Moodle 3.1 update: every tool that goes into assessing student work is now available – all in one screen.
With the latest Moodle 3.1 update, educators now have the option of viewing all student submissions or clicking the new “grade” button, which takes teachers to the marking interface on Moodle LMS.
Here, teachers can seamlessly flick from assessment to assessment or select particular students to grade from a drop-down menu. When teachers view student work on the new interface, there is automatically a link displayed to download the assignment for offline viewing.
Students have the choice of writing their assignments directly into Moodle or uploading documents; OpenDocument text (odt), Microsoft Word documents (.docx) and PDF file formats are all accepted.
The new marking interface is where it all happens, as Moodle displays the assignment in user-friendly PDF format – regardless of what file type the student submitted their assignment in. The interface allows teachers to perform a range of tasks, including:
- Highlighting and annotating text. This allows teachers to directly refer to particular points in student submissions. On being returned, this lets students see exactly which part of their work is being referred to.
- Downloading the submission in its original format for offline viewing.
- Notifying students once feedback has been added to their work.
- Granting assignment extensions to particular students or entire cohorts.
- Adding a summary in the “feedback comments” box.
After teachers have finished marking, Moodle converts and returns the marked assignments to students as easy-to-view PDF files.
Alternatively, teachers can click the “view all submissions” button, taking them to a screen that groups all submissions together. In in Moodle 3.1, teachers can now also select which pieces of work they would like to download for offline viewing.
To benefit from these new features, make sure your Moodle admin enables both Ghostscript and unoconv07. Alternatively, if you need help, a Moodle Partner is ready to assist you today.
