Digital Assessments - Session 1

Effective education involves the integration and alignment of three core systems, namely curriculum, learning and teaching, and assessment. In this context, ensuring alignment between course outcomes, content and assessment is important for curricular coherence, and contributes to the validity of assessments. Consequently, there  is  a  need  for  academics  to  appreciate  the  role  of  assessment  in  student’s learning and to be able to design quality assessments for particular contexts. In addition to the need for authentic, valid assessment practices, more generally, there is a growing need to become familiar with technologies for use with assessments.

Date: 16 July 2024 (Session 1)

Time: 10:00-11:30

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Digital Assessments - Session 2

Effective education involves the integration and alignment of three core systems, namely curriculum, learning and teaching, and assessment. In this context, ensuring alignment between course outcomes, content and assessment is important for curricular coherence, and contributes to the validity of assessments. Consequently, there  is  a  need  for  academics  to  appreciate  the  role  of  assessment  in  student’s learning and to be able to design quality assessments for particular contexts. In addition to the need for authentic, valid assessment practices, more generally, there is a growing need to become familiar with technologies for use with assessments.

This workshop focuses on assessment in the field of Higher Education with special emphasis on assessment tools in ulwazi and other available platforms.

Session 2: Quizzes (Quizzes tool & Studio)

New quizzes

• Setting up a quiz using various question types
• Setting up question banks
• Randomising from question banks
• Moderate function for grading, adjusting attempt and time limit
• Grading a Quizz (manual grading)
• Regrading a
• Releasing feedback

Studio tool

• Embedding a quiz to a
• Setting up an assignment with a quiz embedded video.

Date: 17 July 2024 (Session 2)

Time: 10:00-11:30

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Wits Tutor Professional Learning Programme (TPLP)

The Tutor Professional Learning Programme (TPLP) provides tutors with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values to enable them to execute their tutoring responsibilities. The programme consists of a series of asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities that will provide tutors with practical insights on tutoring in a blended mode. The training workshops will focus on how design and facilitate for meaningful tutoring that will stimulate students’ learning. 

The following topics will be covered: 

• Exploring the tutoring space from the South African context 

• Teaching for learning in the tutoring space 

• Blended learning in the tutoring space 

• Introduction to assessment and feedback 

• Diversity in the tutoring space 

• Digital tools for learning and teaching 

Date: 04 April 2024

Time: 10:00-13:30

Venue: Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed 

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Creating engaging videos with Canvas Studio

Canvas Studio is a modern video platform that allows instructors and students to actively collaborate through video media. Studio makes it easy for lecturers to create engaging videos and for students to participate in dynamic conversations and assessments. This webinar will look at how to:

• Navigate studio
• Create videos using studio
• Design and deliver assessments that are embedded directly in the video
• Use studio analytics to improve learning

Date: 09 February 2024

Time: 10:30 -12:00

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Using Gradescope in ulwazi

Gradescope is an assessment tool that allows lecturers to grade and provide feedback on handwritten paper-based student work, quizzes, and assignments in an online platform. The tool is well suited for grading assessments based on handwritten

work, calculations, drawings or chemical structures, cells, circuits, coding, etc. With Gradescope, students can upload written assessments to be graded. Lecturers can mark student assessments with annotation tools using text and pencil comments as feedback with reference to a dynamic rubric. The session will cover the following:

• How to create different question types in Gradescope
• How to enable your students to submit their work to
• How to grade assessments in Gradescope
• How to create rubric items

Date: 02 May 2024

Time: 10:00 - 11:30

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Wits Tutor Professional Learning Programme (TPLP)

The Tutor Professional Learning Programme (TPLP) provides tutors with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values to enable them to execute their tutoring responsibilities. The programme consists of a series of asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities that will provide tutors with practical insights on tutoring in a blended mode. The training workshops will focus on how design and facilitate for meaningful tutoring that will stimulate students’ learning. 

