Category: E-submission

Digital Education Policies Review (2026-27)

WordPress User [kaw] Blackboard, E-submission, Panopto Leave a comment

We revisit and revise all the policies relating to digital education annually. All the changes are approved by the Quality and Standards Committee. The new policies are now available, and here are the details of the main changes. If you have any questions about the new policies, please get in touch with us using  elearning@aber.ac.uk

This year’s update has clarified what is expected for AberOnline courses in Canvas. All points apply to Blackboard and Canvas unless otherwise mentioned. Any queries about AberOnline should be sent to aberonline@aber.ac.uk

Blackboard Required Minimum Presence (RMP)

The RMP outlines to staff and students the minimum standards for a Blackboard Course.

Welsh Language:

  • Guidelines for providing Welsh language materials in merged Welsh and English modules.

To help students plan and manage their studies:

  • Assignment briefs, along with a Generative AI statement for each assessment should be uploaded at the start of the semester that the course is taught in
  • Clarification of timescales for uploading materials for students with a Record of Support Provision
  • Guidance on availability of materials in a Blackboard course

To help staff managing courses:

  • Copy of any Turnitin rubrics to be uploaded into the External Examiners folder

E-submission Policy

The E-submission Policy outlines that all text-based word-processed work is submitted, marked, and has feedback released electronically.

To improve student access to marks and feedback:

  • Clarification of guidance on returning marks and feedback for work not submitted electronically

Responding to system outages:

  • Clarification of how outages on AU and non-AU systems will be managed.

Lecture Capture Policy

The Lecture Capture Policy outlines that all transmission style presentations are recorded electronically for students to access.

To help students with accessibility requirements

  • Inclusion of guidance on downloading transcripts
  • Inclusion of guidance on recording whiteboard notes

To help staff managing courses:

  • Clarification of when and how lecture summaries should be used

Use of recordings:

  • Guidance on when and how recordings may be used in the AU complaints process

Digital Education Training

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, E-submission, Panopto, Training and Support, Turnitin Leave a comment

Our Digital Education training programme is now available for staff to book onto on the staff booking page

Our training is split across 3 levels:

E-learning Essentials:

Our E-learning Essentials sessions provide a practical introduction to the University’s core digital learning technologies and the policies that support their use. These sessions are ideal for colleagues who are new to a tool, taking on a new teaching role, or looking to refresh their knowledge.

You will gain confidence in using technologies such as Blackboard, Turnitin, Panopto, Microsoft Copilot, and Vevox, as well as learn about key processes that support learning, teaching, and assessment.

Sessions available:

  • Become a Document Pro
  • Introduction to Blackboard Ally
  • Introduction to Blackboard Ultra
  • Introduction to Component Marks Transfer
  • Introduction to Microsoft Copilot for Learning and Teaching Activities
  • Introduction to Panopto Lecture Capture and Teaching Room Equipment (bilingual)
  • Introduction to Turnitin (bilingual)
  • Introduction to Vevox Polling Software

E-learning Enhanced:

Our E-learning Enhanced sessions focus on designing and creating engaging learning activities using digital tools within your own teaching context.

These hands-on workshops will help you explore innovative approaches to learning design, assessment, accessibility, and student engagement, enabling you to make more effective use of the University’s digital learning environment.

Sessions available:

  • Becoming an Alternative Text Pro
  • Design Interactive Online Learning Activities Using Blackboard Discussions and Journals
  • Designing Blackboard Tests
  • Designing Learning and Teaching Activities Using Vevox
  • Introduction to the Blackboard AI Design Assistant
  • Measuring and Increasing Engagement Using Blackboard Tools
  • Peer Assessment with Turnitin
  • Preparing for Your Blackboard Exam
  • Using the Advanced Features of Panopto

E-learning Excellence:

Our E-learning Excellence programme is designed for colleagues who want to create outstanding digital learning experiences and align their courses with recognised best practice.

Based on theBlackboard Exemplary Course Award rubric, these sessions explore the key elements of high-quality course design and effective digital pedagogy. While the sessions are designed as a complementary four-part series, you are welcome to attend individual sessions according to your interests and needs.

