instructor guide to using safeassign with learn@polyu(理學網 · instructor guide to using...

Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網)

Developed by The Working Group on Promoting Students’ Academic Integrity at PolyU

Version: 1.3

Updated July 28, 2014

© 2014 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網)

At PolyU, the plagiarism detection and prevention services of SafeAssign are accessible in

LEARN@PolyU(理學網), the University’s online Blackboard learning management system. Using the

SafeAssignment function on a Blackboard course web site, you can create, submit, review and manage

students’ assignments. To use SafeAssign for course assignments, you do NOT have to register for a

SafeAssign account, but you need to have a course in LEARN@PolyU(理學網).

This Instructor Guide contains step-by-step instructions for using SafeAssign in LEARN@PolyU(理學網), and

provides explanations for pedagogical considerations related to the options available in the settings and

operational procedures. The Guide covers the following three aspects of using SafeAssign:

A. Creating a SafeAssignment in LEARN@PolyU(理學網) ……………………………. pp. 3-7

B. Editing details of a SafeAssignment ……………………………. p. 8

C. Submitting documents via DirectSubmit ……………………………. pp. 9-10

D. Reviewing and managing SafeAssignment submissions and SafeAssign Originality Reports (SA Reports)

……………………………. pp. 11-13

E. Understanding and interpreting SA Reports and matching percentages

……………………………. pp. 14-15

For enquiries on using Turnitin in LEARN@PolyU(理學網), contact ITS Blackboard Support at 2766 5900, or

http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hots.

http://www.polyu.edu.hk/hots

Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) A. Creating a SafeAssignment in LEARN@PolyU(理學網)

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A. Creating a SafeAssignment in LEARN@PolyU(理學網)

To create a SafeAssignment in LEARN@PolyU(理學網), there are three main steps:

1. Logging in to LEARN@PolyU(理學網) and going to the course web site

2. Going to SafeAssignment, via either Content or Assessments

3. Filling in and submitting the assignment details

The following provides details of the steps and the options.

Step 1 Log in to LEARN@PolyU(理學網)

(http://learn.polyu.edu.hk) using your NetID and password.

Step 2 On the Courses tab, select the course in which you would like to create a SafeAssignment (e.g. CRIT0101_20121_A: Introduction to Critical Thinking)

Step 3 Click Content or Assessments on the left hand menu to open the page. Note: Make sure Edit Mode is enabled. The Edit Mode button is located in the top right hand corner.

http://learn.polyu.edu.hk/


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Step 4 On the Content or Assessments page, go to Assessments on the top grey menu bar. Select SafeAssignment from the drop-down menu.

Step 5 On the Add SafeAssignment page, fill in or select the assignment details in Sections 1 and 2 as appropriate.

i. Section 1 Basic assignment details

a. Name

Enter the name of assignment.

b. Points Possible

Enter the total mark for the assignment. By default, the value is set to “0.0”.

c. Due Date (optional)

Set the submission due date by either entering the date and time, or clicking the calendar and clock icons. If a due date is set, late submission is allowed and will be marked late.

d. Instructions (optional)

Enter the assignment instructions.

e. Make the assessment available

Use the default setting Yes to make the assignment viewable to students.


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Step 5 cont’d

f. Track Number of Views (optional)

Check the box if you wish to keep track of the number of times the assignment has been viewed.

g. Availability Dates

Set the time period when students can see the assignment and make submissions by either entering the date and time, or clicking the calendar and clock icons. It is possible to set only a start date or an end date. Remember to check the box(es) for the settings to be effective.

Display After is the start date when students can see the assignment and start making submissions.

Display Until is the date beyond which students will not see the assignment link and be able to make submission.

h. Draft (optional)

Check the box if you allow students to submit their work for checking without submitting it to the institutional database. You can see the draft submission and the SafeAssign Originality Report (SA Report).

i. Urgent Checking (optional)

Check the box to flag submissions as high priority in the system for quicker turnaround.

j. Student Viewable (optional)

Use the default setting Yes to let students view the SA Report. If you do not wish to let students view the SA Report, choose No.


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Step 5 cont’d

ii. Section 2 Optional Announcement If you want to create an announcement, click Yes and fill in the details of assignment announcement as appropriate.

This announcement will be displayed under the course name on the Courses tab.

Step 6 In the Submit section, click the Submit button to create the assignment. A prompt on the top will notify you upon successful creation.

A link to the assignment will now be displayed on the Content or Assessments page where the assignment has been successfully created.


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Your students will see the SafeAssignment link and be able to submit assignments according to the Start and Due Dates you have set. Below is what the students will see on their Content or Assessments page.

Clicking View/Complete, students will see the assignment information and be able to make submission accordingly.

Instructor Guide to Using Turnitin with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) B. Editing Details of a SafeAssignment

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B. Editing details of a SafeAssignment

You can edit the details of an assignment that has been created by following the steps below.

Step 1 On the Content or Assessments page, where the assignment is located, click the downward arrow button next to the assignment name.

Step 2 Select Edit from the drop-down menu.

Step 3 Edit the assignment details and options as appropriate.

Step 4 Click Submit to save your modifications.

Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) C. Submitting documents via DirectSubmit

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C. Submitting documents via DirectSubmit

Normally, students should submit the assignments themselves. In case you prefer to submit an assignment

for a student, or if you would like to submit your own work for checking, follow the steps below.

Note: 1. Make sure that you have the document on your computer.

2. SafeAssign does not allow resubmission. To resubmit a document, the instructor has to manually

delete the previous submission.

Step 1 Go to the Course home page and on the left hand menu, click Course Tools, then select SafeAssign.

Step 2 Click DirectSubmit.

Step 3 Select Private folder. Submissions in Private Folder are viewable to the individual instructor only. If you would like all instructors and teaching assistants of the same course to be able to view the submissions, choose the Shared Folder.


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Step 4 Click Submit A Paper.

Step 5 On the Paper Submission page, fill in or select the options as appropriate.

a. Check the Submit as draft option if you do not want to add the submission to PolyU’s database so that other submissions can be checked against it. If this option is unchecked, students will be asked whether they agree to submit their work to the Global Reference Database when they make a submission.

b. Check Skip Plagiarism Checking if you just want to add papers (e.g. past assignments) to PolyU’s database without generating any SA Report.

c. Select Upload File, then click Browse to locate the file (on your computer or USB) to be submitted.

Note:

Supported file types:

MS Word® (DOC and DOCX)

HTML

Plain text (TXT)

Rich Text Format (RFT)

Portable Document Format (PDF)

Zip files (ZIP)

Alternatively, you can copy and paste the document in the Paper Text box. Fill in the Paper Title as appropriate.

d. Click Submit to submit the document. A prompt on the top will notify you upon your successful submission.

You should see the name of the uploaded file listed under Filename on the Submit a Paper tab.


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Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) D. Reviewing & managing SafeAssignment submissions & SA Reports

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D. Reviewing and managing SafeAssignment submissions and SafeAssign Originality Reports (SA

Reports)

To access SafeAssignment submissions and SA Reports in LEARN@PolyU(理學網), follow the steps below.

Step 1 Go to the Course home page and on the left hand menu, click Course Tools, then select SafeAssign.

Step 2 Click SafeAssignments.

Step 3 Click the downward arrow button

next to the assignment name.

Step 4 Select View Submissions.


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Step 5 On the View SafeAssignment page, you will see the submission details.

1. To view the SA Report, click the SafeAssign

icon . The SA Report will open in a new window (see Step 6 to navigate within the SA Report).

2. To download the file in its original format, click the download icon in the File column.

3. To delete the submission, check the box under Student ID, then click Clear Checked Attempts. A prompt will show up to confirm the deletion. You may want to do delete a submission to enable resubmission.


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Step 6 To navigate within the SA Report, follow the steps below:

1. To unhighlight/highlight a matching source in the text,

click the highlighter icon ( ) next to the source in the shaded panel.

2. To exclude a source: a. Click Select Sources & Resubmit

b. Uncheck the source you wish to exclude.

c. Click Resubmit to generate a new SA Report.

Note: Exclusions are only approximate and by no means exact.

a.

b.

c.

Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) E. Understanding & interpreting SA Reports & matching percentages

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E. Understanding and interpreting SA Reports and matching percentages

The annotated SA Report below shows the range of information provided by the report.

The Similarity Index

shows the total

percentage of matching

text found in the

assignment with other

sources. The breakdown

of matches is shown in

Match Overview.

Matching

sources are

numbered and

colour-coded.

The matching percentage shows

the total percentage of matching

text found in the assignment with

other sources.

Clicking a highlighted

sentence will open a window

that shows the source details

of the matching text.

Instructor Guide to Using SafeAssign with LEARN@PolyU(理學網) E. Understanding & interpreting SA Reports & matching percentages

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The matching percentage shows the percentage of matching or highly similar text found in a submitted

paper compared against the sources stored in the system’s database. It ranges from 0% to 100%.

Matching Percentage (% range) Possible Interpretation

0-15% similar Probably no/low level of plagiarism

16-40% similar Possibly contained some plagiarized text

41-75% similar Likely to contain a significant amount of

plagiarized text

>76% similar Very high probability of blatant plagiarism

When interpreting SA Reports and matching percentages, note the following points:

The matching percentage is by no means a measurement of plagiarism found in a submitted paper.

The matches or the exclusion of such are approximations only.

The matches and suspected sources need to be examined carefully to see if proper

acknowledgements are given, and determine if plagiarism has occurred.

SafeAssign has the following warning note to users when reading SA Reports and matching percentages:

SafeAssign Originality Reports provide detailed information about the

matches found between a submitted paper and existing sources.

The SafeAssign report identifies all matching blocks of text. It is the

responsibility of the instructor and student to investigate whether the

matching text is properly referenced or not. Detailing every match

prevents detection errors due to differences in citing standards.

This guide is developed by The Working Group on Promoting Students’ Academic Integrity at PolyU. Members include: Nancy

Choi (ELC), Andy Morrall (ELC), Barbara Tam (EDC), KP Kwan (EDC), CK Leung (EIE), Alan Cheng (ITS), Susanna Tsang (LIB), May

Yeung (SAO) and Debbie Liu (ELC).

To exclude

quotes and/or

bibliography,

use the filter

function (See

Section D, Step

6.6).

To exclude

particular

sources, see

Section D, Step

6.7.

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