training – Learning and Teaching @ Newcastle Blog

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.

Inspera Training 24-25

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:

Inspera Deadlines for 24-25

Here are the important deadlines you need for the new academic year:

Deadlines for Semester 1 and 2 assessment periods

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

Deadlines for August assessment period

For Resits/Deferrals from Semester 1

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

For Resits/Deferrals from Semester 2

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?’.

Further Support for Students 24-25

ASK webpage

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.

24 April, 202424 April, 2024

Working inclusively: a refresh of the Accessibility in Practice course

Whatever our role, creating documents and other content that can be accessed and used by everybody is an essential professional skill.

The good news is that creating content that’s inclusive and user-friendly is actually quite simple, and the bulk of it can be done by creating good working document templates and making minor adjustments to work flows.

Accessibility in Practice has existed as an online course for a few years, but has just had a refresh to bring it up to date with the latest legislation (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC) 2.2), and in using the most up-to-date tools in Microsoft365 and within Canvas.

Accessibility isn't extra steps, it's steps you've missed. — “Accessibility isn’t extra steps, it’s steps you’ve missed.”

Accessibility in Practice is an online course that will take you about 60-to-90 minutes to complete.

Learn about the the importance of working inclusively and embedding accessible practice.
Structure your documents effectively for screen readers and other assistive technologies.
Optimise images, hyperlinks, colour contrast, and media content for maximum accessibility.
Evaluate and fix your content using built-in checking tools in Canvas and Microsoft apps.
Create captions, transcripts, and accessible PDF documents.

You can access Accessibility in Practice through Elements.

2 March, 20232 March, 2023

New Inspera training offered

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. We now have a new training session aimed at Professional Service colleagues due to run on March 9 from 3-4pm. You can sign up via Elements.

This session will introduce the digital exam platform Inspera, and how to support an Inspera digital exam.

Introduction to Inspera
Creating an account
Reviewing crated questions and question sets
Basic functionality including randomisation and question choice options
Allow listing and adding resources
Checking the student view
Entering or amending question marks
Inspera Scan sheets

Who should attend?

This webinar is suitable for any professional services colleague supporting an Inspera digital exam.

11 June, 202117 September, 2021

Online External Examiner Training

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

28 April, 202028 April, 2020

Canvas training now available: Book a session now

You can now book onto one hour webinars which will cover the core functionality and exciting new features of Canvas, providing colleagues with the skills and knowledge to set up their Canvas courses ready for the 2020/21 academic year. All sessions are available to book on Elements.

You can find details of sessions below and further information and resources are available at services.ncl.ac.uk/digitallearning/canvas/colleagues/ (including answers to Canvas FAQs) and on NUConnect.

Get Started

Canvas Fundamentals

A one hour introduction suitable for all staff.

Begin your Canvas journey with this workshop which will explain how to navigate the key areas of Canvas and how to utilise Canvas to provide engaging learning materials and communicate with students.

Canvas PS session

For Professional Service colleagues who will be responsible for supporting Canvas in their academic unit.

Find out more with these webinars

Assignments

You will learn about:

How students interact with Canvas when submitting assignments.
The Canvas Assignment tool and Turnitin Assignments and the differences between them.
How to decide what the most appropriate option will be for the assignment(s) you are setting up.

Quizzes

You will learn:

How students interact with Canvas when completing quizzes.
How to use the powerful quizzes functionality within Canvas. You will see the wide range of question types available and the extensive feedback made possible by the Canvas Rich Content Editor.

More dates to come

We know that the demands on colleagues mean that many may not be able to engage with the training opportunities at this time. The team will be offering a comprehensive programme of webinars throughout the summer, so we hope that if you wish to participate in a webinar you will be able to do so at a time that fits with all your other commitments.

You can also find out more about the range of self help resources available on the Canvas website.

For any queries get in touch at Canvas@ncl.ac.uk

27 February, 202027 February, 2020

Access Canvas and book on to the first phase of Canvas training now

All Learning and Teaching colleagues can now log in to Canvas, our new Virtual Learning Environment, which will be replacing Blackboard from 1st August 2020. This is an exciting milestone as we transition to Canvas and with access to a personal sandbox (practice) course and an online Canvas Orientation course, colleagues have an early opportunity to familiarise themselves with the platform.

How do you get access?

Go to https://canvas.ncl.ac.uk and log in with your nid@newcastle.ac.uk account. Once you have access you will see your personal sandbox (practice) course and the Canvas Orientation course on your Canvas dashboard. Please do not use Internet Explorer as this browser is not supported by Canvas.

What training and support is available?

To support you with the transition from Blackboard to Canvas and to help you to get the most out of Canvas, a comprehensive suite of training has been developed including Canvas Fundamentals, Professional Service sessions, Assignments and Quizzes and more.

Sessions taking place throughout April-June are now available to book. There will be further sessions released in March to run from July 2020 onwards.

If you are based at our London, Malaysia or Singapore campuses and are unable to attend face to face training sessions in Newcastle, we are working with colleagues at each campus to organise suitable sessions, which will be communicated to you shortly.

Further information regarding PGR access to training will also be communicated soon.

In addition to training, the following support is available:

Access to the 24/7 help from Canvas. This is a fantastic resource and is available to all staff and students. You can contact Canvas via live chat, from within the platform, phone or email for all of your ‘How do I’ questions.
The online Canvas Orientation course accessed from the Canvas dashboard. This has been designed to support you in using the key features and tools in Canvas and there are a number of self-check quizzes for you to check your understanding as you work through each section.
A comprehensive library of Canvas step-by-step guides and video tutorials. These can all be accessed via the digital learning website or the Canvas Community or from the Help Menu within Canvas.
The digital learning website. This is a key source of information with answers to FAQs, upcoming events and project timelines.

If you have any queries about any of this information or would like to speak with a member of the project team, please contact canvas@ncl.ac.uk.