Sessions available:

  • Exemplary Assessment Design
  • Exemplary Course Design
  • Exemplary Interaction and Collaboration
  • Exemplary Learner Support
  • Submitting an Exemplary Course Award

We are committed to making our training as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you are unable to attend a session but would like access to the training materials, or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the session format or accessibility requirements, please contact the Digital Education Group at elearning@aber.ac.uk.

We look forward to seeing you at a forthcoming session.

Turnitin in Blackboard Assignment

WordPress User [kaw] Blackboard, E-submission, Turnitin Leave a comment

If you use Blackboard Assignment for your assessment, you may be interested in our latest update. Staff can now use the functionality of Blackboard Assignment whiles also getting a Similarity Report from Turnitin.

This is particularly useful for multi-part assignments and assignment files that are too big to use Turnitin. Like other elements of Blackboard, Assignment is available in Welsh for both staff and students. It also means that you get the benefits of Blackboard Assignment (such as an electronic receipt for students) as well as being able to use the same Similarity Report as other colleagues.

If you already make use of Blackboard Assignment, then we encourage you to try out the new Turnitin feature. Our Guide contains all the information to help you get started. Submission and marking stay the same, but you get the additional Similarity Report alongside your marking.

We’d also be interested in your feedback – during the year, we’ll contact you for feedback on using this new Turnitin integration.

Peer Assessment Tools available in our virtual learning environment

WordPress User [ksg2] Blackboard, E-submission, Interactive Tools, Turnitin Leave a comment

We recently ran our E-learning Enhanced: Using Turnitin for Peer Assessment training session and wanted to highlight the different tools that are available for Peer Assessment across our Digital Education Platform.

Peer Assessment activities have several benefits to students:

  • Allow students to invest in and manage their own learning
  • Shared learning experiences
  • Reflect on learning
  • Consider communication and constructing feedback
  • Develop conversation and collaboration skills
  • Improve academic achievement
  • Share responsibility for learning
  • Develop employability skills around feedback
  • In group scenarios, identify participants’ contributions
  • Quick feedback
  • Building a learning community

For Liu & Carless (2006), “peer assessment and peer feedback … enables students to take an active role in the management of their own learning” (280). 

If you are interested in exploring this topic further, we recommend:

Liu, N.-F. & Carless, D. (2006) Peer feedback: the learning element of peer assessment. Teaching in higher education. [Online] 11 (3), 279–290.

Lynch, R., Mannix McNamara, P. & Seery, N. (2012) Promoting deep learning in a teacher education programme through self- and peer-assessment and feedback, European Journal of Teacher Education, 35:2, 179-197, DOI: 10.1080/02619768.2011.643396

Zhu, Q. & Carless, D. (2018) Dialogue within peer feedback processes: clarification and negotiation of meaning. Higher education research and development. [Online] 37 (4), 883–897.

We have several peer assessment tools that are available:

Blackboard Assignment for Peer Assignments

You can add a Rubric to the assignment – student will see this as part of their submission.

Workflow

  1. Create Assignment and set Peer Settings (see Peer Review for Qualitative Peer Assessments)
  2. Students submit their work as normal (see Blackboard web site)
  3. After Due date and time has passed, students review submissions see Blackboard web site
  4. After the Peer Review Due Date, staff complete marking (see Blackboard web site)
  5. Student view staff feedback, peer feedback and final mark

Note that:

  1. Students won’t be allocated any reviews if not enough assignments are submitted.
  2. Late submissions will be allocated to students. Late submission is allowed automatically as part of the peer assessment process.
  3. Students do not see any names as part of the review process. You should advise all students not to include personal information on their documents.
  4. Students can provide written feedback in the review process but can’t assign a mark (unless this is included in the text feedback box)
  5. You can add a Rubric to the assignment – student will see this as part of their submission and can refer to it while reviewing. However, they can’t use it to mark work.
  6. You can hide peer reviews if you feel the content isn’t appropriate

Turnitin PeerMark

Workflow

  1. Create a Turnitin Assignment and enable PeerMark
  2. Go back into Turnitin Assignment to set up Peer Mark Settings
  3. Students submit to Turnitin submission point
  4. After PeerMark start date, students are able to view another student’s assignment and leave feedback / scores to questions
  5. PeerMark feedback is visible to students immediately
  6. Lecturer needs to allocate a final mark manually

Guidance:

Overview of PeerMark: https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/turnitin-website/instructor/peermark/about-peermark-assignments.htm

Creating a PeerMark Assignment: https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/turnitin-website/instructor/peermark/creating-a-peermark-assignment.htm

Student guidance on Using PeerMark: https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/turnitin-website/student/student-category.htm#peermark

Discussions

Discussions are available in every course in Blackboard – these are a great way for students to engage asynchronously with their peers; they can post comments and respond to each others’ posts.

