Active quiz is designed to be used in a face-to-face lecture/tutorial (ie in class), with a classroom of computers/tablets/phones (devices). See Quiz – main entry for the out-of-class quiz activity.

The teacher creates the quiz in advance – adding questions from the topic's question bank. During the lecture/tutorial, the teacher starts the quiz. Students can now connect to this quiz. Once the teacher is satisfied that all students have connected to the active quiz, they can click on 'Start Quiz'.

The teacher can review student responses in real time and re-poll the same question, go to the next question, or jump to any question set up in the activity. 

1. Plan

The better your planning/preparation, the less likely you are to run into a problem once students start doing the quiz. Therefore, it is advised that you have a process for creating your quiz. Why do you want to set up an active quiz (ie what is the quiz's purpose)? Active quiz could be used for:

• Debate/discussion in a face-to-face (f2f) session 
  
• A staged learning process: pre-session activities tested at the beginning of a f2f session, then workshopped in the session, then tested again at the end of the session (‘Session grading method’ choices are average, first session, last session, highest session grade) 
  
• Revision sessions: pre-existing quiz questions can be used as a quick poll with students to identify learning gaps
• Muddy points (knowledge/understanding) 
  
• Interactivity/inclusivity amongst diverse cohorts (if live streaming used) – external, internal etc 
  
• Classroom interactivity – competition/cooperation 
  
• Engagement with topic materials and f2f

2. Build

Set up a category and question bank 

A question bank is used to categorise quiz questions. Sorting questions into categories is especially important when random questions are used or a topic contains many quizzes. If you add a category before you add questions to the question bank, all questions created can be added to this category and they will then belong to the topic, rather than the quiz. This approach will make management easier when you are creating new quizzes (eg in the following semester) using questions from previous quizzes.

1. Add a category to the question bank
   
2. Create a new question (question types) – the most suitable questions for Active quiz are multiple choice and true/false
   

Categories in the question bank can be exported from one topic into another, enabling the questions within to be multiple use. Please contact your eLearning support team to discuss importing question bank categories.

Create an active quiz activity

1. Turn editing on using the green button – this button is available top left of screen on the topic homepage
    
2. Go to the module where you would like the active quiz to appear
   
3. Click the Add an activity or resource link at the bottom of the module
   
   
   
4. Select Active quiz from Activities tab
   
   
5. Give the Active quiz a Name and Description
   
6. Set up the Grade settings and Review options
   
• If the 'Assessed' box is left at the default (ticked) the results of the quiz will appear in the Gradebook
  
• If the 'Manual Comment' box is left ticked, you can add a comment when grading an attempt
  
  
  
  
  
  
7. Click Save and display
   
   
8. Click Edit quiz to start adding questions
   
   
9. Choose a question from your question bank. 
   For help creating questions, see Create a new question (question types).
   Create a new question, or select the category containing an existing question, then click + to add the question to the quiz
    
   
   
10. Review the question settings, and click Add question
    
    
    
11. Repeat steps 8 and 9 to add more questions

3. Test

Ask your colleagues or the eLearning support team to check the setup of your active quiz. You could also run a test session (see below for instructions).

4. Administer 

Run an active quiz session

1. In the topic, click on the Active Quiz activity you want to run
   
   
2. Enter a Session name and tick the boxes if you wish to make responses anonymous.
   When you're ready to open the session, click Start Session
   
   
   
3. Students will be able to join the session, but won't see any questions yet. Click Start quiz 
   
   
4. Students in the active quiz session will see a short countdown before the first quiz question is shown
   
   
5. You can control the question while it is shown to students by clicking on the links
   
   
   
6. Students will be able to answer the question until you click End question, or until the timer runs out (if a time limit was set)
   
   
7. Use the links to navigate between questions, re-poll questions, and hide / show results and answers
   
   
   
8. To end the session, click Close session
   

5. Review

How did it go? What did students think? Did it help achieve your purpose in creating an active quiz? These types of questions can help you refine the quiz for next time. 

Students provide responses to questions or surveys. Polling can be synchronous or asynchronous. Synchronous or real-time polling in class allows you to display and analyse the results immediately. Asynchronous polling can be used prior to a teaching session where you collect and analyse results to inform delivery of your class.

FLO Active Quiz

Good for

• Delivery of time-boxed questions (synchronous)
• Multiple poll questions in one session where the availability of each question is controlled by the teacher
• Use in-class to check understanding of materials during presentations to allow for clarification
• Use in-class to explore class views on issues for discussion

Useful features

• Active quiz is a synchronous (real-time) timed quiz
• Multiple choice (MCQ) and True-False questions will generate a dynamic histogram of answers, making them good for polling
• Functions in group mode

Cautions

• In a live classroom setting, be careful what your screen is displaying – questions other than MCQ and T/F will display identified student answers

Tips

• Create a QR code of the Active quiz URL. Insert into your lecture presentation to make it quick and easy for students to access
• Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class

Help resources

• Active quiz

FLO Choice

Good for

• Asynchronous use (eg asking a question pre-class to explore class views on issues for discussion)
• Single in-class question where time-boxing of answer is less important
• Use at beginning of class before presentation commences
• Use at end of class to determine comprehension

Useful features

• Designed as a single question asynchronous (not real time, students working on it individually at own pace/time) polling activity
• Can be used in a live setting (synchronous/real time)
• Can display a histogram of responses
• Results can be exported
• Can be run in group mode

Limitations

• Teacher will need to refresh their screen to display the choice results
• Limited layout and styling control
• Only one question per choice activity

Tips

• Generate a QR code form the choice URL. Add to lecture slide to take students directly to the poll
• Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class

Help resources

• Choice (poll/survey)

Good for

• Asking multiple questions, including free text
• Asking the class what material they would like further clarification on in tutorial or revision sessions

Useful features

• Can deliver more than one question
• Designed for surveying, responses can be anonymous
• Can be used as a live activity in class
• Results of some question types can be displayed as a histogram

Limitations

• Teacher needs to refresh the results page to see incoming responses
• Limited layout and styling control

Tips

• Create a QR code from the feedback activity's URL. Place the QR code into a lecture slide to make it efficient for students to get to the activity on a mobile device
• Advise students in advance to have a suitable device. Have students log into FLO at the beginning of the class

Help resources

• Feedback

Contents

• Introduction
• Find the Topic guide on your site 
• Open the Topic Guide
• Editing a page
• Navigation

Introduction

The purpose of this resource is to walk you through the process of filling out the new Topic Guide Template using the Book tool in FLO.

All CBGL topics must have a Topic Guide, so have introduced a new template to ensure consistency across the college and to make sure the essential items are covered. 

While it is easy to drag and drop a PDF or Word file straight into your topic page, For longer documents like the Topic Guide the Book tool is a great choice. Some features are:

• Several connected pages with a table of contents – a bit like a mini website
• Displays neatly on the course page, saving space
• Ability to include text, images, links, sound and video
• Easy to update if the information changes (no need to delete and re-upload a file!)
• More user friendly than a Word doc or PDF for students using a phone.
• Easy for students to print the contents of the book, or save as a PDF for offline use

The template is also pre-populated with generic content to save you time and ensure consistency across topics.

Find the Topic guide on your site

Each topic will have a pre-populated Topic Guide Book in the Topic information and resources module of your FLO topic site. They will be hidden from students until you fill them out and make them visible.

Open the Topic Guide

Just click to open and you will enter the pre-populated and pre-formatted book with its handy table of contents on the right.

What is on the first page?

Before you leave the first page you will notice that it has already been prepopulated for you, as have all the other pages. This is information that is common to all topics and you will need to augment it with information relevant to your own topic. Where you need to customise you will see red text, you can simply type in, or cut and paste your own text into these areas. To make changes you will need to go into edit mode.

Editing a page

In the Book tool the pages are called Chapters, and to edit a Chapter you can choose Edit settings from the cog drop down menu in the top right hand corner of the Chapter. Alternatively, you can turn editing on by clicking on the editing button in the top right of the page.

When you have turned on editing you will notice the TOC menu looks different. There are now a series of icons next to each entry.

Select the cog icon for the Chapter that you want to edit and you will go into the familiar FLO editing interface.

This will take you to the content editor view for the Chapter you have selected. You can then add or remove content, including text, tables images and video.

Navigation

Navigate between Chapters by using the Next links, or by using the TOC entries.

For further help contact the CBGL Learning Designer.

There are two main page views you will encounter in FLO: My FLO, and individual Topic pages.

My FLO

My FLO has several main navigation areas: (see image below)

1. Quicklinks - From here you can access the Library homepage, Student Portal, FLO Support resources or you can click on Topic Search to search for your topic.
2. Navigation menu - Here you can access your My Media, Calendar, and all your topics.
3. My Topics Overview - A list of all of your topics.
4. Timeline block – Provides an overview of deadlines. Deadlines may be sorted by due dates (1) or by dates or topics (2).

Topics

Navigating within any topic can be done in a number of ways:

1. Breadcrumb trail - This breadcrumb trail appears on every page. Click on the links to navigate backwards toward the topic home page or your Dashboard.
2. Navigation menu- From here you can navigate to your other topics as well as to the topic Calendar. It also displays links to the Participants list, Grades, Media Vault etc.
3. Specific topic activities and resources - Click on any specific activity or resource to open it.
4. Quick Back to Top button – Click to quickly navigate back to the top of the page, instead of scrolling up.
   
5. Topic blocks - links to standardised topic information, activities, contact details, due dates, grades, etc.
   

Anyone with a Flinders FAN can log into FLO. Each topic has a FLO site automatically created. Staff may request other sites (eg for courses, collaborative projects, committees) by contacting the eLearning support team in their college.

A link to the FLO login page is provided in the Quick links menu in the top banner of the University website or via Okta. Otherwise, type https://flo.flinders.edu.au/ into your browser address bar; this link will redirect you to Okta to sign in. Once signed in you will be redirected to FLO. 

Table of contents

1. Layout

• My FLO homepage
• Blocks

2. Customisation

• My FLO page customisations
• Profile customisations (includes photo)
• Preferences settings

3. Topics

• Find your way around (FLO features)
• Edit content in a topic (includes add a block, and add/delete a module)
• Customise the My Topics block (My FLO)
• Create starred topics for quick access (My FLO)

4. Browser compatibility

5. Log out

1. Layout

My FLO homepage

When you first log in to FLO, you will see the My FLO homepage. The My FLO page lists every topic you have a role in. Your topics are arranged in a Card layout under My Topics.

You can also see the items and topics that you have most recently accessed.

Blocks

The standard layout of the FLO homepage (My FLO) consists of blocks on the right of the screen, with the content on the left. A block is a widget that can provide a link to a feature, or can aggregate content from different areas of the site. Blocks available from My FLO can link you to upcoming assessments and latest announcements.

In your topics, the blocks can be accessed from the Topic Blocks button in the banner (top-right corner).

The blocks panel is divided into three columns. Column 1 has the Topic Links, Clock and Activities blocks. Column 2 has the Teaching team block and Column 3 has Lecture recordings and other blocks you would like to include.

2. Customisation

• My FLO page customisations
• Profile customisations (includes photo)
• Preferences settings

My FLO page customisations

To control which topics appear on your dashboard, you can star or remove them:

1. Under the topic click on the three dots
2. Choose Remove from view to hide the topic
3. Choose Star this topic to add it to your Starred list. You can access the starred list from the filter in the top-left corner of the My Topics block (FLO remembers the last filter you chose each time you come to this page).

Profile customisations (includes photo)

Every user in FLO has a profile page that is displayed to other users. To edit your profile click the picture next to your name and select Profile from the drop-down list, then the Edit profile link in the user details box.

You can edit your location, time zone and add a description about yourself. Your name and email address will be automatically added.

You can also add a picture of yourself or something you want to be identified by. You can by scrolling down to the User picture section do this by clicking the add button or drag and dropping a picture into the box with the dotted lines. You can also provide a description for the picture. Adding a picture gives you a 'social presence' in FLO and will show in some FLO activities (eg forum posts) and the Teaching Team block.

Click the Update profile button  to save your changes.

Preferences settings

Preferences, available through the profile menu, allow you to control settings that primarily control how you receive information from FLO. The following settings are available:

3. Topics

FLO topics consist of resources (eg lecture notes, files, URLs, and video files) and activities (eg assignment dropboxes, quizzes, discussion forums).

• Find your way around (FLO features)
• Edit content in a topic (includes add a block, and add/delete a module)
• Customise the My Topics block (My FLO)
• Create starred topics for quick access (My FLO)

Find your way around (FLO features)

Tools for managing learning (such as the Gradebook) can be used to record and monitor student progress In the Flinders My Topics area – this is a listing of all the topics you have access to and you can decide how you would like to view your topics – in progress, past, future or starred topics.

The standard layout for each topic consists of content (modules/weeks) in the centre, navigation menu on the left, and topic blocks in the banner image.

The top module can be used for resources that are needed throughout the semester and do not sit specifically into a weekly module, or one of the modules included in the starter site.  Note: If you are using a Collapsed topic format, the user cannot collapse the top module, and so consideration should be given to the number of resources in the top module to avoid a long scrolling experience. 

Edit content in a topic

Edit week/modules and activities/resources

With editing on, next to each activity you will see an Edit drop-down menu. This menu will allow you to move, hide, duplicate or delete the activity. 

A week/module or activity/resource can be quickly renamed using the pencil icon and moved easily using the move icon.

Note: If you using a weekly format and change the default module titles by renaming them, remember to check that date-specific resources like lecture recordings appear in the correct location before teaching begins.

Add a block

There are various blocks you can add to a topic. See the list in Add a block located at the top of the page in Topic Blocks:
    

When you have finished editing, ensure that you Turn editing off.

Add/delete a module

1. If deleting a module, delete all of the contents of the module. Otherwise, skip to the next step.
   
2. Scroll to the end of the FLO topic homepage, and select either the add or delete option.
   
3. If adding a mdoule, change the module name using the pen icon, and move to the position you want it (eg below Module 0) using the icon at the left of the module name
   

Customise the My Topics block (My FLO)

The My Topics block has filters to help you find your FLO sites. The following filters are available:

All – All your FLO sites, (except for any you have hidden)

In progress – All sites currently running (e.g. the topics you are currently teaching in)

Future – Topics you will be teaching in the future. Topics will move to In progress at the start of the semester

Past – Topics where teaching has finished

Starred – Topics you have marked for easy access (see below)

Removed from view – Topics you have removed from the All filter.

Whenever you log in to FLO, you are taken back to the filter you last chose. If you find that you are suddenly missing a topic, this can probably be fixed by checking which filter is selected.

Create starred topics for quick access (My FLO)

To access frequently used topics, you can 'star' a topic, which makes it easier to filter when you log in to FLO.

1. First, click on My Topics list in the navigation menu:
   
   
   
   
2. Scroll down and find the topic you would like to star
   
   
3. Click on the three dots
   
   
4. Click on Star this topic
   
   

Your topic will now appear in Starred, when you filter the list under My Topics.

4. Browser compatibility

FLO is compatible with any standards-compliant web browser. We regularly test FLO with the following most up-to-date browsers:

Desktop: Chrome | Firefox

Mobile: Safari | Chrome

For the best experience and optimum security, we recommend that you keep your browser up to date.

5. Log out

1. Click on your profile menu
   
2. Click on Log out
   

This troubleshooting guide relates to the FLO Interface.

Questions/problems

• FLO sends me too many emails
• The file I want to upload is too big
• I can't delete the topics links block
• When I delete the announcements it keeps coming back
• What is the FLO starter site?

FLO sends me too many emails

You can control which email notifications you receive from FLO by locating your name (once logged in) in the toolbar/banner at the top of the screen. Use the drop-down arrow to go to Preferences, then Notification preferences. From here you can disable email notifications for particular activities.

The file I want to upload is too big

FLO has a default upload size of 50MB per file. You can change this using the following steps:

1. On your topic's home page, click on the Topic Management button
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the Cog icon
   
   
   
   
3. Select Edit settings
   
   



4. Scroll down to the Files and uploads section and select the topic size you require from the Maximum upload size drop-down list (if using Video we recommend using MyMedia instead of increasing the file limit)
   
   
   
   
5. Click Save and display to apply changes

I can't delete the topic links block

This block provides key information to students about the topic and cannot be removed.

When I delete the announcements it keeps coming back.

The announcements activity is a key part of communicating with students on FLO and cannot be removed.

What is the FLO starter site?

The FLO starter site is a pre-configured starting place for a FLO topic and can be customised to work with the needs of a course or topic. Read more about the FLO starter site.

This entry relates to the FLO interface.

The Statement of Assessment Methods (SAM) lists the assessment requirements for each topic. SAMs for each topic are found in that topic's FLO site but are edited in Flex.

