Sisu
Basic information about Aalto's core information system for teaching and studying.
Sisu and MyCourses: the core systems
When a teacher starts teaching, there are a few things that need to be ready, like the place for student registration and the space for teaching. All Aalto University courses are listed in Sisu, the student information system. If you are a teacher for a course, Sisu will show you the basic course information and the registered students before the course starts.
MyCourses online workspaces are automatically generated based on the Sisu information for each course. MyCourses is a learning management system for when the course is actually happening.
In Aalto University, these two systems are integrated together. A Sisu page is generated automatically for each course that is confirmed in the curriculum.
MyCourses online workspaces are automatically generated based on the Sisu information for each course. MyCourses is a learning management system for when the course is actually happening.
In Aalto University, these two systems are integrated together. A Sisu page is generated automatically for each course that is confirmed in the curriculum.
What are Sisu and MyCourses?
Sisu and MyCourses are core digital platforms that all teachers need in order to successfully manage their student information, course content and workflow, including assignments, learning materials, collaboration, student communication and assessments.
Support and instructions
Support
, or Book a session with a digispecialist.
Instructions
Sisu instructions for teachers: frontpage
| Sisu | MyCourses |
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Sisu is the core information system for teaching and studies. Log in |
MyCourses is the main digital learning environment for Aalto University courses. Log in |
| Sisu is a tool that students, teachers and Learning Services staff in their various roles can use for handling all study planning and scheduling as well as entering credits. | In MyCourses course space, teachers can share course materials, resources and other content. They can set up graded activities like assignments, quizzes and peer assessment tasks. |
| Sisu features for teachers include a teaching calendar, processing student registrants for courses, and tools for saving assessment. | MyCourses features tools for collaboration and interaction with students. |
| Sisu is managed by the Student Information Services team. | MyCourses is managed by the Teacher Services team. |
Teacher's actions in Sisu and MyCourses during a course lifespan
Below, you can look up the essential actions for a teacher in Sisu and MyCourses before, during and after a course.
| Sisu | Mycourses | |
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| BEFORE A COURSE |
1. Confirm student registrations. Process the students registered for your course. First, check which registration method is used in your course implementation in , as that affects whether and how to process the registrants for the implementation before the course begins. There are two registration methods: standard registration and registration with direct confirmation. For more on how to process student registrants, see: Processing and confirming registrations: detailed instructions for teachers |
1. Check that course space is available in MyCourses. Log in to with your Aalto.id and see that you can find the course on your Dashboard. The course name includes the course code and the start and end date. |
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2. Check the course content and course description. The curriculum is designed and confirmed every two years. In your teaching, you need to follow the course content, timetable, course ID number and learning outcomes that are confirmed in the curriculum. Nevertheless, teachers have the autonomy to decide on their pedagogical methods and classroom activities according to their personal teaching styles and in order to meet the course objectives and learning outcomes. You can check the course description in Sisu. |
2. Verify that you have the role of ‘Teacher’ in the course workspace. Go to course space and click on the Participants link in the course navigation. It shows all the participants and their role in the space. Course teachers are assigned to a course space when the space is created. The Participant list may possibly have no students added when you enter the list the first time. Read more on how students get access to a course space.
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| Sisu | MyCourses | |
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| DURING A COURSE |
1. Upload materials, create activities for assignments, quizzes and so on. Note that teachers should not upload or share some copyrighted material without permission. Teachers are recommended to use a CC 4.0 licence on their own created material. . |
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2. Check content visibility. Notice that from the autumn 2024 onwards, the workspaces are visible for aalto-users only. All logged in users can access files the teacher uploads. If you want to restrict access, or open your workspace for visitors to see, please check . |
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3. for students to see their grades and final scores. Examples of how to . |
| Sisu | MyCourses | |
|---|---|---|
| AFTER A COURSE |
1. Final assessments and saving them in Sisu You can save the final assessments for a course by importing the grades and other assessment information using a CSV file or by saving the information in Sisu directly. After the assessment information has been saved, the responsible teacher must confirm the assessments in Sisu. Instructions: Assessment of course implementations in Sisu – Quick guide After the assessments have been saved and confirmed, the teacher should also inform the students that their assessments have been saved and that students can see them and the grade distribution in in their own profile under ‘Completed credits’. |
1. Course spaces are available to teachers and students for two academic years. After that, the space is removed from system. There is no need for teachers to clean or delete any content from a course space unless there is content that needs to be removed sooner. |
Q&A
A Sisu page is generated automatically for each course that is confirmed in the curriculum. Course workspaces in MyCourses are generated automatically based on the Sisu course information. Course spaces are generated only at night, so a new course created on Sisu will not show up in MyCourses until the following day.
Student information is transferred and the students gain access to the MyCourses workspace automatically, after a teacher confirms their registrations in Sisu (and that they have met the course registration requirements.)
Yes. Request a personal sandbox workspace via
MyCourses space is automatically created for all courses that are confirmed in the two-year curriculum, as they are thereby automatically generated on Sisu, the student information system.
If you need a digital learning environment for other purposes, please contact .
More information on Sisu and MyCourses
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