1. Exploring ways on
e-marking and e-feedback with iPads
and apps for written essays
Mercedes Coca, Language Coordinator (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Catalan)
Rocío Díaz, Spanish Coordinator (UCL)
Lourdes Hernandez-Martin, Language Coordinator (Arabic and Spanish Projects)

2. Aims of project
• To explore the benefits and drawbacks for teachers (time involved, technology
needed, management of the marking process, etc.)
• To explore the benefits and drawbacks for students (time involved to submit
documents in PDF or electronically, clarity of marking notes, perceptions vis-a-vis
traditional marking, etc.)

3. Why iPads?
• Portability of this device
• To retain a degree of parity over traditional marking practice and electronic
marking practices (i.e. being able to mark in a cafe, in the train)
• To replicate their existent marking and feedback systems
• To avoid the physical demands of on-screen marking (i.e. back, wrist and neck
strain) experienced already by the participants

4. Apps to annotate PDF
Apps Notability i-Annotate GoodNotes Turnitin PDF-NOTES
within
Moodle
Cost
Features Type of file
Voice
comment
Others
Storage Dropbox
Google Drive
Returning
feedback
Dropbox sync
+ Moodle
Others

5. Average of hours to become familiar with iPad and application
Open iTunes account 30 minutes
Get familiar with iPad 2 hours
Try more than one application to
get familiar with annotating
applications and choose the one
which suits your marking system
4 hours
Getting familiar with application
and adapting application to
marking system
10 hours (includes creation of
stamps and naming stamps)
Storing and file management
issues
1 hour
Returning work issues 1 hour

6. Samples with iPad and iAnnotate.
Weekly essays

7. iPad and iAnnotate. Essay 2

8. Electronic Management Assessment for weekly essays
(https://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/electronic-management-of-assessment)
Student
submission in
Moodle:
word/PDF
Teachers’
download in
Dropbox
Marking/
Feedback
with apps
Open Moodle
Upload from
Dropbox to
Moodle
Open iPad,
and app
Open
Dropbox
PDF details, p.9

9. Teachers
Shared advantages
iPad
• Portability
• None or reduced physical strain wrists, arms and back
• Paperless
• The security of having the mark pieces backed up on an online system
• Marking process speed for some participants
App
• Possibility to include comments not only in the margins or at the end but within text
• Encourage creation of rubrics and therefore, reusing common comments
• Marking offline
• Different writing tools
Process
• The applications used are suitable and adaptable for participants’ marking style
• Encourage reflection on marking and feedback
• Improvements in feedback: clarity and more detailed
• Essays always available
• Extracting and analysing data held

10. Teachers
Shared drawbacks
iPad
• Capacity of the device does not allow to keep all students´ files
• Non acceptance of external input
• Use of cloud needed
• Cloud security issues
• One of the three teachers needed a keyboard
App
• Lack of information on applications tools
• Time needed to get familiar with application tools
• Time needed to replicate the marking/feedback systems
• Time needed to get familiar with storage and return of feedback
Process
• Increase administrative burden. Extra time spent on managing files
• Chasing up students who do not submit files into the right format (double spaced,
PDF)
• Using personal storage space in the cloud

11. Students. 2015-2016
LN121: 10 out of 18 - LN122: 8 out of 9 - LN120: 18 out of 19 - Total: 36 students
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses
Writing process
By hand Typing Don't mind

12. Students
0
5
10
15
20
25
LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses
Handing essays to teacher
In class Via Moodle Don't mind

13. Students
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses
Returning essays
(please consider confidentiality)
In class Via Moodle Don’t mind

14. Students
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses
Feedback comments on essays
Written in class Written via Moodle Oral in office hour Oral in classroom Don't mind

15. Students
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
LN121 - beginners LN122 -intermediate LN120 -advanced All courses
Archiving essays
Hard copy Digitally Don't mind

16. Students. Focus group
• Many students did not show any preference.
• Some argued in favour of hand written submissions because “exams are
hand written”.
• Students who emphasised their support for EMA gave the following
reasons:
o Moodle submission due to the deadlines and improved clarity about
turnaround times for marking.
o Confidence of knowing work is backed up
o Students report that feedback in electronic form is easier to use and
therefore more likely they will revisit it at a later date.
o Improved clarity and understanding of feedback (not least as a result of
not having to decipher handwriting).