The following topics will be covered: 

• Exploring the tutoring space from the South African context 

• Teaching for learning in the tutoring space 

• Blended learning in the tutoring space 

• Introduction to assessment and feedback 

• Diversity in the tutoring space 

• Digital tools for learning and teaching 

Date: 11 April 2024

Time: 10:00-13:00

Venue: Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed 

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Designing and Building your course in ulwazi

This webinar will focus mainly on intentionally designing, building, and publishing your course site.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, you should be able to structure your course using the Modules function:

• Set up your homepage.
• Upload and manage your files.
• Add content to your course by
  • Building activities into a module.

Outlining your own outcomes

Date: 09 July 2024 

Time: 10:30 – 12:30 

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed) 

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Using ulwazi’s New Analytics to improve student engagement

In an online class we don’t receive feedback from our students in the same way that we do in a face-to-face class, so how do we know how our students are doing in an asynchronous learning environment? The Canvas New Analytics tool helps you see the interaction students are having with the course materials in your course on ulwazi. These analytics can help you identify which students may not be as engaged and allow you to reach out to those students.

This webinar will look at how to:

• enable the new analytics tool
• view student page views and participation activity
• track average course grades using interactive graphs or tables
• message students who meet certain criteria
• download student views and participation data

Date: 23 May 2024

Time: 10:00-11:30

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Designing & building your course on ulwazi

This webinar will focus mainly on intentionally designing, building, and publishing your course site.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the session, you should be able to structure your course using the Modules function:

• Set up your homepage.
• Upload and manage your files.
• Add content to your course by
  • Building activities into a module.
  • Outlining your own outcomes.

Date: 05 Sept 2024

Time: 10:30 - 12:30

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Intro to Conferences (“BigBlueButton”) in ulwazi

This webinar will focus on facilitating synchronous online learning interactions in ulwazi. Some of the topics that will be covered include:

• Accessing conferences
• Setting up online meeting spaces
• Facilitating synchronous learning in your course sites 

Date: 11 April 2024

Time: 10:30-12:00

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be emailed once bookings are confirmed.)

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Using Mastery Paths in ulwazi

Mastery Paths allows you to create differentiated assignments that would enable you to customise a learning pathway for your students based on their performance of a particular assessment. The learning pathway could consist of different Content Pages, Quizzes, Discussions and Assignments.

Date: 08 May 2024

Time: 10:00 - 11:30

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed)

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Smart Educational Technologies for Student-centered (Inter)active Learning (Day 1)

The evolution of technology has changed the landscape of education. The use of smart technologies that could enable agentic, interactive learning and teaching have become widespread. Smart learning environments have been gaining traction in education since it allows the fostering of collaborative learning opportunities where educational technologies are used meaningfully. Our two-day training webinar and face-to-face workshop consist of the following:

Day 1: Online (10:00 – 12:30)

This session will introduce participants to the Smart Classroom teaching and learning technologies and suggest ways to use these technologies to create an (inter)active student-centered learning experience.

Day 2: Face-to-face, onsite (10:00 – 12:30 in Gatehouse building GH403, East Campus)

 This face-to-face workshop occurs the day after the webinar and will demonstrate how smart technologies may be applied in real-life teaching and learning situations and will offer participants an opportunity to test out various teaching and learning scenarios.

To support you further, we have also developed a self-directed course that provides suggestions of various approaches that one could use in the Smart Classroom. To learn more about this course, click here.

Date: 29 May 2024 (Day 1: Online)

Time: 10:00 - 12:30

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be emailed once bookings are confirmed.)

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Smart Educational Technologies for Student-centered (Inter)active Learning (Day 2)

The evolution of technology has changed the landscape of education. The use of smart technologies that could enable agentic, interactive learning and teaching have become widespread. Smart learning environments have been gaining traction in education since it allows the fostering of collaborative learning opportunities where educational technologies are used meaningfully. Our two-day training webinar and face-to-face workshop consist of the following:

Day 1: Online (10:00 – 12:30)

This session will introduce participants to the Smart Classroom teaching and learning technologies and suggest ways to use these technologies to create an (inter)active student-centered learning experience.

Day 2: Face-to-face, onsite (in Gatehouse building GH403, East Campus)

This face-to-face workshop occurs the day after the webinar and will demonstrate how smart technologies may be applied in real-life teaching and learning situations and will offer participants an opportunity to test out various teaching and learning scenarios.

