Workshops and Training

Group work can be an extremely powerful tool which really helps student learning, providing them with a taste of the working environment, allowing them to work on real world problems and providing a safe space to learn and practice how to work effectively with a small group. However many of us may have experienced it (either as staff or students) as a frustrating, stressful and demoralising experience, which could even have led to student complaints and antagonism. This online course will give you a series of key questions to consider which together should make your group work more effective for your students’ learning and for you to run. 

• Effective group work (Webinar)
• Effective group work (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

This online course is designed to support you in facilitating active learning in your learning and teaching role. Throughout the course you will discuss ways to implement ‘play’ in the classroom, following a toolkit of learning activities that will support your students in developing wider graduate attributes alongside disciplinary knowledge and skills

• Using play in the classroom (Webinar)
• Using play in the classroom (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

This online course explores the advantages for you and your students of seminar/small group teaching. It will focus the participant on the planning and preparation needed for a successful seminar. It will also look at activities to try out in seminars to engage students with active learning.

• Seminar teaching (Webinar)
• Seminar teaching (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

Our new AI webinar series introduced a range of popular AI technologies and tools, demonstrates their present capabilities and limitations, and provides an overview of Newcastle University’s Principles for the use of AI. A dedicated session for assessment and AI also provides practical advice for colleagues on how to work with and embed AI tools in their assessment strategies.

• Assessment Design in an AI Landscape 

Canvas is Newcastle University's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is an online learning platform where you can host all of your course content, study materials, and module and programme information. The aim of these webinars is to provide you with an introduction to the Canvas environment and how to best utilise Canvas to support your teaching and learning.

• Getting to Know Canvas: Introductory Webinar (60 minute webinar)
• Canvas Announcements & Groups: Effective Communication & Collaboration (30 minute webinar)
• Canvas New Analytics: Getting the Most Out of Canvas Data (30 minute webinar)
• Canvas Discussions: Using Discussion Boards to Foster Engagement (30 minute webinar)
• Canvas Modules – Organise your Teaching Content and Create your Course Flow (60 minute webinar)
• Canvas Rich Content Editor – Craft Engaging Learning Material (60 minute webinar)
• Canvas Calendar (60 minute webinar)
• Canvas Sections (60 minute webinar)
• Canvas Sub Account Training (60 minute webinar)
• Creating and managing digital assignments (60 minute Canvas/Turnitin webinar)
• Online Marking and Feedback using Canvas (60 minute webinar)

Buddycheck is a Canvas integrated tool for peer evaluation of group work contribution. It can be used to enable students to evaluate their own and their peer's contribution to, and performance in, group work.

• Introduction to Buddycheck for Peer Review (webinar)

H5P is a tool that lets you create simple online content such as interactive videos, quizzes, games and presentations. This training webinar offers a 30-minute introduction to H5P looking at some of the benefits of using the tool, followed by an optional 30-minute task where you can try creating some H5P content yourself.

• Using H5P to Enhance Learning and Teaching (inductory webinar)
• Using H5P to Enhance Learning and Teaching: (advanced webinar)

Inspera Assessment is the University's new system for centrally supported in-person digital exams. Our Inspera sessions, suitable for all staff, cover the fundamentals of creating or marking a digital exam.

• Creating and managing exam questions in Inspera (webinar)
• Marking and moderating an Inspera exam with manually marked questions (webinar)
• Marking an Inspera exam with auto marked questions (webinar)
• How to grade using a rubric in Inspera
• Inspera for Professional Services Colleagues

NU learning analytics offers a holistic overview of student engagement and attainment data, drawn from various university systems and presented in a visual, user-friendly interface. The purpose of the system is to provide colleagues with data-driven insights to help support students on their learning journey. The aim of the following sessions is to provide a brief introduction to the system, followed up by looking at several case studies of student data and how we can interpret this data.

The following workshops are for personal tutors & academic colleagues

An introduction to the Newcastle University Learning Analytics system: Personal Tutors and academic colleagues (HaSS)

An introduction to the Newcastle University Learning Analytics system: Personal Tutors and academic colleagues (SAgE)

An introduction to the Newcastle University Learning Analytics system: Personal Tutors and academic colleagues (FMS)

The following workshops are for Student Health and Wellbeing colleagues

An introduction to the Newcastle University Learning Analytics system: SHWS

The following workshops are for professional services colleagues

An introduction to the Newcastle University Learning Analytics system: school-based Professional Services

Incorporating reflection into your teaching practice is an effective way to help students understand their own learning processes and develop an awareness of their own skills. NU Reflect provides the tools to do this, ensuring students have the reflective skills to prepare them for a successful future.

