This page describes how the new grading service works, which has been standard for all new submitted work since OnStage release 30. You can let us know what you think of this new feature via our feedback form.
When you first open the assessment screen, you'll receive a brief explanation of how the main functions work in four steps. To see this again, click the question mark at the top right of the document.
In the sections below, we will explain all the options in detail. This page can also be used as a reference.
Annotation and Feedback Options
The core of the annotation service is viewing a document and providing feedback via notes. The annotation service has a set of 10 note types that we support. These types can be found directly above the document. See below.
Some options have a shortcut that appears in parentheses when you hover your mouse over them. Some notes are added somewhere in the document, while others require you to select text. You can make this selection both before and after selecting the annotation.
Below is a list of the supported note types with their names (with any shortcut keys after them), grouped by whether they appear on selected text or are inserted into the document.
Notes on selected text:
- Underline (U)
- Highlight (H)
- Squiggly Underline (G)
- Strikeout (S)
Notes added to the document:
- Draw Square (R)
- Free Text (T)
- Freehand Highlight
- Freehand Draw (F)
- Add Note (N)
- Insert Text
Change Note Color
Each note type can have different colors. This option becomes available next to the list of annotation types once you select one. See below.
The first four colors are the suggested colors determined by the application, but a menu opens for the selected color, allowing you to choose a different color.
The last colors used are remembered for each annotation type while you are reviewing.
Changing Notes
You can change or delete notes you have created. The quickest way to delete a note is to click the eraser icon and then click and drag over an existing note in the document.
A drawn note isn't always completely removed with a quick eraser. This means this function can also be used to edit the size of a drawing or highlight.
The annotation service also offers other options for editing existing notes. You can do this by clicking on the note in the document or in the list of notes. You can edit the note in several different ways. See below:
The different functions are numbered above.
- Opens the menu to adjust the note color.
- Allows you to change the feedback text.
- Deletes the note.
- Deletes the note.
- Rotates the drawn note (only available for certain note types).
Adjustments made to the note are saved immediately.
Consolidating Notes
This feature is only available in a multi-assessor grading process where the grading can be consolidated by an assessor in the role of consolidator.
During consolidation, the user can toggle the visibility of each note created by another user. This is done by clicking the eye icon next to each note. By default, all notes are visible.
After you choose to make a note invisible, you will still see it during the grading session, but the note will be transparent. All transparent notes will be hidden from the student after the grading session is completed.
After reopening the grading session, all transparent notes will be available for re-visibility if needed.
Document functions during assessment
The grading service offers several functions for viewing the open document. For example, when you start a new assessment session, you'll notice that the document initially uses the maximum width of the screen, regardless of the screen size. This reduces the need for zooming in and out.
In addition, there are a number of other options in the upper left corner of an open grading session. We'll go through these one by one below.
Download and print:
Under the first button, you'll find several options for downloading or printing the file.
If you download the file, it will include all previously saved notes and feedback text.
Page Overview:
The second button opens the document's page overview.
Page and Document Visualization:
The third button provides options for how the pages are displayed. By default, we display one page across the entire width, which is displayed continuously. However, you can also display it in other ways if your screen allows for more space.
Zoom in and out:
Next to the button above, you'll also see the functionality for zooming in and out of the document. This functionality works by adjusting the zoom in a drop-down menu, as well as using the plus and minus buttons or the scroll function of your mouse.
Select text and Panning:
The last two buttons in this group determine how clicking with your mouse affects the document.
Other functionalities
The final buttons of the assessment screen are located in the top right corner of the screen, right next to the help button.
This set of various buttons gives you access to several useful, supporting features.
Below is a brief overview from left to right:
- Search in the document: This button opens a search bar where you can search for specific text in the document.
- Open/close notes bar: This button opens or closes the notes bar on the right side of the screen. By default, it is closed until the first note is created or clicked.
- Resubmit: This button allows the student to resubmit one or more of the submitted documents.
- Plagiarism percentage: This shows the plagiarism percentage from the plagiarism scan, if available for this document. Clicking this opens the plagiarism report in the plagiarism scanner.
The availability of buttons 3 and 4 depends on the settings for the specific process being reviewed.
The help button on the right reopens the feature introduction for the annotation service you see the first time you enter this functionality.
Keyboard shortcut support
Keyboard shortcut support
This service supports various keyboard shortcuts. The keys associated with notes are already listed in the notes themselves. Below is an overview of other keyboard shortcuts for experienced users.
- Ctrl-Z: Undo the previous change
- Ctrl-Y: Redo the previous undone change
- Backspace: Delete a selected note
- Delete: Delete a selected note
- Ctrl-Enter: Save the text while editing the note text
- Ctrl-F: Open a search function in the document
- Ctrl-Scroll: Zoom in/out of the document
- E: Open the eraser to delete/edit notes in the document
- P: Open the hand tool to scroll through the document
- Esc: Open the text selection and other options in the document
- U: Underline / Underline note
- H: Highlight / Highlight note
- G: Wavy underline / Squiggly note
- S: Strikethrough / Strikeout note
- R: Draw a square / Rectangle note
- T: Free Text note
- F: Freehand (F) note
- N: Add Note / Note (N)
How do I remember all these shortcuts?
Fortunately, you don't need to memorize all the shortcuts; the application will help you!
If you forget a shortcut, each option offers a tooltip when you hover your mouse over it. The shortcut is shown in this tooltip.
Wait a minute... where's the save button for everything I do here?
Don't worry about saving all the work you do taking notes, providing feedback, and drawing in the document. Every change you make is saved directly in the annotation service. And if anything goes wrong, you'll receive an immediate notification through an error.
If you receive such a error, we recommend closing the annotation session and reopening it. After that, everything should be fine again!