Workflow

  1. Instructor creates a Discussion
  2. Students contribute to the Discussion
  3. Students respond to other Discussion posts

For further advice on creating discussions, please see below for Blackboard guidance:

Journals

Workflow

  1. Instructor creates a Journal (private between instructor and student)
  2. Students reflect weekly on their contributions to project
  3. Instructor has overview and monitors
  4. Can be used for students to give an idea on group contributions throughout process of peers

Create Journals: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Ultra/Interact/Journals

Guidelines for students

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1469787416654794 – contains guidance for students. Suggests providing a session for students on how to write feedback.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02602938.2019.1697424

“For peer review in the classroom to be effective, there is clear evidence that the process needs structure, clear and accessible assessment criteria and appropriate scaffolding sessions for students (Mangelsdorf Citation1992).”

https://www.ctl.ox.ac.uk/peer-feedback – includes some useful questions and prompts that could be used to structure feedback.

Peer feedback has been used widely within group assessment work, for example, when it comes to ascertaining student participation, and factoring in group contributions. For an example of a group peer marksheet, see this sample template from Carnegie Mellon University.

Our Academy Forum handout on Peer Assessment provides further information and Aberystwyth University Case Studies.

Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year from the Digital Education Team

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2025, Blackboard, Conference, E-submission, Events and Networks, Exemplary Course Award, Generative AI, Mini Conference 2025 Generative AI, Panopto, Technical Updates, Virtual Learning Environment(VLE) Leave a comment
Nadolig Llawen / Merry Christmas

We’ve had some fantastic experiences and milestones this year.

Back in March, we announced our 2025 Exemplary Course Award and highly commended recipients.

In April, we hosted a Mini Conference on Employability and the Inclusive Curriculum in collaboration with colleagues in Careers and Employability.

In July, we had our 13th Annual Education and Student Experience Conference with over 200 attendees across 3 days.

At this event, a new Education and Student Experience Award Fund was announced, and we confirmed the recipients of these in November.

In November, we took part in Blackboard Ally Fix your Content Day, making the content of our Virtual Learning Environment even more accessible. We placed 3rd in the UK and 60th on the international leaderboard. 

From a technical perspective, we’re really pleased with the introduction of automatic captions on lecture recordings, Blackboard’s Learning Object Repository, badges and achievements, and the e-submission review.

And we’re rounding the year off with a Mini Conference on Generative AI on Thursday 18 December. We’ve got a fantastic programme and there is still time to book your place.

We’re excited about what 2026 will bring in the Digital Education arena.

Some initial things that we’ll be working on and want to draw your attention to.

Applications for the Exemplary Course Award 2026 will close on Friday 30 January.

On January 8 there will be a minor update to the Blackboard interface.

We’re planning our next Mini Conference in collaboration with colleagues in Student Journey for April 2026. Further information will be made available soon.

And our 14th Education and Student Experience Conference will take place between 8-10 September 2026. Keep an eye out for updates, call for proposals, and external speaker announcements.

We’ve got our training programme available on the booking system for Semester 2 for colleagues to book onto.

We’re looking forward to working further with you in 2026.

We hope you have a restful break.

Kate, Keziah, & Jim

Turnitin App Retirement

WordPress User [jbw] E-submission, Technical Updates, Turnitin Leave a comment

Turnitin has announced the retirement of their Turnitin app at the end of the year, December 2025.

The Feedback Studio iPad app will be retired and no longer available. Instructors can continue to access Feedback Studio as usual through Blackboard. This includes mobile devices and tablets.

Turnitin are working on developing a New Standard Assignment, so instructors can review and provide feedback on student work from tablets without needing a separate app. We will release comms regarding this new service in due course.

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please don’t hesitate to contact us (elearning@aber.ac.uk).