The external examiners guide to Blackboard
This guide provides an overview for External Examiners on how to navigate Blackboard and Turnitin.
Part 1: Core Information
1.1. Systems overview
The two core systems you need to know are:
- Blackboard (Bb): This is the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, providing an electronic space for staff and students to interact. It is designed to provide a dedicated site for every module. One of the fundamental principles of Blackboard is members of staff are able to take full ownership of their sites. The freedom to make Bb sites match the way the module is delivered, building folders, creating content areas and even changing the design without having to call on a system administrator
- Turnitin: This is the leading provider of text-matching software, designed to support students with their academic writing and assist in the detection of plagiarism. Turnitin is fully integrated into Blackboard and is the recommended method for student submissions of text based assignments.
Due to the richness and flexibility of the two systems, different programmes use Blackboard and Turnitin in ways appropriate to the discipline. For a detailed programme-specific overview, contact the programme leader. This helpsheet details Bb and Turnitin more generally.
1.2. How to access Bb and Turnitin
- Bb is available at http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk.
- You can log in using your network username and password.
- For further help and guidance, click on the Help & Support tab for support materials and contact details, or email ict@lincoln.ac.uk.
1.3 How to access student submissions on Turnitin
- Log in at http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk using your network username and password.
- Navigate to My Bb Sites from the left hand menu and then look for your module site on the page. The list of modules you can see are the ones that the programme leader has added you to. If any modules are missing, please contact the module leader in the first instance. If you cannot find your module you can use the search box to search by name or module code.
- Click on the module name, which will take you to the site
- Make sure Edit Mode is set to On in the top right hand corner
- On the left-hand menu bar, click Site Management -> Site Tools -> Turnitin Assignments
- You then see a list of submissions. Click the assignment name to access
- You will then see the Turnitin assignment inbox. To access a student submission click their name.
- How to navigate Turnitin, access feedback, see similarity percentage is covered in this interactive demo: https://www.turnitin.com/static/feedback-studio-demo/
1.4 How are Blackboard module sites organised?
- Log in at http://blackboard.lincoln.ac.uk using your network username and password.
- Navigate to the module site via the My Sites box. The list of modules you can see are the ones that the programme leader has added you to. If any modules are missing, please contact the module leader in the first instance.
- Each module has a structured Blackboard site where you will find the module handbook, learning materials, online activities to complete and online assessment submission points. Each school has a different site structure to reflect the needs of the disciplines in that school. Broadly speaking, each school site will have the following areas:
Part 2: Additional Information
2.1 What can staff do with Blackboard?
Blackboard provides a well-structured environment to make course materials available to students.
However, it is capable of far more, including:
- Links to external resources
- Discussion Forums
- Tools for creating and monitoring online assessments
- Collaborative areas for groups of students with communication and file sharing facilities
- Student online submission of work
- Wikis
- Blogs
- Embedding multimedia content
2.2 Key Concepts and Terminology
- Site: In Blackboard the site is the basic building block of the system. It is an area to support the delivery of a programme of study to an identified group of students. At the University of Lincoln, a Blackboard site will automatically be set up for each module. Additional sites exist at programme and subject level, and can be made available to students as required.
- Instructor: Each site can have any number of designated instructors. These are members of staff who have the administrative rights to manage the site, post learning materials, enrol users, and monitor student performance.