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Electronic Submission and Marking. Tutors and Students Evaluate ‘ Crocodoc ’. Workshop Aims. Give a brief demonstration of the tool ' Crocodoc ' in use. Discuss tutors' and students’ evaluations of the tool .
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Electronic Submission and Marking Tutors and Students Evaluate ‘Crocodoc’
Workshop Aims • Give a brief demonstration of the tool 'Crocodoc' in use. • Discuss tutors' and students’ evaluations of the tool. • Begin to identify the support that tutors and students need if they are to engage effectively with in-line marking and feedback.
Context • Sociology degree course: virtually 100% coursework. • External examiners' concerns about plagiarism. • Decision to use Turnitin as a formative tool on all modules. • Decision to trial the in-line marking tool, 'Crocodoc', on two modules.
Crocodoc • Part of the Blackboard suite of tools. For information, see: • http://telhelp.shu.ac.uk/use-line-grading-tool-online-annotation • http://elearningatshu.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/new-in-blackboard-inline-grading/ • Allows the annotation of student work in-line • https://shuspace.shu.ac.uk
Student Evaluation: Positive • Convenient: • Work can be submitted anywhere at any time: 'Quick, easy and I can do it in bed!' • Feedback is easily accessed and is all in one place for reference (eg it can be ‘cut and pasted’ for use later). • Inexpensive: saves on printing and postage costs. • Eco-friendly • Feedback easier to read.
Student Evaluation: Negative • Submission problems: • Internet or Blackboard failures; • Incompatible document formats; • Anxieties about submitting the right document; • Submission problems for those with extensions; • No receipt given for submission: ‘doesn’t feel safe’. • Feedback issues: • Not clear where feedback sheets are or even if there are any attached; • ‘Not able to see all the feedback’. Does this refer to the annotations on the scripts? • 'Don't get a lot of feedback online' (2 comments)
Electronic or hard copy submission? • 28 of the 46 students who completed the questionnaire overwhelmingly prefer electronic submission and feedback. 'Blackboard - it's easier for everyone'. One expressed no preference. • Ten prefer hard copy submission. • One would like to hand in both hard copy and electronically to ensure that tutors receive the work and do not ‘lose’ it. • One would like physical submission in term time and electronic submission during the vacations. • One would like physical submission and electronic feedback. • One would like online submission with both online and hard copy feedback. • Three do not mind which kind of submission is used but one of these prefers online feedback.
Tutor Evaluation: Positive • Convenient – instant access to marking as soon as it is submitted, wherever you are. • Quicker than hard copy marking once you get used to it (if you do not download the essays first to view them in a full screen). • Annotation tools are easy to use. • Student work and feedback is stored for future reference.
Tutor Evaluation: Negative • Submission problems are frequent and time-consuming to sort out. • Late submissions have to be tracked and managed by the module leader. • Marking online is time-consuming until you get used to it and at-elbow support is needed for tutors. • 3 of the 6 tutors who evaluated the tool complained of headache or eye problems which they attributed to online marking. • External examiners may not be prepared to examine online and alternative arrangements may have to be made. • Tool design issues were the most important topic of negative comments….
Tool Design Issues • Some document formats cannot be opened in Crocodoc. • The essay window takes up only a third of the screen which makes reading the work difficult. • The font in student work changes for no apparent reason. • The ‘draw’ tool is inaccurate. • Moving between screens is clunky and time-consuming. • The essay text became weaker and harder to read once comments had been made. • It is not immediately clear where second markers put their comments. • Feedback grids have to be uploaded. • Essays printed out do not include the comments boxes that tutors have added. • It is not clear to students where their feedback grids are – or even if there are any attached.
But..... • There is going to be an upgrade of Crocodoc - available very shortly - that addresses some of these issues.
Discussion • What support do tutors and students need if they are to engage effectively with in-line marking and feedback?