• Using NU Reflect to Support Reflective Practice and Skills Development (webinar)
• Effective Personal Tutoring using NU Reflect (webinar)

ReCap is Newcastle University’s lecture and event recording service. ReCap allows audio and visual material, including the presenter’s voice, presentation slides and visualised documents, to be recorded, edited and published online.

• Using ReCap in Teaching Spaces (webinar)
• ReCap Personal Capture (webinar)
• Editing ReCap Recordings (webinar)
• Using ReCap for Video Assessment (webinar)

Turnitin allows electronic submission of assignments on Canvas with similarity checking (including online marking and grading via Turnitin Feedback Studio). This session will demonstrate how to mark and provide feedback on assignments submitted to Turnitin.

• Online Marking and Feedback using Turnitin (webinar)
• Creating and Managing Assignments (Canvas/Turnitin webinar)

Vevox is replacing Ombea as the University's centrally supported audience interaction system from 1st September 2023. Training is available for colleagues who are new to Vevox and audience interaction systems.

An extended session is also available for current users of Ombea who need to convert their Ombea slides to the new Vevox format (please note: existing Ombea presentations are not compatible with Vevox).

• Getting Started with Vevox Audience Interaction System
• Vevox Advanced Features webinar

This course provides you with some of the core skills and techniques for embedding accessibility into your teaching and learning practice, and in making your digital resources accessible to everyone.

• Accessibility in Practice (Canvas self-enrol course)

This is a comprehensive online training resource developed for all Newcastle University colleagues and can be accessed 24/7 from your Canvas dashboard.

• Canvas Orientation Course (Canvas self-enrol course)

Field trips are common components of many modules. In this online course, you will consider the benefits fieldtrips can bring to students. You will discuss the inclusivity of field trips and give you time to ensure certain aspects of these experiences are fully inclusive to all learners. The course will explore virtual field trips and replacement activities that could be used to supplement your teaching if a fieldtrip is not always possible.

• Field trips in teaching (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

This short course takes around one hour to complete and guides you through the steps needed to make your own podcast, from initial ideas through to uploading your first episode.

• How to Create a Podcast (Canvas self-enrol course)

This online course work through ways to use creativity, collaboration and good planning to design a new programme for students. While the initial idea for a new programme may come from a small number of colleagues, planning and delivering a programme needs a much broader team, each of whom need a shared understanding of the programme’s vision and aims. 

• Introduction to programme design (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

In this online course you will examine the possibilities surrounding laboratory teaching from a practical standpoint. The course provides ideas and information useful in reviewing your work in this area and looking at how to develop new sessions. It will also explore the idea of remote laboratory based teaching for a blended approach to learners, and one that could potentially ensure your teaching is inclusive to all.

• Laboratory teaching (Canvas self-enrol course)

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.

Are you developing a new blended module for the first time, or rethinking the delivery of a current module? This course follows the general structure of an in-person module design workshop with a number of short activities - you can complete these independently or with your module team. At the end of this course you will have prototyped a blended module design that you can begin to implement.

• Module Design: ABC to Canvas (Canvas self-enrol course)

LTDS also offer module design as a bespoke workshop for schools or stage teams - please contact ltds@newcastle.ac.uk to discuss your requirements.

This short, self-paced course is available in Canvas and will introduce personal tutoring best practices and responsibilities for the role. 

• Personal Tutoring (Canvas self-enrol course)

A self-paced Canvas course developed to support you as you teach/support/work with diverse student groups, particularly international students. This module explores a range of topics that will give you the opportunity to make your learning and teaching provision and your classroom more inclusive for all students, including international students. 

Understanding and supporting international students (Canvas self-enrol link)

Enhance your understanding of neurodiversity and learn how to support neurodivergent students in higher education. This course explores different ways students think and learn, offers practical strategies for support, and highlights key resources available, informed by the real experiences and voices of our neurodivergent students. Designed for all Newcastle University staff, it offers valuable insights to improve student support across various roles. Engage at your own pace and revisit materials anytime to reinforce your learning.

Understanding and supporting neurodivergent students (Canvas self-enrol link)

This online course looks at how to use and effectively design Automatically Marked Questions (AMQs). It explores the benefits of this type of assessment and how to identify the appropriate place to use this technique in your own teaching. You will evaluate how to choose the most effective question types to support student learning and also develop skills in writing effective automatically marked questions. 

• Using and constructing automatically marked questions (Canvas self-enrol course) 

Please note: this course is part of our Newcastle Educators Practice Scheme (NEPS) and is freely available and open to all colleagues.