Where to find the SAM for your topic

The SAM is located in the Assessment module in each topic:

It shows any available SAM for your topic. If 'not available' appears in the 'Link to SAM' column, this means your SAM has either not been created or is currently in draft format and not yet published.

Where to go for SAM's support

Please visit the dashboard in FLEX  https://flex.flinders.edu.au.   This contains a complete guide for all of your SAM’s questions

This resource is people who either moderate or admistrate SAMS. If you are not a moderator or administrator, check out our general resource.

• Moderating a SAM
  
• Redrafting a live or rejected SAM
• Deleting a draft SAM

Moderating a SAM

This entry relates to styles and layout, in particular the HTML editor.

For reasons of accessibility, usability, universal design and sustainability, you are advised to apply styles that are built into the HTML editor when working with text. Categories of style usage include headings, quotes and other text elements. 

• Use Font colours to highlight a particular word or sentence. The range is limited to meet accessibility guidelines and create consistency
• Use Paragraph styles to create structure for your FLO site. Creating headings and other text styles will help you to meet accessibility guidelines 
  
• Use Styles to draw attention to particular information. This feature will help you to meet usability guidelines

Font colours

The font colour range is limited making it easier to be consistent. These colours ensure the text is readable on the screen. To view this feature you will need to expand the HTML editor menu.

Paragraph styles

Using paragraph styles will ensure that your site looks 'clean' (ie no unnecessary formatting) and consistent. These tools save you time as you don't have to worry about formatting text yourself, and are accessible to users with a sight disability, as their screen reader will be able to make sense of the text. Just as you wouldn't want to read a book that had no chapter headings or subheadings, so web users like 'chunked' text that makes reading easier.

1. In your FLO activity/resource/module, place your cursor where you want the style (eg heading) to appear, and from the toolbar menu, select the Paragraph styles icon 
2. Make a choice from the Paragraph styles menu 
   
   
   
3. Click Save changes once you have finished editing the text 

Styles

These styles can be used to highlight something important that you want students to see (eg guest lecturers, assessment items due, preparation for a workshop). Using an option in the Styles menu will make this information stand out in your FLO site.

Example:

1. In your FLO activity/resource/module, in the HTML editor toolbar click on the Show more buttons icon
   
   
2. Place your cursor where you want the style to appear, and from the toolbar menu select the Styles icon
   
   
3. Make a choice from the drop-down Styles menu
   
   
   
4. Click Save changes once you have finished editing the text
   

This entry relates to the Subtopic activity.

Library World is an introduction to using information at university. The Library interviewed over 40 Flinders academics and students to share their experience and expertise in finding information. From these interviews, we made 11 videos to give students a good foundation in what is quality and credible information at university, how to follow the scholarly conversation, what tools to use in research, and where to go for help. 

You will need to ask your eLearning support team to add the subtopic on your behalf.

Can I use it as an assessment item in my topic? 

Yes. The assessment in Library World takes the form of reflective questions. Before viewing any of the videos, students are asked three quick questions about their current information seeking practices. After working through Library World, students are asked the same questions so they can reflect on what they have learned and what they will now do differently to find information at university. 

You can add Library World to your topic as a subtopic and use as either an assessment item or a resource. 

Can I use it as a resource that is not assessed?

Yes. Let your eLearning support team know that you want Library World added as a resource only. To get grades for Library World you need to click the  button (once you have clicked on the Library World subtopic link). The weighting in the Gradebook is defaulted to 0.

Where can I get help? 

• Visit the Library Teaching and Learning Showcase for more information about Library World and other Library support for teaching and learning. Self-enrol in this site so that it appears in your 'Additional' tab. You can request (via Service One) that your eLearning support team embed resources such as the Searching the literature book in your topic site.
  
• Contact the Teaching and Learning team through Service One.
  
• Contact your eLearning support team to add Library World to your FLO topic as a subtopic.

This entry relates to the Subtopic activity.

1. Options

The following Subtopics can be added to your topic:

• Horizon Award
• Library World (separate entry)
• Academic integrity for students (i.e. the academic integrity quiz)
  
• PRE-PLACE

2. Set up

You will need to ask your eLearning support team to add the subtopic on your behalf.

