This page provides an overview of frequently asked questions and issues that tutors need to be aware of for anonymous marking (AM) and provide useful information for the options available electronically for anonymous marking. Firstly please ensure that you are familiar with the electronic options described here Staff Guides for Anonymous Marking on the CELT Hub.
This FAQ page will be updated as processes for Anonymous Marking and eAssessment develop. If you require further clarification please contact your Faculty ELT Project Officer:
Art, Design & Humanities – Heather Conboy, hconboy@dmu.ac.uk (x7828) Business & Law – Richard Vallance, richard.vallance@dmu.ac.uk (x6296) Health & Life Sciences – Rob Weale, Rweale@dmu.ac.uk (x7878) Technology – Ian Pettit, ipettit@dmu.ac.uk (x8860)
Contents
FAQs – AM using GradeMark in Turnitin
FAQ’s – AM using Blackboard Assignments
Is there any student guidance available for anonymous marking?
How is it best to manage second marking?
Can iPads be using for Anon marking?
Can I request an opt-out for an assignment?
FAQs – AM using GradeMark in Turnitin
How can I manage the release of grades and feedback to students using GradeMark in Turnitin?
Can I change the post date after I have created the Turnitin assignment, if I need more time for marking?
How do students view my feedback and grades given in GradeMark?
Can I change student marks in GradeMark?
Do I need to mark online using GradeMark for anonymous marking?
Can students still view their Originality Report now that we have GradeMark?
Can students view their grades through Blackboard Mobile App?
Is it possible to mark online student work in batches in Grademark?
How can having groups of students in Blackboard help with online anonymous marking?
How can I include a standard feedback form to the marked assignment?
When using GradeMark to grade in the browser, can I open the same submission in another browser window so that I can have the references page displayed in a different window as I work through the script and add Quickmarks etc.?
Is there a limit on the length of comments in GradeMark?
Can Teaching Assistants view and edit Grademark?
How do students view the GradeMark comments if they download or print this as a PDF?
Can you use ‘Drag & Dictate’ with GradeMark?
Can there be a separate instructor discussion panel in GradeMark which students can’t view?
Can the module leader ‘freeze marks’ so that they cannnot be further moderated or amended by another tutor?
Can marks entered in GradeMark be downloaded and sent to the program administrator?
Can Quickmark sets in Grademark that are custom created be used in other Blackboard modules?
What if I need to find out the student identity of a student submission?
What if I suspect collusion on papers submitted, how can I match those papers when the post date is reached?
How to backup and download marked assignments using GradeMark in Turnitin
How can I manage the release of grades and feedback to students using GradeMark in Turnitin?
There are two options to be aware of when setting up the Turnitin link in your Blackboard module:
1. Setting the Post date, set this date to the date when you think that all assignments will be marked. The Post date is the date that grades and feedback become visible to students and when student names are released to you as a tutor via the Turnitin inbox . In this way all students on the module can view their grades at the same time. Therefore, if you have added feedback to a script, students will not see/access this until the post date has been reached.
2. When setting up the Turnitin link under ‘Optional Settings’ there is an option ‘Reveal grades only on post date?‘, we advise that this is set to ‘yes’. If this is set to ‘no’ when you grade and feedback in Grademark the grades will be made automatically accessible to your students, so it’s best as default to leave this to ‘Yes’ and grades/feedback are revealed to students when the post date is reached.
NB: Ensure that the appropriate GradeCentre column is hidden. If you edit any of the set up preferences you need to re-check that this column is hidden. You can hide/unhide the column by selecting the appropriate option from the drop-down list at the top of the column
Can I change the post date after I have created the Turnitin assignment, if I need more time for marking?
It is possible to edit the Post date of the assignment if you need additional time, you can edit Turnitin options through Control Panel>Turnitin Assignments>Edit Assignment>Edit Assignment tab (top-left). However, in general, a good tip is to initially set the Post date for the assignment at a full 4 weeks. Please bear in mind that if you change the post date after the post has been reached and some students have viewed their grades and feedback that all students will not be able to view their grades and feedback until this new post date has been reached. For extensions you may want to consider creating another Turnitin link for such students to submit their submissions or consider communicating to students when they can view their grades and feedback.
How do students view my feedback and grades given in GradeMark?
Students can view their grades and feedback in two ways when the Post Date is reached:
1. The Turnitin link through which they originally submitted their assignment can allow students to view their grades/ and feedback.
2. When you create a Turnitin Link and add a ‘Point Value’ for the assignment this connects to Blackboards GradeCenter Tool which can be used to provide grades to students on assignments (More here about Blackboard GradeCenter). A column (which has the same header title that you created when you set up your Turnitin link) is auto-created in Blackboard’s GradeCenter which connects to the Turnitin link and draws back any grades and feedback given in GradeMark. You can set up a ‘tool link’ namely ‘My Grades‘ as part of your Blackboard module course menu, typically this tool link is set up in your Blackboard course menu (see here for more information on Creating a Tool link). Students can then access this link from your Blackboard module and view the link to view their grades/feedback you gave in GradeMark. Students will only see their own comments and feedback.
Please Note, grades and feedback can be viewed by students if you have set up the link for having the GradeCenter tool to be viewed by your students.
Can I change student marks in GradeMark?
Yes you can change marks in GradeMark in the GradeMark view for the student submission. Please note that if you utilise Blackboards GradeCenter that marks are automatically transferred to Blackboard’s GradeCenter, do not amend the mark in the Blackboard’s GradeCenter as this won’t get transferred in the GradeMark view. Any marking changes should be made before the post date.
Do I need to mark online using GradeMark for anonymous marking?
You don’t have to mark online using GradeMark. Some staff may want to use Turnitin to check for originality and then print off the student submission in Turnitin for marking, however you will need to bear in mind the following:
1. With ‘Anonymous Marking Enabled’ when you print out the student paper there will be no student name. Each student paper printed will have a unique paper ID. This enables you to mark offline and on a paper copy. You can mark all student papers in this way.
2. Getting marks and feedback to the students if done this way:
2.1 Wait until the post date is reached where the names will be revealed to you in the Turnitin inbox (Control Pane | Turnitin Assignments). You could change this post date after marking is all complete to reveal student identities. Using the Paper ID on the printed student copy cross reference this with the student names and add your marks to the student paper. Give student grades and feedback as appropraite.
2.2 If you use Blackboards’s GradeCenter you can wait untill the post date is reached and using the Paper ID on the printed student copy cross reference this with the student names and add your marks for student papers in Blackboard’s GradeCenter. You could use GradeCenter Feedback Notes to Students or email the feedback to the students.
Please note that marking in this way can be open to errors especially once ensuring student identities are revealed that the correct mark/feedback is given to the correct student. Large cohorts can be time-consuming during this process of cross-referencing. If you use the online marking tool in Grademark, this can be an automated approach where there is no need to cross reference and match student papers. Grademark also has added rubrics (marking template) which you can create and apply to the online marking process. GradeMark also allows for pre set comments that can be ‘drag and dropped’ when marking student submissions. Find out more on GradeMark’s marking features.
External Resource: Creating a Rubric
Can students still view their Originality Report now that we have GradeMark?
Yes students can still view their originality report if on setting up the Turnitin assignment you set the option to ‘Allow students to see originality reports’? to ‘yes’ (Find out more on the Turnitin Guide).
Can students view their grades through Blackboard Mobile App?
Currently, there is a known issue which allows student grades to be viewed through their MyGrades area when using the Blackboard Mobile App, even where
Solution 1: One suggestion is to hide ‘My Grades’ in Blackboard until all marking is complete.
Solution 2: It is also possible to use Adaptive release to ensure that My Grades is not visible until you want to release all of the grades for the module.
Is it possible to mark online student work in batches in Grademark?
Yes, you do not have to mark online in one sitting, it is possible to mark a small batch of student submissions as you work your way through the student submissions in the Turnitin inbox, stop, then come back to continue after you have had a break and rest from the online screen. Also read the faq ‘How can having groups of students in Blackboard help with online marking’?
How can having groups of students in Blackboard help with online anonymous marking?
You may want to consider setting up groups of students in Blackboard which could ease the online marking process. Anonymous batch marking in Turnitin: where you have a large cohort whose submissions are being divided amongst several tutors for marking, this is possible with a couple of steps that need to be done. To setup ‘batches’ of submissions: you will need to create groups of students in Blackboard (if not done already, find out here how to create groups of students in Blackboard). Each tutor can then be assigned to a group for marking. When work is submitted, the tutor selects Control Panel>Course Tools>TurnitinUK Assignment by Groups, then selects the group of students whose work they are assigned to mark and marks anonymously online using GM as usual.
How can I include a standard feedback form to the marked assignment?
It is not possible to attach a feedback form through GradeMark. You could, however, post the form to the student via the Grade Centre.
When using GradeMark to grade in the browser, can I open the same submission in another browser window so that I can have the references page displayed in a different window as I work through the script and add Quickmarks etc.?
It would be best to download the submission for purposes of viewing the references whilst marking in the Turnitin document viewer using the GradeMark tools. Return to top
Is there a limit on the length of comments in GradeMark?
The limit on the length of tutor’s General Comments in GradeMark is 5000 characters. Note – If you’re typing up the feedback in MS Word, before pasting into GradeMark, you can check the number of characters:
Go to Review > Word Count
The relevant number is “Characters with spaces”. If longer feedback needs to be given this can be done through GradeCenter if needed. Return to top
Can Teaching Assistants view and edit Grademark?
Yes they can, a Teaching Assistant role is almost identical to that of an instructor.
How do students view the GradeMark comments if they download or print this as a PDF?
The expanded student’s comments are below the student document, these can be cross-referenced with the comments in the student submission. Return to top
Can you use ‘Drag & Dictate’ with GradeMark?
This is not possible at the moment.
Can there be a separate instructor discussion panel in GradeMark which students can’t view?
Currently this is not possible in Turnitin however the up coming features will allow for an ‘instructor panel’ that only instructors can see. (this is similar to instructor notes that are available in Blackboard’s GradeCenter).
Can the module leader ‘freeze marks’ so that they cannnot be further moderated or amended by another tutor?
At the moment this is not possible.
Can marks entered in GradeMark be downloaded and sent to the program administrator?
Yes, these can be downloaded from Blackboard’s GradeCenter. Select Control Panel | GradeCenter | Full GradeCenter. In the Gradecenter view on your top right select ‘Work Offline’ and the option ‘Download’. You will be presented with the ‘Download Grades’ screen:
- ‘1. Data’ – select the option ‘Selected column for this column’ and from the drop down menu select your Turnitin GradeMark column based on the title that you created when you set the assignment up.
- ‘2. Options’ leave the default settings to ‘Tab’ and leave the default ‘no’ to the option ‘Include Hidden information’.
- ‘3. Save Location’ choose to save your computer.
- Click Submit
- In the next screen select the ‘Download’ and you can either save or open the file using MS Excel. It would be useful to check through this file before you send on to who needs to view it.
Can Quickmark sets in Grademark that are custom created be used in other Blackboard modules?
Quickmarks that you create as an instructor in a Blackboard module can be used across other GradeMark assignments across different Blackboard modules as long as you are and instructor on those Blackboard modules. In the GradeMark view your custom created Quickmarks are available from the ‘Change Quickmark Set’ list icon:
From this drop-down select any Quickmark set that you have created which you can use to mark student assignments.
You can also export and import Quickmarks with other colleagues to use :
- In the GradeMark View, select the spanner icon ‘Open QuickMark Manager’. The Quickmark Manager will open.
- From this view select the your Quickmark set from the ‘Sets’ listed
- Click on the arrow icon and select ‘Export’ (if you’re exporting your set)
- A prompt will appear, save this .qms file on your computer.
- You can now share this file with colleagues who can import in their Quickset Manager
To import a Quickset
- In the GradeMark View, select the spanner icon ‘Open QuickMark Manager’. The Quickmark Manager will open.
