Inspera Update – August 2026
Colleagues, this August we will be activating Inspera’s new Author interface. In this update there is information on this change and a link to a preview video which provides a demonstration of the new interface. In addition, as we approach the new academic year, this update provides reminders of recent Inspera updates and guidance for when you are setting up your assessments for the new academic year.
New Author Interface
The new Inspera Author interface will be activated in August. The Author module is where questions are created and pulled together into question sets. The most significant change is a re-design of the user interface, which enhances the layout, particularly when editing question sets. Features of the new interface include:
- Question Set View – View the Question Set structure on the same screen as the question authoring tools.
- Version comparison – compare changes made to questions in the platform.
- Bulk Question Creation – multiple questions of the same type can be added to a question set in one step.
A demonstration video is available that provides an overview of the new interface.
The existing interface will still be available to use if preferred, when creating a new question or question set the option to choose ‘Author (Legacy)’ will be available.
Drawing Question type
This new Question Type makes the drawn submission the primary method of submission. It allow the addition of images and text as a background canvas, which can serve as a starting point for students to annotate or edit. These images can be locked to prevent them from being moved or unlocked to allow candidates to interact with the pre-uploaded image. Please note that this question type is only available if using the new Author interface. Drawing Question Type support article.
Summary of Recent Inspera Updates
Grading
Normalized Grading Scale
This update makes it easier to align the grades shown in Inspera with those presented in Aula. This new grade scale option is available in Assessment settings, under ‘Use Grade Scale’. It calculates percentage grades directly from marks achieved on a continuous scale from 0 to n with two decimal point precision. (Managing Grading Scales)
Mark by Question
When grading you can now choose if you want to mark by Candidate or mark by Question. For more information see New Navigation in Marking.
Student View
Candidate Notes and Highlights
Students now have the option to highlight important text and create personal notes while taking a test. More details found here: Notes for Candidates
Reminders- Getting ready for the new academic year
Scheduling tests
- Aula integration – when scheduling your tests a reminder that it is the Assignment Block integration which is recommended to be used, this integration automatically pulls through students from Aula into Inspera and provides grade pass back from Inspera to Aula.
- Naming conventions – when creating your questions and question sets and then scheduling assessments, do please remember to use the required naming conventions.
- Ensuring your questions and question sets are clearly identified is important to ensure you can easily locate them for adding to tests and reuse; and for when new Item Bank features become available such as data on question performance.
- Naming Conventions article
Useful links and Inspera Support Information
Inspera support links:
- Inspera landing page – Teaching Knowledge Base – https://teach.coventry.domains/inspera/
- Introducing Inspera – OTL Staff Portal
- Inspera Help Centre
- Inspera site for Students
- Includes videos demonstrating the Candidate Dashboard and link to a generic demo test
