BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. I commented on my students’ papers for a Turnitin assignment. Unfortunately, the students cannot see the comments I posted. Is there something else I need to do to help them see these comments?

A. There are two ways to comment on Turnitin Assignment submissions: Grademark in Turnitin and Grade Details in the Grade Center. In order for your students to view any comments you posted using GradeMark, students will need to go to the Turnitin Assignment, choose “View/Complete Assignment,” then select the View button.  You will be able to check which students accessed the graded paper by the names listed in the “Response” column in the Turnitin Assignments assignment inbox.

For students to see any comments you posted using Grade Details in the Grade Center, they should click on Tools in the course menu, then on My Grades and they will see your comments in the Comments column.

Q. My students will be using Turnitin this semester, and I am unclear about one thing: If students upload a paper, see that they have some originality issues, and then upload it again, is there a delay for that second or subsequent originality reports?

A. If you choose the “immediately (can overwrite reports until due date)” option then there will be a 24 hour delay for the second and subsequent Originality reports to begin processing.  Students would need to allot enough time before the due date for resubmission.

Q. Due to a family emergency I  gave a student an extension on her Turnitin paper. However, when the student tries to submit the paper in Turnitin, it will not let her. Is there a way to let this student submit her paper?

A. You can allow students to submit a Turnitin assignment after the due date:

1. Click on Course Tools in the control panel.
2. Click on Turnitin Assignments.
3. Click on the title of the Turnitin Assignment.
4. Click on the Edit Assignment tab at the top.
5. Scroll down and click on More Options.
6. Click Yes for” Allow submissions after the due date?”
7. Click Submit.

Q. When I use Turnitin, inevitably I have students who failed to turn in their papers by the due date and their attempts are denied. Is there a way for me to submit their papers or override the system so they can be turned in?

A. To submit students’ papers, follow these instructions:

1. Go to Turnitin Assignments via the Control Panel.
2. Click on the assignment for which you want to submit a student paper.
3. When the Turnitin page opens scroll down to the inbox.
4. Click on the submit paper button in the top left hand corner of the inbox and submit your student’s paper, making sure to go through both the  upload and submit steps.

The paper should then turn up in the inbox and you should be able to view the Originality report.

Q. I have created a Turnitin assignment, but when I go to the content area where I created the assignment and click on the View/Complete link, then on the dropdown list under “author,” I see that many of my students are not listed. However, if I view the student roster in the User Management area of the Control Panel under List/Modify Users, I find a complete and accurate list.

Why would several of my students not be listed as  potential authors of a new Turnitin assignment? How can this be corrected, so that all the students may complete the assignment?

A. At first, your Turnitin roster will only show the names of students who have accessed Turnitin assignments. As your other students submit papers, their names and assignments will automatically be added to your Turnitin roster.

If you would like all student names to appear in the list immediately, go to the Control Panel and, in the Course Tools area, click on Turnitin Assignments, then click the View button for the assignment.  There is a Roster Sync button in the upper right corner of the Inbox that will import a list of all students enrolled in the course.

This function can also be used later to remove students who are no longer enrolled in the course. All submissions for students removed by a Roster Sync will disappear from all Turnitin assignments in the course.

Warning: Students who are removed by the roster sync function must be re-added to the Blackboard course and the Roster Sync function must be used again to regain access to any submissions for the student.

Q. I followed the directions for setting up a Turnitin assignment, but when I looked in the list of assignments it was not there. Can you help?

A. You can find basic instructions for setting up a Turnitin assignment at Setting up a Turnitin Assignment.

When you create your Turnitin assignment, make sure that the dates you assign are in the following order:

1. The start date is the date that you would like the assignment to be visible to students.
2. The due date must fall after the start date.
3. The post date must fall after the due date; the post date is when the assignment will be graded and available for student viewing.

If you do not follow this order for dates, the Turnitin assignment will not be created. You do get an error message in a yellow box when you enter the post date incorrectly, but it is not very distinguishable.

More Turnitin Resources

Turnitin Instructor User Manual
Flash Video: Viewing an Originality Report