- From this view select the your Quickmark set from the ‘Sets’ listed
- Click on the arrow icon and select ‘Import’
- Browse and select your .qms file on your computer and select the ‘Import’ button
- A message will appear when your import is complete
- Click ‘Close’, the set will now appear for you to use in GradeMark.
What if I need to find out the student identity of a student submission? When anonymous marking is enabled in a Turnitin assignment, in the Turnitin inbox where the student name appears this is replaced with ‘Anonymous Marking Enabled’. It is possible to select this ‘Anonymous Marking Enabled’ button adjacent to the row for the student paper in question.On selecting this you will be prompted for a reason as to why you wish to reveal the student name. If this is done the identity of the student is revealed for this student only (you can’t hide the student name once this has been done). Turnitin’s system sends a notification to the system administrator of this action. Return to top
What if I suspect collusion on papers submitted, how can I match those papers when the post date is reached? On creating a Turnitin assignment with anonymous marking enabled, each student submission has a unique ‘Paper ID’ which can be found in Turnitin’s inbox. You can make a note or download/print the student papers which have their unique PaperIDs on the actual student submission. If you wish you can wait untill the ‘Post Date’ when student identities are revealed which can be accessed in Turnitin’s inbox. If you need to reveal the student identity before the post date please read the FAQ ‘What if I need to find out the student identity of a student submission’. Please seek further advice from your Faulty Academic Practice Officer. Return to top
FAQ’s – AM using Blackboard Assignments
How can I manage the release of grades and feedback to students using the Blackboard assignment tool? Is it possible to mark online student work in batches using the Blackboard Assignment tool? Can I mark offline using Blackboard Assignments for anonymous marking?
How can I manage the release of grades and feedback to students using the Blackboard assignment tool?
Anonymous marking through Blackboard’s GradeCenter for Blackboard assignments are visible as soon they are marked. To prevent grades and feedback being accessible upon marking you can hide the assignment column in GradeCenter:
hide columns in the Grade Centre
Please be aware that when marking anonymously using Blackboard’s assignment tool that students can view written feedback by accessing the assignment link in the Blackboard module. If you hide this column in the Gradecentre, the score and feedback will be hidden from students in my grades but the feedback will be viewable from assignment link in Blackboard, therefore tutors need to consider marking all assignments in one go.
Is it possible to mark online student work in batches using the Blackboard Assignment tool?
This is possible however when marking in batches – Blackboard Assignment will not save where you have last marked from, you will be presented with student submissions in random order – even the ones that have already been marked. There is also an issue where if on returning to mark a batch you are aware that some submissions have not been marked, you may be presented with the ‘last submission’ and won’t be given the option to ‘Save and Next’ to move on to another submission but only the option to ‘Save and Exit’. To get round this select ‘Save and Exit’ and then select ‘grade anonymously’ to be presented with a submission that needs marking. You will also be able to tell which ones are not marked when you get back to the Grade Centre as they will have a ‘Needs Grading’ icon 
.
Can I mark offline using Blackboard Assignments for anonymous marking?
There is a utility which allows you to downlod Blackboard assignments and mark offline, read more here ‘Downloading assignments for anonymous marking away from Blackboard‘
Is there any student guidance available on anonymous marking?
We do have some resources which you can use with your students, read more here ‘resources for students on anonymous marking‘
What are some of the considerations for team and second marking, including external examiners?
If using GradeMark:
- It is possible to print off in Pdf format or save electronic copies of annotated and marked scripts in GradeMark. This may be useful for retaining and sending for a 2nd marker or external examiner.
- Scripts can only be downloaded individually from GradeMark; there is no option for downloading the full cohort of scripts as a batch.
- The student’s pnumber should be visible on the script. Comments from the second marker can be added to GradeMark also.
- Although it is possible for moderators/external examiners to change marks and comments but there is no indication in GradeMark that a change has been made and who made the change. Therefore this would need to be indicated in an agreed way.
- If external examiners or any of the markers need to access comments in GradeMark, they would need to arrange a Blackboard account and access to the module. You can download individual assignments with your comments included from GradeMark. These can be saved to disk in pdf format or printed. These can then be sent to a second marker. The pnumber should be visible on the script.
If using Blackboard Assignments:
- In the case of 2nd Marking in Blackboard Assignments, it is possible to use the Instructor Comments text box for communication between tutors. Notes can also be left for the student in the Comments for students text box.
- If copies of the submitted papers have been downloaded and is being annotated and graded on a Word document, the documents can be stored online and shared. Each individual paper then needs to be uploaded to the correct student, either through the Grade Centre of through the Blackboard Assignment portal. When downloading one at a time from the Blackboard Assignment tool it is advisable not to navigate away from the screen but to ensure that the student has the appropriate submission returned to them.
Can ipads and other mobile devices be used?
ITMS are working on a policy for using your own device for work purposes and wish to create procedures for this challenging area. The iPad application was enabled by iParadigms, who manage the Turnitin application. It cannot be switch-off by DMU. It is still subject to detailed testing and where they are using the tool on an iPad, users should report any issues to their Faculty ELT Project Officer.
However, given that sensitive data related to student assessment/records are stored on or accessible from devices like iPads, we advise that it is not used for Turnitin/GradeMark at this stage. CELT have not been given sufficient time to test: the security of the application; mechanisms for the recovery/back-up of offline materials; or to work with staff on data protection issues when carrying large amounts of personal data on a personal device (or university device).
The Blackboard Mobile App currently shows My Grades, allowing marking to be viewed as soon as it is added to the Grade Centre. Therefore it is recommended that you should always hide My Grades until you are ready to reveal marking. This will ensure that all students will be able to view their individual marks at the same time. Another possibility is to use Adaptive release to make MyGrades available only after all marking is complete. Currently, the iPad does work with GradeMark but not all functionality is available such as QuickMark sets.
Can I request an opt-out for an assignment?
If you think anonymous marking is not a suitable option for a particular assignment, you need to raise this with the Chair of your FLTC.
The module leader will know the exact context of the module. However, some examples of some possible opt-outs are listed below,
· Performances: presentations/demonstrations/vivas, both individual and group, including posters.
· Project work: individual/group project work/assignments where each individual/group addresses a different topic and interacts with the tutor to acquire formative feedback; dissertations/final projects where the supervisor and student have worked together very closely.
· Practice: practical work that is marked within the laboratory/workshop/studio environment and/or where the creator of the work is present at the assessment and/or features in the assessment. This includes artefacts, spot tests.
· Formative work: formative assessment that subsequently becomes summative assessment. ‘Iterative’ work which involves drafting and re-drafting e.g. creative writing, clinical visits and evaluations, face-to-face assessment on placement, scenario-based assessments.
· Reflection: reflective reports and personal logs/journals; reflective portfolios.
· Personalised assessment: analysis of research papers; vivas; unique case studies; specialised reports; ward assessments; dissertations, photographic portfolios.
Pedagogical considerations
1. Student preparation for Anonymous marking: In each of the above workflows students need to be advised to remove their names from their assignment submission and to add their student P-number for identification.
2. Consider specific needs of students:
Staff teams will need to consider how students’ specific needs will be managed for anonymous marking.
For example if a student has a visual impairment, then it may be necessary to provide the output of GradeMark in paper form also.
3. Managing extensions, deferrals and re-sits
What is the procedure for extensions to the submission date? If a longer period is required it may be necessary to add a new Turnitin link in the module area in which they created the first link, in which case the particular student script will not be anonymous. If this involves only a few days, it may be feasible for the tutor to allow late submissions in the settings to Turnitin. Tutors may be able to provide a few weeks between the due date and the post date, but this would allow a shorter timespan for marking. Tutors also need to be aware of other issues mentioned above.
4. Teams need to consider what procedures to adhere to in the following cases
i. A student fails to submit an assignment through Turnitin.
ii. A student adds personal information to the script by mistake: Although we can advise students not to put their names on their submissions, the ‘Author’ property on the file will give their name – how do/can we deal with this? When using the Blackboard Assignment function it is also possible that a student adds a personal comment (which reveals their identity to tutors) in the text box
iii. Certain tutor procedures may reveal the identity of a particular script (i.e. removing anonymity from that paper). For example, there is an option to allow tutors to make a specific user non-Anonymous. There needs to be clarity about when this is used and how this is tracked. The tutor needs to submit a rationale and an email automatically is sent to a DMU administrator.
iv. If a student inadvertently submits the wrong paper and the tutor uses the ‘clear attempt’ function in the grade centre the name of the student will be revealed.
