Principles of
e-Submission, Marking and Feedback
using Moodle
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January 2012
CONTENTS
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Academic Principles for assessment ................................................................................................................... 4
e-Submission....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Principles for e-submission ................................................................................................................................. 4
Use Moodle's 'Advanced Upload of Assignments' activity ............................................................................. 4
Give students access to support resources .................................................................................................... 5
Create a mock assignment.............................................................................................................................. 5
Provide clear signposting ................................................................................................................................ 5
Provide templates for students ...................................................................................................................... 5
Set out expectations for file formats .............................................................................................................. 6
e-Marking & Feedback ........................................................................................................................................ 6
e-Annotation using MS Word ......................................................................................................................... 6
Principles for e-Marking ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Download all files as a batch .......................................................................................................................... 7
Use a secure location to store the downloaded files ..................................................................................... 7
Be organised with your file management....................................................................................................... 7
e-Moderation .................................................................................................................................................. 8
Providing grades and feedback in Moodle ..................................................................................................... 8
Quality Assurance Checklist .............................................................................................................................. 10
Appendix 1 ............................................................................................................................................................ 11
TurnitinUK and 'Grademark' ............................................................................................................................. 11
Appendix 2 ............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Methods of e-Annotation & Feedback ............................................................................................................. 12
e-Annotation using Turnitin’s Grademark tool ............................................................................................. 12
e-Annotation using iAnnotate ...................................................................................................................... 12
Audio feedback ............................................................................................................................................. 13
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INTRODUCTION
This document is intended to set out current practice and guiding principles surrounding the process of
electronic assessment. It is worth noting that the pace of change regarding the advancement of technologies
used in the field of e-Assessment is rapid. It is therefore recommended that this guidance document is
accordingly reviewed and updated on a regular basis.
JISC/QCA definition of e-assessment
e-Assessment is the end-to-end electronic assessment processes where ICT is used for
the presentation of assessment activity, and the recording of responses. This includes
the end-to-end assessment process from the perspective of learners, tutors, learning
establishments, awarding bodies and regulators, and the general public.
The process of e-Assessment at York St John University can be broken into three main areas;
1.
2.
3.
4.
e-Submission (step 1 below) – students submit their work for marking
e-Marking (steps 2 & 3 below) - tutors read through, annotate and provide comments on students’
work
e-Feedback (step 4 below) – students’ work is made available for them to view
Archiving and Quality Assurance (included in step 4 below)
E-Submission and Feedback are both controlled and managed through the central point of the VLE. E-Marking,
can be done in a variety of ways, most commonly outside the VLE, and then loaded back into the system for
student retrieval.
Figure 1 - Steps in the e-Assessment process
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ACADEMIC PRINCIPLES FOR ASSESSMENT
The following are considered to be good academic principles for assessment, irrespective of technology.
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Provide an overall summary of the work. This might be in the form of a few paragraphs that comment
on:
o the structure and organisation of the work,
o any outstanding features (positive or negative),
o an indication of overall quality,
o how the work could have been altered to improve the mark.
Indicate how well the work demonstrates that specific learning outcomes have been met. This usually
involves having the relevant learning outcomes on a feedback sheet with space for tutors to add their
comments.
Provide detailed feedback on the text. Detailed annotation of the text is the easiest way for tutors to
indicate specific problems with layout, spelling, grammar or clarity of writing. Tutors often use
discretion on how many errors are highlighted, and finding the right balance is important. Too little
annotation and students cannot learn from their mistakes; too many and they may become
discouraged.
Ensure comments are legible and constructive. Typed comments are preferred for tutors whose
handwriting is difficult to read, but this can make the annotation of scripts difficult and tedious. A
compromise is to type comments on a feedback sheet and mark the script by hand.
E-SUBMISSION
e-Submission as referred to here is the process of electronically delivering a piece of work from a student to a
tutor. This is usually facilitated by an interim system, most commonly the virtual learning environment (VLE),
Moodle.
Although it is possible to handle electronic assignment submission within Moodle via the use of TurnitinUK
(Appendix 1), there is currently a single recommended and supported mechanism through which students
should submit their assignments and that is by using the Advanced Uploading of Files activity, within Moodle.
PRINCIPLES FOR E-SUBMISSION
The work that has already been undertaken into the process of electronic assignment submission has given us
a good idea of what works well with students. Below are some guiding principles with regards e-Submission.
USE MOODLE'S 'ADVANCED UPLOAD OF ASSIGNMENTS' ACTIVITY
Moodle is not a perfect solution and will not cater for absolutely every situation, but it is the most competent
of our current options.
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Moodle is a very secure system and data is stored on campus
Moodle is backed up
Moodle will store the files, so you can always get to them
Moodle lets you see when assignments have been submitted and which ones are late
Moodle lets you download all the files in one go
Moodle lets you attach amended files back to students
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Moodle lets you give students grades for work
Moodle can be accessed by external examiners and moderators
GIVE STUDENTS ACCESS TO SUPPORT RESOURCES
If you can give students access to online support resources and make sure they are clearly signposted, they are
much more likely to have a positive e-Submission experience.
