Instructor Guide

Getting Started with VivaEdu

Transform academic assessment for the AI era with authentic understanding verification

Why this matters for educators

AI is now the default tool

Students frequently lean on AI for analysis and drafting. Good assessment must work with that reality.

The risk is weakened reasoning

Over-reliance on AI can diminish synthesis and argumentation skills that show up in vivas but not in polished text.

Design determines thinking

When AI drafts first, reasoning can drop; when students must defend ideas, thinking improves. The scaffold is the difference.

Instructors need pragmatic tools

Schools want frameworks that fit existing workflows, not bans. VivaEdu turns AI from crutch into sparring partner.

Works in your LMS

VivaEdu supports LTI 1.3 launch, so you can add it to platforms like Blackboard, Canvas, and Moodle with secure SSO and context-aware links.

  • • Secure sign-on via LTI 1.3
  • • Launch from your course
  • • Minimal setup with platform keys

Create a viva in minutes

1

Title and description

Name the viva and write the student-facing brief.

2

Upload teaching materials

Attach rubric, grading scale, past vivas, or instructions. Choose whether to draft questions automatically.

3

Select students

Assign to individuals or groups. Configure accommodations like extended prep/record time where needed.

4

Viva settings

Set due date, time windows, and viva configuration. These settings carry through to the student experience.

5

Question pool

Review the pool split by difficulty. Combine your own prompts with AI-drafted items based on rubric/materials, plus viva-specific Socratic questions. Accept, edit, mark mandatory, or regenerate.

6

Confirm and publish

See a final recap, then publish. Students launch and complete viva sessions directly from your LMS.

What you'll measure

  • • Critical thinking
  • • Reasoning quality
  • • Defense and rebuttal

Students who drafted with AI must still articulate, justify, and adapt their ideas in real-time, making superficial copy-and-paste responses untenable.

Review and feedback

After submission, you can review transcripts and analysis to focus grading on clarity, depth, and argumentative strength.

  • • Transparent criteria aligned to your rubric
  • • Evidence from spoken responses
  • • Actionable feedback for growth