5. Major Network Issues: If Turnitin is down or if there is a network issue, what are the contingencies? The University needs to advise academic staff and students of any alternative process.
6. Health and Safety Concerns: Marking online can involve lengthy time looking at the computer or laptop screen and can cause eye strain etc. There are useful tips for reducing eyestrain. For larger pieces of work that need marking you could consider having a mixed approach to marking, please contact your Faculty ELT Project Officers for further advice and options.
Using Internet Explorer and Turnitin GradeMark Some users have experienced issues when using Internet Explorer with Turnitin GradeMark : when providing annotations or scrolling through the student’s work the page freezes or becomes unresponsive for a number of minutes. Turnitin are aware of this issue and you may want to consider trying an alternative browser i.e Mozilla Firefox.
Slow networks/timing out
If the network is slow there is a possibility of timing out. Therefore tutors need to ensure that all marking, whether through GradeMark/Turnitin or through the Assignment function is saved frequently. Within GradeMark work is automatically saved; so you should only click Save & Exit once if you wish to exit GradeMark.
Backup and download marked assignments using GradeMark in Turnitin
Blackboard courses in our Blackboard system are archived every two years and are then available in the Blackboard Archive system. It’s important to note here that Turnitin assignments created in these Blackboard courses that are moved to the Blackboard Archive System lose their links to Turnitin therefore student submissions and marked assignments won’t be retrieveable. Therefore the process for backup and downloading outlined below can overcome this issue. Note that students too are advised to download their own copy of their marked assignment. This process outlined is done as a bulk download for all your marked assignments for one Turnitin assignment. So if you have more than one Turnitin assignment in your Blackboard module that you wish to download and save you will need to do the process outlined below for each Turnitin assignment that you wish to make a backup or download. Please also note that the process outlined will just download the ‘marked’ paper and will not contain the originality report however if you wish to at some point to view the originality report for a particular student submission, you can make a note of the paper ID which can be found on each student submission (marked paper) and raise a ITMS helpdesk call who will assist you in obtaining the originality paper working with Turnitin. Steps to download marked papers using Grademark 1. In the Blackboard course where the Turntin assignment is created and all submissions have been marked in GradeMark (Edit Mode ‘On’) go to the Control Panel and select Turnitin Assignments 2. Select the Turnitin Assignment that you wish to download. 3. In this ‘Assignbox Inbox’ View, select the top checkbox before the ‘Author Column’, see Figure 1 ‘Assignment Inbox’ below 
Figure 1 Assignment Inbox 3. On selecting this checkbox the following message appears as per Figure 2 below ‘ Selected Files’ 
Figure 2 Selected Files 4. You will notice the notification message and the three options that appear. Select the Download button, and from the two options, ‘Original file‘ and ‘Grademark paper‘ select ‘Grademark paper‘. Note selecting original file will allow you to download student original assignment submissions. The following message appears see Figure 3 Compress Files 
Figure 3 Compress Files 5. Select OK to continue with the process. This message is iterated again and once the zipped file is ready it will be available to download fom the messages tab. the messages tab is at the to right of the screen. You may want to refresh this screen after a while. 
Figure 4 Confirmed compress message 6. Select the Messages tab where there should be an indicator if there is a new message: 
Figure 5 Messages tab 7.In the Messages screen you should see the Bulk download ready for you to save, see Figure 6 ‘Messages’ 
Figure 6 ‘Messages’ 8. Select the message link (blue) to view the full message. You will view a similar message as in Figure 7 Download zip’ 
Figure 7 Download zip 9. Select the link in the message which begins ‘http://submit.ac.uk/..’ You have the option to ‘Open’ or ‘Save’ the file. You may wish to save this file on your network storage space or another appropriate area.