Digital Assessment (Formerly EMA)

Digital Assessment (formerly Electronic Management of Assessment) comprises a number of elements:

  • electronic submission of work
  • authenticity checking
  • on-screen marking
  • online feedback
  • electronic archiving

Note: these aspects of digital assessment are not mutually dependent. See the Learning Platform Suite pages for more information on the tools we support for each.  

Policy and procedures

The Marking Procedures document sets out electronic submission requirements, managing submission to the wrong place, action in the event of an outage of a supported digital assessment system and refers also to the list of supported digital assessment systems on this page. 

See also the Anonymous Marking page for policy and guidance relating to digital submission, marking and feedback anonymously.

Supported digital assessment Systems 

System

Types of Files

File Size

Notes

Turnitin

mainly word-processed and presentation based formats inc. PDF - see Turnitin support page for full list

100MB (max)

Text-matching for similarity checking as required by Plagiarism Policy
Off- and on-script feedback (annotations)
One file only accepted per submission point
Supports anonymous marking
See the staff TEL Knowledge Base and the student TEL Knowledge Base for info & support

PebblePad

most types of files – see PebblePad support page for full list

500MB per file (recommended*)

Multiple files, including media, can be presented together along with reflection and other writing.
Off- and in-script feedback (on page, but not annotations)
Currently not supported for anonymous marking
See the staff TEL Knowledge Base and the student TEL Knowledge Base for info & support     
*Bigger files may be accepted – please contact your Digital Academic Developer to discuss.

Blackboard Assignments

most types of files - see Blackboard support page 

250MB per file (recommended*)

Multiple files, including media (via ReCap– see below)
Off- and on-script feedback (annotations)
Currently not supported for anonymous marking
See the staff TEL Knowledge Base and the student TEL Knowledge Base for info & support
*Bigger files can be accepted – please contact your Digital Academic Developer to discuss.

Blackboard Assignments with ReCap

most media files 

1GB per file (recommended*)

Media files can be uploaded to ReCap first and then embedded in a Blackboard Assignment submission to enable larger files to be handled as well as for on-page playback without needing to download / install players.
see staff TEL Knowledge Base and the student TEL Knowledge Base for info & support
*Bigger files can be accepted – please contact your Digital Academic Developer to discuss.

 

Deciding which system to use:

  • always use Turnitin where you have one word-processed or presentation based file per assessment of up to 100MB, to enable similarity checking as well as anonymous marking (where applies)
  • only use the Blackboard Assignment manager for file-based submission when you can’t use Turnitin, for example where you have multiple files per assessment and/or files larger than 100MB; combine with use of ReCap for media files
  • use PebblePad to scaffold multiple writing tasks, particularly reflection, and/or files need combining into a single coherent piece of work (e.g. portfolio and workbook-based assessments) and/or to be able to see learners’ work in progress and provide formative feedback.

Turnitin, PebblePad, Blackboard and ReCap are all centrally supported, core University systems.  For staff development, training and advice, contact your Digital Academic Developer.  For technical support, contact the IT Service Desk.  The staff TEL Knowledge Base and the student TEL Knowledge Base contain extensive guidance and advice on using these systems, including quick videos, top tips and links to further support.

Please note: the supported digital assessment systems on the list above have been tested to ensure they are robust and meet our assessment workflow and quality assurance requirements, thus are fully supported.   Using other systems for digital assessment, including centrally supported systems not on the list of above (e.g. Teams, Padlet), as well as external systems (e.g. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms**), are not fully supported and therefore carry risk.  Contact your Digital Academic Developer for advice.

**see our Learning & Teaching guidelines within the Social Media Policy for advice on risk management 

Health and Safety

If you are reading work submitted electronically on-screen and/or providing feedback online please see the advice on using display screen equipment on the CCCU Health and Safety pages. Note: there is specific guidance on use of mobile devices (where not within the main text of the page this may be attached on the right-hand side of the page).

Frequently asked questions

 In the event of a significant system outage (defined as one formally confirmed by Planning and Academic Administration) deadlines should be extended by 1 working day, applicable also to extended deadlines agreed for students with extenuating circumstances.  If the outage occurs within a week after the deadline, marking penalties for late submission on or after the day of the outage should be modified by 1 working day.  See the Marking Procedures document for detailed arrangements. 

If a significant system outage (defined as one formally confirmed by Planning and Academic Administration) occurs on the day of a submission deadline, the deadline for the return of feedback should be extended by 1 working day.   See the Marking Procedures document  for detailed arrangements.

 

No.  Only the ‘mark pre-penalties or caps’ should be provided to students on the Learning Platform Suite (e.g. via Blackboard, Turnitin etc) and students advised the mark is provisional.  Penalties and caps will be applied post transfer of marks to the Student Record System.  See the Marking Procedures document  for detailed arrangements.

 

 

Connect with us

Last edited: 15/02/2024 15:16:00