In this case study, the teaching team in a Sport and Exercise Science module used an Excel spreadsheet with automatic functions to speed up the process of providing consistent feedback to students. The output produced a personalised feedback sheet for each student, with specific pointers intended to help each individual improve next time, which were…
This is a reminder that deadlines for assessments in Blackboard (such as Assignment and Turnitin submissions, Test attempts, and Self-and-Peer Assessments) should not be set after 4:00pm on Fridays, or at any time on Saturdays, Sundays, or when the University is closed for holidays. These times are considered ‘at-risk’ periods when essential systems maintenance on…
Many staff are using Turnitin with their students to improve referencing or teach about academic integrity. However Turnitin has a different interface than Blackboard which sometimes leads to staff confusion about how to set it up and how to access and interpret the reports it generates. To help with this, faculty e-learning advisers have created some screencast tutorials about…
In this case study, the module leader in an Engineering module used a peer-feedback activity to encourage students to self-reflect and make use of the feedback provided by their peers to improve the quality of their placement job applications. The approach developed the students’ employability skills and engagement with assessment criteria. Although the activity was…
In this case study, a tutor in a final year Research Methods module provided an audio recording for each individual student as feedback on a formative piece of work. Recordings were created using a simple recording device that could be plugged in to the computer or free-standing, and then uploaded to the module’s Blackboard site…
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning (view other articles in the series). We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective. Turnitin is an online text-matching service available via Blackboard at SHU. Users of the service can submit work in…
Some staff members have said they want more resources to help them support their students in Blackboard. Often staff also want to see what the student experience of using Blackboard features is like, particularly around the assessment process. To help with this, we have compiled a list of screencasts we have created that you can use…
This journal article by Sheffield Hallam academics is a literature review of the past decade’s research into technology’s role in encouraging student engagement with feedback. This includes where technology releases feedback to students quickly, generates feedback automatically, and encourages action based on that feedback. This literature review was initially created as part of the HEA-funded Technology,…
Recently we had a roundtable discussion on the topic of alternative assessment formats besides traditional essays. The academics who came had a lively discussion around assessment practices and different forms of assessments. As an outcome of this discussion, we have created a briefing document about essays and other approaches.
This journal article by Sheffield Hallam academics looks at the implementation of online peer feedback programme for two cohorts of students. Students provided peer feedback for each other using discussion boards, in order to give them more opportunities to improve their work before final marking. The research was evaluated using focus groups from the two cohorts.…