Assessment tools (Original)
Why use online assignment submission and marking tools?
Online assignment submission and marking tools facilitate efficient and reliable assignment submission for students, and more efficient assignment marking for teaching staff. Assignments are immediately available to teaching staff for marking, and once marked, are quickly available to students for reflection.
What assessment tools are available?
There are a range of centrally supported tools available:
- Turnitin: set up individual or group assignments with a similarity report and mark online.
- Turnitin GradeScope: set up individual or group handwritten assignments for either student submission of scanned document or staff submission. Turnitin GradeScope can also be used for the submission and AI assisted or manual marking of computer code assignments.
- Inspera: create a range of assessment types including quizzes, tests and exams.
- Blackboard Tests: create automatically or manually marked online quizzes, tests and exams.
- Blackboard assignments: set up individual or group assignments and mark online.
- ePortfolio: set up individual assignments mapped to assessment outcomes and track student progress.
- Echo video & audio assignments: set up individual or group assignments and mark online.
- Buddycheck: collect student responses on the contribution of individual group members.
- Discussion Board: post discussion items and reply to other posts.
- H5P: create formative quizzes, using the Question Set content type.
- Learn.UQ exams: summative exams that use combinations of Blackboard Test, Turnitin and Blackboard Assignment tools.
What assessment types are available?
Individual assignments
Turnitin is the most popular choice for individual text-based assignment submission (i.e. Word, PDF and PowerPoint files). Turnitin includes text-matching functionality and a similarity report which can be used to investigate possible cases of plagiarism. Turnitin also has online marking and feedback capabilities.
The Blackboard assignment tool is an alternative option, it is recommended for all non-text based assessments (i.e videos, Excel and weblinks) where a Similarity report is not viable/required.
Note: It is recommended that course coordinators configure online assignment submission so that students only need to submit once, and not to both a Blackboard assignment and Turnitin assignment submission link.
Turnitin (Recommended) | BB assignment tool | Inspera (Not recommended) | |
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Guides | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Group assignments
The Blackboard Assignment tool is recommended for group assessment that does not require a similarity report. Using the Blackboard groups and assignment tool in combination allows you to set up group project submission links. Any student in the group can submit the assignment and all members will automatically receive the assignment results and feedback.
The Blackboard Groups tool can be used to streamline student group enrolments, although groups are not connected to Turnitin assignment submissions. For more information, refer to the Groups tool page.
Turnitin is recommended for group assignments that require a similarity report, although it does not have built-in group functionality. One member of the group will need to submit on behalf of all group members and marks will need to be manually entered for non-submitting group members. The student who submits the assignment will need to download the feedback and share it with the other group members.
* Select Create Smart View for this group when setting up groups
** Use Smart Views to locate group members
The Buddycheck group peer assessment tool allows you to collect student responses on the contribution of individual group members (Likert or Divided points) and to adjust the group results based on one of two options: average or PAF (Peer Assessment Factor). The tool also allows you to view collated responses and facilitate moderation of results. For more information, refer to the Buddycheck tool page.
Note: It is recommended that course coordinators configure online assignment submission so that students only need to submit once, and not to both a Blackboard assignment and Turnitin assignment submission link.
Turnitin | BB assignment tool (Recommended) | Inspera (Not recommended) | |
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Guides | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Handwritten assignments
Handwritten assignments (eg. math working, chemistry equations, hand-drawn pictures and diagrams) can be converted to digital documents by students using a phone application or by staff scanning documents in bulk using a scanning machine. Turnitin GradeScope is recommend for the submission/upload and marking of handwritten assessment
Warning: A Turnitin Similarity report will not be available for this document format.
Guides for converting handwritten documents to digital documents:
Scan to PDF via Onedrive (Android) by Microsoft
Scan to PDF via Onedrive (iOS) by Microsoft
Note: These are not the only options available for converting handwritten documents to digital documents.
