Category: E-submission

External Speaker: James Wood: Improving feedback literacy through sustainable feedback engagement practices 

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, External Speakers, Feedback Leave a comment

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce their next external speaker. On 10 May from 14:00-15:30, James Wood from Bangor University will be hosting an online session on Improving feedback literacy through sustainable feedback engagement practices.

James Wood is Lecturer in Education, Assessment and Taught Postgraduate Lead at Bangor University. Prior to this position, James has worked with Kings College London, University College London, Birkbeck University, Greenwich University and Seoul National University.

Session Abstract

Despite the importance of feedback in supporting learning in higher education, there is still much to learn about nurturing sustainable skills for seeking, engaging with, and using feedback. In practice, many students fail to access feedback, and even if courses offer formative assessment in principle, it is only sometimes engaged with or used effectively. It is often argued that students require ‘feedback literacy’ before engagement with feedback is possible. However, in this workshop, we will explore how feedback literacy and receptivity to feedback can emerge as students experience well-designed dialogic feedback practices that offer the opportunity to consider how learning from feedback occurs, the benefits, what constitutes quality and how to evaluate it and how to develop and execute plans to close the gap between current and target performance. I will also discuss how social and non-human factors entangle with learners’ agency to engage in ways that can serve or limit their participation. I will finish with an overview of how technologies can be used to enhance learners’ ability to use feedback effectively and develop relationships and communities that can offer powerful collaborative learning opportunities, as well as emotional support and encouragement. 

The workshop will take place online using Microsoft Teams. Book your place online.

If you have any questions, please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (lteu@aber.ac.uk).

Turnitin considerations to be aware of (as of October 2022).

Robert Francis [rsf09] E-submission, Turnitin Leave a comment

Student access to Turnitin Submission Points. 

We recommend that Turnitin Submission Points are not hidden from students for the following reasons: 

  • Students require access to Turnitin Submission Points to access and download their Turnitin digital receipt which is evidence of their submission. 
  • Students should ideally always retain access to their submitted assignments via Turnitin Submission Points.
  • Students should have access to their grades and feedback on the Feedback Release Date originally advertised to them for the Turnitin Submission Point. Feedback should be available to students 15 working days after submission in accordance with point 5.2 of the E-submission and Feedback Policy. 

Turnitin and non-anonymous submission and marking. 

We strongly recommend that the Blackboard Grade Centre column is hidden for any Turnitin Submission Point set up with non-anonymous marking.  

When a Turnitin assignment is set up without anonymous marking any marks entered in the Turnitin Feedback Studio will feed through to the Blackboard Grade Centre Column immediately. This makes them visible to the students before the Feedback Release Date.  

To hide a column in the Grade Centre: 

  1. Go to Full Grade Centre 
  2. Click the chevron next the relevant column 
  3. Toggle the ‘Hide from Students (On/Off)’ option until there is a red line through the chevron. 

The Blackboard Grade Centre Column should be unhidden when the feedback release date has passed. 

Though anonymous marking is the norm, there may be reasons for non-anonymous submission and marking. See point 4.7 of the E-Submission and Feedback Policy. 

This issue has been reported to Turnitin.  

Welcome to new staff joining Aberystwyth University

James Woolley [jbw] Blackboard, E-submission, Events and Networks, Panopto, Training and Support Leave a comment

We’re the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit. Based in Information Services, we work with staff across the university to support and develop learning and teaching. We run a wide range of activities to do this.

All the information that you need is on the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit webpages. Our Supporting your Teaching webpages will help you with various teaching solutions.

We write a blog full of the latest updates, details on events and training sessions, and resources.

If you need to get in touch with us, you can do so using one of two email addresses:

lteu@aber.ac.uk (for pedagogical and design questions, or to arrange a consultation) or

elearning@aber.ac.uk (for technical queries regarding our e-learning tools listed below)

Read More

Changes to Turnitin: Information for Students

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, Information for Students, Technical Updates, Turnitin Leave a comment

For the academic year 2022/23 we will be using a new version of Turnitin.

