘topics’ should be explored, etc. Perhaps as an opportunity to ‘narrow down’ things. 

Pie Charts  

  • Pie charts are now available as well as bar charts for displaying results on multiple-choice polls. 
  • They are only available for poll questions that have 10 answer options or less. 
  • Suggested use case: Based on what you are asking, you can decide if the data would be best presented as a bar chart or a pie chart. 

Number Clouds 

  • As well as word clouds, it is now possible to host number clouds. 

Interactive text wall for open text questions 

  • The text wall is a new upgrade to how the ‘Open Text’ poll type responses are displayed.  
  • Responses are organised into text blocks to make it even easier to view participant responses. 
  • The blocks are also interactive, so you can quickly click on a response to spotlight it, like you can with the Q&A function. 

Live/dynamic wordclouds in PowerPoint 

  • Live word clouds are now available in the PowerPoint add-in. 
  • This matches the functionality to see the wordcloud update as responses come in like you see when using the Dashboard view. 

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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Canvas October 2024 Updates

Over October there have been a series of updates to various features within Canvas including New Quizzes, Assignments and Discussions.

In this blog post, we will cover what is new in Canvas for October 2024.

How to Navigate this Update

This update is broken down into pages dedicated to updates for each of the Canvas Features.

By selecting the page numbers below, you will be taken to the update for each Canvas feature.

Included in this update is:

New Quizzes Updates (Page 2)

  • Add Time to Existing Quiz Sessions
  • Manage Student Result View
  • Submitted Date Displays in Moderate Log
  • Attempt Log Stopped Viewing the Canvas Quiz Page

Assignment Updates (Page 3)

  • Assign to Interface Change – “Assign To” Location Change

Discussions Updates (Page 4)

  • Edit button added to Discussions Index Page
Pages: 1 2 3 4
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Inbox Updates 

Over the summer there have been a series of updates to the Inbox within Canvas.

In this blog post, we will highlight some of the key changes to the Inbox and how you can utilise these changes in your courses.

Video Overview

Add Auto Response

All users can now create an Auto Response message in the Canvas Inbox. This works similar to an email Out of Office message however this only within the internal messaging system in Canvas.

An example of this can be found below:

To do this:

  1. In the top left corner of the Inbox, select the cog icon
  2. From the dropdown menu select “Response On”
  3. Add the Start and End Date
  4. Add a Subject
  5. Add a Message
  6. Select “Save”

Add Signature to Messages

All users can now create a personalised signature on their Inbox messages in Canvas. This works similar to a signature in Emails and is assigned to internal messages in Canvas.

An example of this can be seen here:

As you can see above, my contact details have automatically been added to my message.

To do this in your own inbox:

  1. In the top left corner of the Inbox screen, select the cog icon
  2. Select the “Signature On” button
  3. Add your personalised signature in the box provided
  4. Select the “Save” button