QuickMark(ing)

Focus on feedbackThere is accumulating evidence that on-line marking and feedback can be more effective and efficient than traditional paper-based methods. Thus using technology, to deliver feedback can have several benefits:

  • It allows us to provide more feedback in less time through the use of repeated comments;
  • It helps provide more detailed feedback through the use of in-text annotations and general comments;
  • It can help develop a stronger link between marking criteria, feedback and the grade through the additional use of a rubric.

What is GradeMark?

GradeMark is an on-line marking system which is part of Turnitin (often used to check originality), and can be accessed via Learn.

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Changes to TurnItIn for next year

The Learn interface to TurnItIn is changing next year.  When the new edition of Learn is released on July 22nd, all TurnItIn assignments will need to be re-created for the new session.  This is no different from previous years, although the software will look slightly different (see: Changes to Turnitin ). A six-slide PowerPoint presentation is availableRead more

TurnItIn for any assignment

TurnItIn have recently announced their Grade Anything initiative, which allows the system to accept files of any type for evaluation.  Obviously the text-matching will only work with files containing text.  However the GradeMark online marking tool is now applicable for a much wider variety of student coursework, as is demonstrated on their video clips . Don’tRead more

Potential problem using TurnItIn's iPad App

Rob Howe from Northampton University reports a problem with the TurnItIn iPad app which results in loss of data.  The full description is in this blog posting Essentially, if the iPad user changes their iPad profile during a marking session, they will lose the data already marked, because the iPad thinks it belongs to somebodyRead more

TurnItIn shifts focus

The September TurnItIn UK User Group meeting was hosted by Leeds Uni this year. It followed the usual format of a position statement by the host, an overview of the development roadmap and case studies from users. There are big changes under way at TurnItIn, in response to a massive increase in the demand forRead more

The TurnItIn App for iPad

You may have heard that there is a new iPad app for using TurnItIn – including the GradeMark paperless marking tool – available for free from the App Store. This may be of interest to tutors who already have an iPad, and already use GradeMark. It probably isn’t a ‘killer App’ that by itself makesRead more

Evaluating the quality of web resources

TurnItIn have released two new tools to support the evaluation of web-based resources; a review of the sources actually used and an interactive tool for the evaluation of resources.  These should be useful as tutorial-level discussion pieces and lend some objectivity to assessing the worth of the Web. “Open access to this new interactive rubricRead more

TurnItIn UK User group meeting

This was at the Senate House, London  on February 15th and was attended by 110 delegates representing over 90 different user institutions. There was a groundswell of disgruntlement over TII’s failures in 2012: at peak times, the service had failed completely on two occasions. Looking past the spin that was being put on the situation (“There wasRead more

Ephorus – an alternative to Turnitin for originality checking

I blogged on Ephorus last summer when we tested it as a potential solution to the issue of students submitting plagiarised coursework in languages other than English. In our (non-systematic) testing, it looked as if Ephorus might outperform Turnitin in this specific area. We’ve now subscribed to the service and it is integrated into LearnRead more

Using Turnitin formatively

Dr Gregory James is a Lecturer in Economics within the School of Business and Economics. He has been a Turnitin user for several years now and describes here his experience of using it formativly. My own personal approach to dealing with plagiarism in my teaching practice and strengthening my students’ academic writing skills is focused on:Read more

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