To support you further, we have also developed a self-directed course that provides suggestions of various approaches that one could use in the Smart Classroom. To learn more about this course, click here.

Date: 30 May 2024 (Day 2: Onsite - Face to Face)

Time: 11:00 - 13:00

Venue: Gatehouse (GH403) Face-to-face session 

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Conceptualise, Design, Build and Evaluate your Course (2nd Run)

So, you have been teaching during the pandemic for the past few years. Now you have a chance to meet with your students face to face again. How are you going to help them gain that engaged earning experience, so no one is left behind? This workshop is designed to help you plan, build, and evaluate your course taking into consideration grounded learning experience design principles. This includes prioritizing equity and inclusion in blended learning strategies. To get the best out of this course, we recommend that you attend (Design and Develop your course in ulwazi) or are familiar with using ulwazi. To register for this course, please refer to the booking form in the table above. 

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Week 1 – Plan

• Plan learning environments that intentionally accommodates the 3Cs (Communicate, Care, Collaborate) (F2F).
• Familiarize the concepts of 3Cs in a blended learning environment.
• Using QM rubric to assist you in planning an intentional learning environment.

Week 2 – Design

Design a learning environment that is aligned to your outcomes for engaging learning experience. Do they apply?

• Identify the importance of Storyboard and Curriculum Mapping (F2F).
• Demonstrate your intentional planning that accommodates the 3Cs by using the Curriculum Map (align with QM standards) (F2F/Online).

Week 3 & 4 - Build (2 sessions)

• Create your own lesson using given storyboard template or curriculum mapping.
• Refer to other courses (CR).

Week 5 - Evaluate and Reflect Evaluate and reflect on your curriculum map and aligning to outcomes:

• Showcase the curriculum map.
• Facilitators and participants give feedback.
• Self-evaluation by presenters.

Dates: 13 Aug - 10 Sept 2024

Time: 10:00 - 12:00

Mode/Venue: Blended (One session per week over 5 weeks)

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Using Mastery Paths in ulwazi

Mastery Paths allows you to create differentiated assignments that would enable you to customise a learning pathway for your students based on their performance of a particular assessment. The learning pathway could consist of different Content Pages, Quizzes, Discussions and Assignments.

Date: 18 June 2024

Time: 10:00 - 11:30

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed)

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Intro to Conferences (“BigBlueButton”) in ulwazi

This webinar will focus on facilitating synchronous online learning interactions in ulwazi. Some of the topics that will be covered include:

• Accessing conferences
• Setting up online meeting spaces
• Facilitating synchronous learning in your course sites 

Date: 21 June 2024

Time: 10:00 - 11:30

Venue: The online meeting link will be emailed once the booking is confirmed.

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Designing & building your course on ulwazi

This webinar will focus mainly on designing, building, and publishing your course site. Some topics that will be covered include: 

• Structuring course
• Adding content to your course
• Uploading and managing your files
• Setting up your homepage

Date: 06 Aug 2024

Time: 10:30- 12:30

Venue: Online (Meeting link will be e-mailed once bookings are confirmed)

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Course Review: Through the Lens of a Learner

The COVID19 Pandemic sent learning and teaching into a whirlwind spin for both students and staff. This changed experience has left some academics with courses that were not designed to provide engaging, memorable learning experiences. Course Review: Through the Lens of a Learner is an asynchronous course that focuses on how educators/facilitators could enhance an online/blended course that would positively contribute to students’ online learning experience.

This course explores various strategies and frameworks that educators/facilitators could use to improve on an online/blended course design. To get the best out of this workshop, it is advisable to have your course site that you can review at the end of the workshop.

The content of this course is based on four supporting pillars that are essential to a well-designed online/blended course:

Pillar 1:

The initial learner experience: strategies on how to prepare and orientate students to the new “online” learning environment.

Pillar 2:

Guiding students and their learning: strategies how to provide frequent meaningful and relevant learning opportunities to establish a learning community.

Pillar 3:

Accessibility, design and usability: Get insight on Universal Design for Learning and techniques for creating accessible content.

Pillar 4:

Course Evaluation: course participants will use the adapted Quality Matter Rubric to review their own online courses and develop a course improvement plan.

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