It is recommended that you give your students link to the following resources, within all modules using eSubmission.
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Student Guide to e-Submission
Student video demonstration for e-Submission
These guides, and others are available via the e-Learning support site: http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/e-learning/elearning--ysju/moodle/e-submission.aspx
CREATE A MOCK ASSIGNMENT
Creating a mock assignment is a great idea for the following reasons.
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It gives students the chance to practice the e-Submission process in a low-stakes environment.
It gives tutors the chance to experience of the process and gain confidence that it will work for them.
Any problems are highlighted well in advance of final submission.
Issues can be addressed and resolved early.
A successful and stress free tutor and student experience is more likely for the final summative piece.
You can create a mock assignment in the same way as you would create a regular assignment, but obviously
you would change the dates, title and description to make sure students know that it is a test area.
PROVIDE CLEAR SIGNPOSTING
You should provide clear links to the assignments and supporting documents such as the printable and
multimedia guides.
To aid this, it is recommended that you create a topic area on the homepage of the module with the following
information:
TITLE: Electronic Assignment Submission/Assessments
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION: This topic area contains important supporting information and links to resources,
which will help you get the most out of e-Submission. Direct links to your assignments are also available
through this area.
PROVIDE TEMPLATES FOR STUDENTS
If you require your students’ work to be formatted in a specific way, for example with a faculty/school cover
sheet first and a marking rubric or feedback form last, you might like to consider providing a template
document for them to base their work on. This helps to avoid students submitting their work in a range of
ways and consequently makes marking and feedback much easier for tutors.
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Document templates are easy to create in Microsoft Word and can be re-used or tweaked each year.
SET OUT EXPECTATIONS FOR FILE FORMATS
The more detail you can give students prior to submission, the more effective the overall process appears to
become. One of the main issues facing academic staff is receiving work in a variety of different formats, which
they can't view or mark.
The computers on campus, have several 'readers' installed. This means that all Microsoft Word and Microsoft
Works documents can be read on campus. There is also a version of Open Office installed on all staff machines.
However, you may find at home that you'll have to install some extra software in order to view students' work.
These can be found through an internet search using Google, or another search engine of your choice.
Specifying exactly what format you would like to receive work in will make your job much easier when it comes
to marking the assignments. All students have access to Microsoft Word whilst on campus, and many have this
installed on their own personal computers. Those students who do use Open Office can save their files in the
.doc format.
The best practice suggestion is that you specify to students, that you wish to receive their final piece of work in
Microsoft Word format, unless you are confident that you will be able to read work submitted in a range of
formats.
E-MARKING & FEEDBACK
The terms e-Marking and e-feedback as used at York St John University refer to the process of electronically
marking students’ work and providing them with feedback. Currently, this is done in a range of ways across the
university, depending on tutors’ preferences and capabilities. These are outlined in Appendix 2. Although the
University encourages people to explore the range of options available, if supported by their faculty, the eannotation using MS Word method outlined below, is the one recommended and supported.
E-ANNOTATION USING MS WORD
This is the most commonly adopted e-marking method. Assignments are downloaded from Moodle, using the
bulk download option. They are then electronically annotated, using the Add Comment feature of MS Word.
Once assignments are all marked annotated, they are loaded back into the Moodle system for each individual
student to see.
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Tutors use MS Word to highlight text,
then add comments under the Review
ribbon > New Comment. This
electronically annotates the digital
work.
PRINCIPLES FOR E-MARKING
DOWNLOAD ALL FILES AS A BATCH
Doing this saves time. Rather than individually downloading students’ assignments by clicking on each one, use
the Zip and Download function in Moodle to grab them all in one go. You can then save the files somewhere
safe to start work on them.
USE A SECURE LOCATIO N TO STORE THE DOWNLOADED FILES
Download your files to a location which you know is secure and regularly backed up, such as on the university
network. This gives the peace of mind that the files cannot be accessed illegally or shared outside the
university, and also ensures that your work is backed up, in case of system failure or disaster. This has been
problematic for users in the past, because access to the YSJ network from home has been difficult. However,
the IT team are soon to implement a system called Sharepoint, which will allow users to access files stored on
the YSJ network, from home. Additionally, a virtual desktop is being implemented by the IT team (currently in
pilot but estimated for full availability in Sept 2011), which will give users access to their work computers from
home, providing more flexibility.
BE ORGANISED WITH YOUR FILE MANAGEMENT
Make sure you have your files neatly organised into folders and that you are consistent with how you deal with
marked and unmarked files. One suggestion is to rename the files you are marking, as you are marking them,
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for example, by appending ‘_MARKED’ onto the filename; joebloggsessay_MARKED.docx.
Don’t save copies of assignments to lots of places, such as on pen drives, laptops and your machine at work.
Try to have one ‘Master’ copy, ideally on a backed up system like Sharepoint, in case of system failure.
