Turnitin App

The Turnitin app enables users to effectively use the functionalities of Turnitin anywhere and anytime on and off-line. Currently, the app is only available for iOS devices which includes iphone, iPad, and iPod touch. Ideally, the app allows instructors to: 

  • Award marks, give feedback and highlight texts of the assignment
  • Grade using interactive rubrics
  • Add a voice or text comment
  • View the Similarity Report
  • Navigate between papers, assignments, and classes
  • Grade offline

The app attempts to consolidate the benefits of using mobile technologies to participate in assessments and simulatenously enhance student learning through effective feedback. The Turnitin app is available for instructors without any cost from the Apple store. The following video summarises the capabilities of the app. 

Getting Started

Download the Turnitin App. Compatibility: Requires iOS 9.0 or later.

Setting up the App

  1. Download and install the app from Apple's app store and open it. The app prompts you to either login or use an access code to view the turnitin submissions of students. You will be required to use a one time access code to view  all turnitin assignments of your course. Note that each course has a unique access code which can be obtained via ANY Turnitin assignment within that course. . 

     
  2. Log onto Moodle from either a desktop or the web browser of your iOS device. Once you are logged in, navigate to your course and click the Turnitin assignment link.  
  3. A list of all students enrolled in the course will be displayed. In the grade column, click on any pencil icon. 
  4. Click the information icon in the resulting window. 
  5. A popup will be generated with the generate code link. Click the link to generate an access code and copy it. 
  6. Go back to the turnitin app and click Log in with Access Code. Paste the code in the resulting window and click login. 
  7. The name of the course from which the code was generated is displayed. Click on the course name to access all the Turnitin Assignments of the course. If you want to link additional courses to the app, you will need to similarly obtain access codes from each course. To do this, click the menu located on the top left of the screen. 

Important Notes

  • Access codes cannot be shared and is unique to every user.
  • The access code is course specific. This means that when you use the access code from a particular Turnitin Assignment, the app links to all Turnitin Assignments of the course. 
  • If you are using your personal device and is not a shared one, it is advisable not to logout of the app. This is because each time you logout, you will be required to generate a new access code to login. 

Using the Menu (Located on the top left)

  1. Notifications
    Displays all alerts and notifications related to the Turnitin assignment submissions of your courses.
  2. Add class with Access Code
    This will be use to add further Turnitin assignments to the app's dashboard. To do this, generate access codes using the instructions above. 
  3. Add account
    Not applicable to UNSW staff and students at this stage. 
  4. Help
    Further information and relevant guides on using the app is available at Turnitin.com. 
  5. Contact Support
    If you have any issues with the app or it's usage that requires the attention of the support staff from Turnitin, you can use this link to contact the Turnitin team.
  6. Sync Now
    The last sync date and time is displayed. You can click this to trigger an instant sync which will display up-to-date data from the Turnitin assignments in Moodle. 
  7. Provide Feedback
    Links to a Google form which can be used to provide feedback to Turnitin. 
  8. Log Out
    Logs you out of the app. Note that if you logout, you will need to generate the access codes again as the previous codes will not work. Hence, it is advisable not to logout of the app if it is your personal device and not shared with anyone. 

Grading with the App

Grading of assignments
The Turnitin app can be used to grade assignments on and off-line. This app is only used for Turnitin assignments in Moodle and not for Moodle assignments.
To grade assignments using the app, 

  1. Logon to the app and click the link to the relevant course. A list of all Turnitin assignments in the course will be displayed. 
  2. Click the relevant Turnitin assignment submission box. 
  3. The list of students can be filtered according to those who have Submitted or Not submitted the assignment. The list can also be sorted according to last name, date or grade.
  4. You can view further details of the assignment by clicking the information icon, located at the top right. The Download all feature can be activated using this icon as well. 
  5. Click on the assignment that needs to be graded. Once the grademark window opens, you can view the Similarity report and turn it on so that text matches are shown (highlighted) in a student's assignment. 
  6. Click to add a Voice Comment. 
  7. You can add a Summary Comment and/or if a Rubric has been configured at the initial setup, you will be able to use the rubric for grading.
  8. Enter a numerical grade for the assignment.  
  9. Click Close once completed. 

Grading using the rubric
The app also allows users to grade assignments using a rubric. Note that the rubric will need to be setup in the initial stages of Turnitin Assignment configuration. For more information on the benefits, challenges and strategies of using rubrics, click here. To grade assignments using the rubric, follow the same method as above to access the various functionalities of the app and grademark. As per (7), click Rubric to grade using the rubric. 

Tap in the appropriate section to award marks for a specific criterion. The total mark awarded and the percentage weighting is displayed at the top of the window. Click Apply % to Grade to replicate the mark to the student gradebook. Click X to exit the rubric. Note that you can override the mark that was awarded by the rubrics. This can be done from the main grademark page. 

Further feedback strategies 
The app allows you give feedback to students using various commenting features. Essentially, the app allows instructors to grade using the following: 

  1. Quickmark
  2. Bubble Comment
  3. Inline comment
  4. Strikethrough

Further information on giving feedback using annotations can be found here. 

 

 

FAQs

How can I get the Turnitin app?
The app can be downloaded from the Apple Store.  You can search for Turnitin Feedback Studio in the search function of the store or access the link that has been provided at the beginning of this page. 

Can I use the app to mark assignments? 
Yes, amongst many other things, the app allows you to mark assignments both online and offline. The data from offline marking syncs with Moodle once the device connects to the internet. 

Why does the app stop?
For the app to function normally, you will need a stable internet connection. Network fluctuations may cause the app to timeout.

How can I get help with the app?
Support for the app can be obtained from

  • the Teaching Gateway resource pages.
  • resource pages located at Turnitin.com.
  • call the IT service centre on 51333 or (02) 9385 1333 or via email to [email protected].  

How long will it take for offline data to synchronise?
Data for all offline activities is stored within the app. Once the device connects to an internet source, it should take a maximum of fifteen minutes for the offline data to synchronise. You can refresh the app (pull screen to refresh) or use the sync function in the menu of the app.