Turnitin GradeScope (Recommended) | Turnitin | BB assignment tool | |
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Guides | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Non-submission assignments (Oral presentations, vivas, performances or physical artifacts)
There are two options for non-submission assignments such as oral presentations, vivas, performances or physical artifacts:
- A non-submission Turnitin assignment.
- A Grade Centre column (with an attached rubric or manual grade entry).
- Inspera oral assessment
Note: You may want to consider changing the design of your assessment to include file submissions, such as presentation files (i.e. a PowerPoint or script) which will allow you to use standard options. Refer to the Individual assignments and Group assignments sections.
Non-submission Turnitin assignment | Grade Centre column (Recommended) | Inspera oral assessment (Not recommended) | |
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Video & audio assignments
UQ's video server, Echo360, can be used by students to submit video or audio assignments. You can also set up submission links using the Blackboard assignment tool or Inspera which allows you to use the online marking function to provide comments and feedback.
Students typically record with their phone or use Zoom to generate their video.
There are three video or audio assignment submission options:
- Set up a Blackboard assignment and have students use the EchoVideo Submission functionality in the text editor to upload and embed the file.
a. For individual video assignments, students simply submit their assignment, which then can be marked through Grade Centre.
b. For group video assignments, the Blackboard groups and assignment tool can be used in combination so one student, on behalf of the group, submits the assignment which then can be marked through Grade Centre. See the Group assignments section.
- Students upload their video or audio file to 'My Media' and contribute it to their course gallery.
- Students submit to an Inspera assessment
Blackboard assignment (Recommended) | Course gallery | Inspera (Not recommended) | |
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Guides | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
ePortfolio assessments
The ePortfolio system can be used for work integrated learning, reflective, showcase and collaborative assessments across a program or major. Assessment can be mapped to outcomes (i.e. professional standards, learning outcomes or graduate attributes) and student progress against these outcomes can be tracked.
Features
- Assessment feedback can be provided by non-UQ staff (i.e. Practicum supervisors).
- A range of rubrics are available including points, percentages and qualitative.
- Final results include decimal points.
- Comment bank functionality.
- Tracking of outcomes across a program or major.
- Learning analytics.
Limitations
- Rubrics do not allow mark ranges.
- No group assignment functionality.
Quizzes (formative and low stakes)
There are three options for formative and low stakes quizzes:
- H5P Quiz (question set) content type
- A Blackboard test.
- Inspera assessment
H5P Quiz (question set) content type | Blackboard test (Recomended) | Inspera | |
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Guides | Learn more | Learn more | Learn More |
Exams
There are a number of options for summative exams that use combinations of Learn.UQ based tools or Inspera. Note, Learn.UQ Exam are not a central examinations option from 2025.
Learn.UQ Exams | Inspera Exams (Recommended) | |
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Overview | There are a range of exam options available via Learn.UQ which include:
| Exams are delivered via Inspera. |
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Guides | Learn more | Learn more |
Short question and answer (Discussion boards)
Learn.UQ Discussion Board | Ed Discussion Board (Recommended) | |
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Guides | Learn more | Learn more |
Converting assessment conducted face-to-face to online
Face-to-face assessment, such as oral presentations, can be facilitated using Zoom or converted to a video assignment. For more information, refer to the Video assignments section.
Oral examinations (Vivas) can also be conducted via Zoom using the waiting room feature to admit students one at a time. For more information, refer to the Oral Exams via Zoom guide.
Computer Code assignments
Turnitin GradeScope can be used for the submission and AI-assisted or manual marking of computer code assignments.
Features
- Submission and marking of individual or group assignments.
- Code Similarity check.
- Automated or manual marking of assignments.
- Inline commenting
- Dynamic grading schema.
- Reusable comments by question.
Limitations
- No similarity report.
eLearning Adviser Consultations (via Zoom)
The eLearning Adviser Consultations offers one-on-one consultations to course teaching staff on adopting UQ eLearning technologies.