E-MODERATION
It is possible for external examiners and moderators to gain access to Moodle
by creating an account, using their own personal details. In other words, they
do not need to have a York St John University IT username and password. To do
this, moderators should be directed towards the Moodle homepage at
http://moodle.yorksj.ac.uk
From here, the login box on the right of the homepage provide a link to Create
new account
Following this procedure and verifying the new account by email, will result in
the moderator generating a personal account for Moodle.
Course tutors can then assign moderators into the role of Non-editing tutor,
within Moodle, thus allowing them access to submitted assignments AND tutor comments/feedback.
PROVIDING GRADES AND FEEDBACK IN MOODLE
For consistency of the student experience, when providing feedback response files and adding a grade, tutors
should hide the link to the assignment (Figure 2) and turn off the link to the gradebook in the course settings
(Figures 3 & 4).
Figure 2
Figure 4
Figure 3
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This prevents students from receiving feedback in the order in which they are marked and allows tutors to
release the feedback information to all students at the same time.
Once all assignments have been graded, the tutor can then reverse the options set in the steps above by
showing the assignment and setting the gradebook to be visible.
Once this has been done, the announcements tool should be used to communicate with the students that
their feedback is available.
Tutors should be clear with students that the grade appearing in Moodle is indicative of their final mark,
until approved by the Exam Board. Once grades are approved, students should be directed towards e:Vision
for their final ratified grade.
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QUALITY ASSURANCE CHECKLIST
In order to ensure quality and consistency of experience for our students, you may find the following checklist
useful to adhere to.
Pre-submission, have you…
Explained to students that they will submit their work electronically?

Provided clear information related to dates of submission, ensuring that it is consistent
with information stored elsewhere, such as in the module handbook?
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Setup a mock assignment for students to practice submitting to in Moodle?
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Addressed any issues as a result of the mock assignment?
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Provided students with links to supporting documents, available through e-Learning?
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Setup an official assignment link?
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Ensured there is enough detail in the assignment instructions for students to be able to
submit successfully?
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Catered for extensions or mitigating circumstances and communicated these
arrangements to students?
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Post-submission, have you…
Annotated and provided comments on the students’ work, using the recommended
method, or one supported by your faculty?
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Hidden the assignment link and gradebook?
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Worked with any external partners to enable them access to Moodle?
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Loaded the annotated student assignments back into Moodle and provided feedback?
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Provided an indicative grade via Moodle?
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Revealed the assignment link and gradebook?
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Notified students that their grades are available?
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APPENDIX 1
TURNITINUK AND 'GRADEMARK'
Turnitin is commonly known as a plagiarism detection service (PDS) and has been used at York St John
University for several years. Our current licence for Turnitin allows us to use the accompanying e-marking webapplication called Grademark. Using a combination of TurnitinUK and Grademark is a viable alternative for
those people who don't mind marking on screen and who have a reliable internet connection. However, this is
not a recommended alternative to the Advanced uploading of files activity, within Moodle.
The benefits of using Turnitin and Grademark are as follows:
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As part of the submission process, originality reports are generated for your students' work
You can manage and grade assignments from anywhere with an internet connection
The cons of using Turnitin and Grademark are as follows:
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You cannot easily download and manage the assignments offline
Assignments are limited to 20MB in size
Data is stored on TurnitinUK’s web servers, NOT at YSJ
Electronic archiving of work is laborious
The Grademark marking interface can behave inconsistently
The Grademark interface can be very slow, depending on Internet connectivity speeds of the user
Assignments can ONLY be marked whilst connected to the Internet
It is not possible to load response files back into the Grademark system
YSJ support site: http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/e-learning/e-learning--ysju/turnitin.aspx
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APPENDIX 2
METHODS OF E-ANNOTATION & FEEDBACK
E-ANNOTATION USING TURNITIN’S GRADEMARK TOOL
This approach removes the element of downloading and is designed to be an entirely paperless process. The
method uses Grademark’s built in annotation features. Grademark is accessed via the Turnitin Assignment link
in Moodle, using a web browser, such as Internet Explorer. Using the toolbar available, tutors provide
comments and annotations on all assignments entirely online and on-screen. All students receive their
feedback at the same time, when the ‘post-date’ has expired.
The quick comments area, which stores a
list of regularly made comments for quick
retrieval. These can be dragged onto the
assignment at relevant points.
Website: http://turnitin.com/static/whatsnew/gradeMark.php
E-ANNOTATION USING IANNOTATE
iAnnotate is an ‘app’ for the increasingly popular iPad device. It allows tutors to annotate files which are in the
PDF format. Using the iPad device with a stylus, it is possible to ‘write’ on the screen, thus emulating the
traditional method of handwriting on an assignment. Other benefits of the software include being able to
highlight text and add typed comments and provide audio feedback.
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Website: http://www.ajidev.com/iannotate/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Hbm9fOJSg
AUDIO FEEDBACK
Audio feedback is an alternative method to annotation, which involves tutors recording verbal feedback, using
a device such as a dictaphone. Once recorded, the audio file can be loaded into Moodle, as an alternative to an
annotated assignment.
A team from York St John University was involved in the JISC funded Sounds Good 2 project, which involved
research into audio feedback for students.
Project website: http://sites.google.com/site/soundsgooduk/york-st-john
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