On Tuesday 5 July Information Services will be enabling the new Turnitin on Blackboard.

Whilst most of Turnitin’s current functionality will remain the same, there will be some changes.

To help students with this change, we have arranged the following FAQs:

Our webpages and help guidance will be updated to reflect these changes.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).

Contract Cheating: Red Flag Checklist Workshop– Materials Available

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, External Speakers, Feedback, Marking, Turnitin Leave a comment
Turnitin icon

On 20 May, the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit were joined by Dr Mary Davies, Stephen Bunbury,  Anna Krajewska, and Dr Matthew Jones for their online workshop: Contract Cheating Detection for Markers (Red Flags).

With other colleagues, they form the London South East Academic Integrity Network Contract Cheating Working Group and have been doing essential work and research into the increased use of essay mills and contract cheating.

The session included lots of practical tips for colleagues to help detect the use of Contract Cheating whilst marking.

The resources from the session are available below:

Contract Cheating Detection Workshop_handout_editable_pdfDownload

Further information on Unfair Academic Practice is available in the Academic Quality Handbook (see section 10).

Many thanks to the presenters. We’ve had such great external speaker sessions this academic year; take a look at our External Speakers blogposts for further information.

Changes to Turnitin: Information for Staff

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, Technical Updates, Turnitin Leave a comment

For the academic year 2022/23 we will be using a new version of Turnitin.

On Tuesday 5 July 2022 Information Services will be enabling the new version of Turnitin on Blackboard.

Whilst most of Turnitin’s current functionality will remain the same, there will be some changes. 

To help staff with this change, we have arranged the following FAQs:

Further information can be found in our Turnitin LTI FAQs.

Our webpages and help guidance will be updated to reflect these changes. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (elearning@aber.ac.uk).

Component Marks Transfer

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, Turnitin Leave a comment
Turnitin icon

As May starts to approach, we thought it would be useful to outline the support available for  the Component Marks Transfer process. This process transfers marks from the Blackboard Grade Centre columns into AStRA’s Assessment marks per Module (STF080) page.   

The tool is available in each Blackboard module and also in the Component Marks tool in MyAdmin. Departmental Administrative Staff are able to view and transfer modules for each module in their department whereas Module Co-ordinators are able to view and transfer marks for their modules.  

To support the Component Marks Transfer process, we have: 

  • Training Session on: 
    • 3 May 11:00-12:00

Book your place online.  

If you have any questions about the process, email elearning@aber.ac.uk.  

LTEU External Speaker Event: Contract Cheating Detection for Markers

James Woolley [jbw] E-submission, External Speakers, Feedback, Feedback, Marking, Marking Leave a comment
Banner for Audio Feedback

The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit is pleased to announce its next External Speaker Event.

On 20 May 2022 12:30-13:30, Dr Mary Davies, Principal Lecturer in the Business School at Oxford Brookes University, and colleagues will be running a workshop on their interactive red flag checklist resource Contract Cheating Detection for Markers.

Dr Davies will be joined by Stephen Bunbury, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Westminster, Anna Krajewska, Director of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Bloomsbury Institute, and Dr Matthew Jones, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Greenwich.

This workshop is designed to help staff participants detect potential contract cheating when marking. The presenters belong to the London and South East Academic Integrity Network Contract Cheating Working Group who put together an interactive ‘red flag’ checklist resource Contract Cheating Detection for Markers.

In the workshop, the presenters will explain the red flags that indicate possible contract cheating, through discussing sections of the checklist: text analysis, referencing and the use of sources, Turnitin similarity and text matching, document properties, the writing process, comparison with students’ previous work, and comparison to cohort. Participants will be provided with opportunities to practise using the checklist and to discuss effective ways to help them identify potential contract cheating in student work.

Resources from previous External Speaker events can be found on our blog.

The workshop will take place online using Microsoft Teams. Book your place online.

Please contact the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit if you have any questions (lteu@aber.ac.uk).