April 2025

Assessments in the Blackboard VLE

Assignments, Blackboard, Panopto, PebblePad, Turnitin, Ultra, Video /

Choosing assignment submission tools within Blackboard Ultra.

It can sometimes be difficult to determine which is the best submission tool to use when creating assignments for your students in Blackboard.

We have the following advice and guidance for lecturers to help with your choice. We recommend different tools depending on the assignment needs and have submission workflows which your students can follow.

The flowchart below summarises the most suitable assignment software for each submission type:

Assessment flow chart -Essay/Report: Turnitin; Group, Exam/Test, Blackboard tools: Blackboard assignment; Portfolio/Practice assessment: PebblePad; Audio/Video: Panopto

Our Blackboard Ultra Manual includes instructions for the different Assessments within the VLE and how to provide Grading and Feedback.

Turnitin Assignments

Turnitin is most appropriate for word-based assignments or those which contain a large amount of text. Submissions can be checked for originality against the global database.

We have a Turnitin staff manual and a recent Turnitin assignments blog post, which includes all relevant links and tips for tutors.

Blackboard Assignments

If large files, multiple files, zip files, or files which contain mostly imagery, need to be uploaded for an assessment – a Blackboard assignment can be used to manage submissions.

Please see our Blackboard Ultra Manual: Learn Ultra Assignments.

Panopto Assignments

If students are creating video or audio, for example, as part of a presentation – a Blackboard assignment which uses the Panopto integration is normally most useful.

We have a Panopto manual for Staff and a helpful blog post for tutors with further advice: Panopto Assignment Submission Points

PebblePad Assignments

The Ultra VLE manual includes information about PebblePad Assessments. If you require support with PebblePad, please contact the TEL Unit tel@worc.ac.uk.

We also have student FAQs for common PebblePad queries.

If you have any questions or would like to speak to one of the team about upcoming assessments, you are welcome to contact us at tel@worc.ac.uk.

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Blackboard Ultra Insights Week

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Laptop showing an online talk with a group of people on the screen.
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Week Commencing 19th May, 2025

Since the university moved to Blackboard Ultra in September, there has been a fantastic effort from academic staff to reshape and develop their modules in a variety of creative ways.

To celebrate the end of the first teaching year using the new VLE, the Technology Enhanced Learning Unit will be running a series of short online talks to showcase innovative and successful practice throughout the University, with an overarching theme of student engagement and retention. This will be in partnership with Darren Cooper, the University Lead for Continuing Professional Development in Learning and Teaching.

Topics will include:

  • Developing fully online and highly blended courses using Blackboard Ultra
  • Encouraging engagement with course readings and Talis resource lists
  • Using Blackboard for guided activities in the classroom
  • Using the reporting tools to monitor student engagement and support retention

Talks will be around 45 minutes to an hour, with time for questions at the end. The sessions will be recorded and hosted via Darren Cooper’s Learning Design For Teaching Excellence site on SharePoint, as a resource for all to use.

The finalised schedule will be published at a later date.

We hope you can join us.

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Turnitin Assignments and Submissions in Blackboard Ultra

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Turnitin Assignments and Submissions in Blackboard Ultra

With assessment deadlines approaching, now is a great time to revisit our latest guides and resources for Turnitin assignments in Blackboard Ultra. Whether you are setting up submission points or grading student work, our updated guidance will help you navigate the process smoothly.

Setting Up Turnitin Assignments

Our updated Ultra manual includes the latest recommended settings for Turnitin assignments. We advise checking these settings to ensure everything is configured correctly before your students submit their work.

Grading Turnitin Assignments

In Blackboard Ultra, there is no longer a need to manually hide the Grade Centre column before marking begins—grades remain hidden until the feedback release date. However, if you are working with an older Blackboard module, you will still need to hide grades manually. Once marking is complete, grades are automatically posted on the feedback release date.

Supporting Your Students

You are welcome to share our Ultra Resources and FAQs with students to help them navigate the submission process. We have also created a Turnitin video tutorial, which provides a step-by-step demonstration.

Here are some quick tips to help address common student queries:

✅ Resubmissions before the deadline: If the setting ‘Generate reports immediately (students can resubmit until due date)’ is enabled, students can submit multiple times. However, after the third upload, there will be a 24-hour delay before they receive a new similarity report.

✅ Allowing late submissions: We recommend enabling this option. If a student submits before the due date, they will not be able to resubmit afterwards. However, if they miss the deadline, they will still be allowed a single attempt, which will be marked as late (in red).

✅ Resubmissions and mitigating circumstances: If students require a resit or need to submit due to mitigating circumstances, a new Turnitin submission point must be created within the original module.

✅ Grade visibility: Once grades are released, they will appear in the Blackboard Ultra Grade Centre, with a ‘Posted’ label indicating they are visible to students.

Final Checklist

To ensure a smooth submission process, consider reminding students about:

🔹 The exact submission point title and location within Blackboard.
🔹 Available student support resources as deadlines approach.
🔹 Our Turnitin video guide, which provides a clear walkthrough of the submission process.

If you have any questions, please refer to our updated guides or get in touch for support!

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