Have you been contacted by a student who is having difficulty accessing grades or feedback for an assessment? There can be a few reasons for this. Read on for tips on what to check and how to advise your students!
1: Student is using the OpenLMS mobile app: although this app is useful, until a recent change the familiar Turnitin/GradeMark blue pen was not visible from the app. From now, students using the app will be sent to their mobile browser when attempting to access feedback, allowing them to have a full view of the assignment page including all relevant feedback platforms.
Solution: students on mobile will now see the full assignment page including Turnitin blue pen, regardless of using the mobile app or clicking notifications from their email. Find out more about the Open LMS Moodle Mobile App.
2: Item is still hidden in the Gradebook: Gradebook items are generally set to hidden by default. If items are hidden in the Gradebook, then grades/feedback will not be visible to students.
Solution: Go to ‘gradebook set up’ in your Moodle site and check to see if the item is hidden (it will appear greyed out if it is). Unhide the item by accessing the edit dropdown associated with the item, and click on the little eye to ‘show’. More on hiding and releasing grades can be found here: Hiding/Releasing Grades.
3: Marking workflow is being used: The status selected when using marking workflow can cause a few issues, because students can see the status that has been applied to their assignment. For example, if a marker has set the marking workflow status to ‘graded’, students assume they should be able to see their marks/feedback. Unit coordinators are also sometimes not aware that marking workflow has been turned on for the assignment and assume that unhiding the item in the gradebook will release grades/feedback. The only workflow status that will allow grades to go to the Grade Book is ‘released’.
Solution: Check that all graded items have been set to ‘released’. Avoid using workflow status settings (e.g. graded) that may confuse students and lead them to believe the assignment is available. More on using marking workflow can be found here: Marking Workflow.
4: Confusion about where to find grades and feedback: If you have marked the assignment using GradeMark, students should look for the ‘blue pen’. Clicking on the blue pen takes the student out to Turnitin and to their feedback report. If you have marked and provided feedback in the assignment module, there will be no blue pen and students will find their feedback in a comments box and or via a file you have uploaded. So, depending on their experiences accessing feedback, a student may be expecting a blue pen but does not see one and can miss the feedback/grade information that is on the screen. Alternatively, the student may not know to look for the blue pen.
Solution: Be aware that the manner in which students access their feedback is dependent on whether you have marked in GradeMark (blue pen) or in the assignment module (no blue pen) and advise them accordingly. You could also direct them to the Viewing Marks and feedback information resource in the Learning Online at UNE Moodle site. In fact, it’s probably a good idea for you to have a look at this information to help you understand what the student interface looks like!