The Rewards & Challenges
PEER REVIEW WITH TURNITIN’S PEERMARK
KATIE HUGHES RWS
Student Engagement
Efficient Use of Time
Instructor-Driven Quality Control
Hands-Off Scoring
REWARDS
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Self-scheduled & self-paced
Less distractions
Tendency to be more honest & thorough
MORE FOCUSED REVIEWS
Clicking & typing vs. filling out teacher forms by hand
Setting other than classroom
PROCESS IS MORE “FUN”
Reviews are right there on the computer
Click & drag comments identify specific revision suggestions in context
Questions point to specific criteria
MORE USEFUL FOR REVISING
FOCUSED QUESTIONS
CLICK & DRAG COMMENTS
EFFICIENT USE OF TIME
Classroom-based peer review sessions often turn into social hours
Distractions dilute quality of feedback
Time lapse between receiving reviews and doing revision can mitigate effectiveness of feedback
FOR STUDENTS
Peer Mark distributes & scoresScores transfer automatically to BB Grade Center
It’s easy to monitor at one’s convenience
Classroom or conferencing time is freed up
FOR INSTRUCTORS
DISTRIBUTION OPTIONS
EASY ACCESS FOR INSTRUCTORS
INSTRUCTOR-DRIVEN QUALITY CONTROL
Instructor can create customized questions & save to “library” for future use
Generic sample questions are available from PeerMark
Questions can be scale-based or free response (or both)
Instructor can require minimum amount of words, click & drag comments
FLEXIBLE REVIEW CRITERIA
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
HANDS-OFF SCORING
Instructor sets up distribution parameters, due date, and point value.
Points can be automatically awarded: no need to look at reviews or enter points.
Points will be automatically entered into BB Grade Center.
SET IT UP & YOU’RE DONE!
Instructor Set-Up Issues
Student Issues
Turnitin Server Issues
CHALLENGES….
Setting up multiple courses
Coordinating due dates & posting dates with late paper submissions
Setting up questions—if it times out, it all goes away!
Providing clear instructions to students
INSTRUCTOR SET-UP ISSUES
LOTS TO KEEP TRACK OF…
DO YOU ALLOW LATE PAPERS?
REVIEW QUESTIONS MUST BE ENTERED
Browsers—google chrome doesn’t work; Safari & Firefox are best
Confusion regarding due dates, eligibility to participate, how score is awarded based on completeness, how to access reviews
STUDENT ISSUES
SCORE TRACKER
Rarely, it is down—but it happens
Communication problems with Blackboard—call TII helpline or send email
Not enough time between paper due date/time & Peer Mark start time—allow at least a couple of hours
Student “rush-hour” floods the system—advise them ahead of time
TURNITIN SERVER ISSUES
PeerMark generates more valuable and effi cient
work for my students…
…while freeing up class time and
lessening paper work for me.
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED…