Arts academics spotlight best practice in myTUTor
- Gerrit Bester
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Faculty of Arts and Design is committed to continually elevating its teaching and learning offerings and this year’s inaugural Spotlight on Teaching and Learning session zoomed in on Best Practice in myTUTor modules.
This first session for 2026 on 9 February recognised the work of lecturers who have been creating high-quality learning experiences on myTUTor and provided a space for colleagues to benchmark their own modules, learn practical approaches and share ideas for presenting myTUTor content in engaging ways.
myTUTor is the official Learning Management System (LMS) to access online and digital learning content.
Dr Leandi Steyn Delport (Performing Arts), Dr Schalk van Staden (Visual Communication), Irmgard Mkhabela (Fashion Design), Jaco Steenkamp (Interior Design) and Hesti Wade (Fine and Studio Arts) were the presenters.
Key takeaways from the first session are:
MOBILE EXPERIENCE IS STRONG, BUT TEMPLATES MUST BE MOBILE-FRIENDLY
The Pulse app supports student engagement on mobile by surfacing key information such as dates, announcements, grades and course content.
However, when the new myTUTor content template is not optimised for small screens (dense layouts, wide tables, heavy imagery or multi-column formats), it undermines this “phone-first” benefit. A practical improvement is to add a quick mobile-check step before publishing and to standardise a lightweight, phone-friendly page layout. Thereby, structuring a mobile landing screen with only essential information, with a single button click directing to further module content.
A possible revision could be done on the usability of unit designs. Although they are useful, they require students to click on each button, then navigate to content and the problem is having to navigate back and forth between units or sections.
USE RELEASE CONDITIONS TO SUPPORT SEQUENCED LEARNING
Release conditions enable a structured learning path by restricting access until students meet defined requirements (e.g., viewing a topic, posting to a discussion, completing a quiz). Lecturers noted that this works best when applied selectively, using a few key “gateway” points rather than over-engineering the module and to set up early so the logic can be tested before students engage with the course.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, CALENDARS AND PULSE NOTIFICATIONS STRENGTHEN COMMUNICATION
Pulse notifications make routine communication highly visible by alerting students directly on their phones. Lecturers emphasised the importance of regular announcements and accurate calendars to keep students on track. A suggested rhythm is: (1) a weekly “what’s due and what matters” announcement, (2) consistently updated due dates and (3) clear, predictable wording so messages are immediately understandable.
INTELLIGENT AGENTS REDUCE WORKLOAD THROUGH AUTOMATION
myTUTor Intelligent Agents can automate targeted emails and notifications based on student activity (or inactivity), for example, reminders for non-login, missing submissions, low performance, or encouragement when milestones are reached. Lecturers viewed this as a practical tool for reducing workload because it shifts repeated follow-ups from manual chasing to rule-based messaging while maintaining timely, personalised support.
A recommended starting point is to implement two to three high-impact agents (e.g., “no access in 7 days,” “assignment not submitted,” “grade below threshold”) and evaluate their effectiveness after the first assessment cycle.
WEIGHTED RUBRICS REMAIN A CHALLENGE AND NEED FURTHER
SUPPORTParticipants indicated that weighted rubrics are difficult to implement, particularly when translating a weighted assessment plan into a rubric setup that behaves as expected during grading. Additional guidance, examples and hands-on practice were recommended.
CONSISTENCY IN MODULE DESIGN IMPROVES NAVIGATION AND STUDENT EXPERIENCE
Lecturers reinforced that a consistent look-and-feel across modules reduces cognitive load and helps students find information quickly. Shared layout conventions, naming practices and a common structure were seen as beneficial for both students and staff. The intent is not to have a “one template fits all” approach throughout the faculty. Rather, keep a unique, creative module design that complements the module's nature and adheres to the 2026 template.
Additionally, a point was made that staff should consider how teaching and learning materials are given to students. Meaning, uploading PDFs, timetables, year plans, etc., as links to be downloaded hinders the learner journey because students then have to download the content on their devices, which takes up memory and forces them to move outside their LMS to view it.
It is recommended that information be viewable on-screen in the LMS, so students can still download the content if needed.
CLEAR TOPIC STRUCTURE AND SIMPLICITY ARE ESSENTIAL
myTUTor content is typically organised into modules, sub-modules and topics, which supports “chunking” the curriculum into digestible units.
Lecturers emphasised intuitive navigation and a clear overview area, so students know where to start, especially important for mobile use and student self-management. Recommended practice includes short, consistent, action-oriented topic titles, one clear learning purpose per topic and avoiding deep nesting unless necessary.
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