Once the activity has been added, you will have a limited number of settings that you can edit:

• add a description for the activity
  
• redirect students to the subtopic by ticking the box in the Referenced topic section
• add a Group mode or Grouping in the Common module settings section
• restrict access (by activity completion, date, grade, group, grouping etc) in the Restrict access section
• add completion tracking (this will first have to be enabled at topic settings level) in the Activity completion section
  

Grades

Because grades will feed into your topic through the activity, you will need to make some minor decisions about how the grades are used.

• Set the weighting for the activity (by default it will have a weighting of 0).
  
  
  
  
  
• Set a Lock Date when your topic should stop accepting grades from the activity (this is a roundabout way of setting a due date).
  
  We recommend setting the lock date an hour after the due date specified in the SAM, to ensure that the grades have synced one last time.

3. Administer

When students click on the subtopic activity, they will go directly to the subtopic site (students have automatic access to all subtopic sites as a student at the University). They will then be able to complete the activity. The grades will then periodically sync back with your topic.

4. Reports

You can view the logs report in FLO to see if a student has clicked on the link to the subtopic. 

If you are grading a subtopic, you can also manually 'fetch' the grades. You might do this at the end of the topic, or after a specified timeframe (which you can set in the subtopic settings in the Restrict access tab). Click on the link for the subtopic to  view the screen below, then click the Fetch now button.

This entry relates to topic administration.

Course sites are like any other FLO sites, allowing you to share information and create interaction, except they are not controlled by the University timetable. This allows you to determine who has access and for how long. They can be used to facilitate the sharing of information and collaboration between groups residing outside of a single topic. The following steps are necessary when thinking about using course sites:

1. Plan the site
   
2. Request a course site 
   
3. Build the site
   
4. Evaluate the site (post set up)
   
   

1. Plan the site

When designing a course site, it is crucial to think about the site’s purpose and audience before you request it. Planning will determine the site’s structure/content and ultimate success. You may want to have a conversation with your local eLearning support team. 

Some of the advantages of using course sites are:

• Streamlining shared resources (one-stop-shop for teaching resources, forms, etc.)
  
• Orientation/induction (course perspective)
  
• Opportunity for students to ‘meet’ other students across years/disciplines and work collaboratively on projects outside the scope of their topic
  
• Networking in a profession/the University (e.g. mentoring, student societies)
  
• Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) (e.g. employment opportunities)
  
• Get feedback from students on a whole course
  
• Providing access to key information for the life of the students’ course
  

Your audience/users might be:

• All students enrolled in a particular course(s)
  
• All students enrolled in certain topics (e.g. all Archaeology students, using all ARCH topic codes)
  
• Students enrolled in specific topics 
• Students with a specific link to self-enrol in the site

2. Request a course site 

As the site administrator/s or course coordinator, use Service One to send a request to your local eLearning support team. They will set up the site and allow access for specified users. 

You will need to provide key information with your request:

1. Proposed name of the site 
   
2. Description of the purpose of the site (see possibilities above)
   
3. Rollover method: do you want the course site to be rolled each year or it is an ongoing site? Ongoing sites stay the same year after year
4. FANs of staff who will be responsible for maintaining the site and teaching team who needs to have access and their preferred roles (Topic administration – roles in FLO)  
   
5. Rules for populating (course codes, lists of topics, topic prefix, self-enrol)
   
6. Suitable course site format (collapsed modules or grid)
7. Consideration of requirement for restriction of access to one organisational area (open or self-enrol options) - discuss this with eLearning
   
8. Approval or endorsement of college if appropriate.

3. Build the site

FLO Staff Support contains the following resources to may help you develop your site:

• Topic administration – main entry
  
• Styles and layout - main entry
  
• Edit content in a topic (FLO interface – main entry)

You may also consider adding a course site welcome video which help your students connect with their course coordinators and provide a more personalised approach to the site.  Below you can find an example of a short welcome video for the Bachelor of Criminology course site.

4. Evaluate the site (post set up)

If you are a site administrator, you will want to evaluate the site’s usage on a regular basis (e.g. twice per year). Some suggested approaches are: 

• Seek feedback from your target audience – you could use the feedback activity for this purpose, and post an announcement (this post will go to everyone enrolled in the site) to encourage users to provide feedback
  
• Review forums for common questions or points of discussion (how can FAQs be useful for future years?)
  
• Access FLO reports about site use: 
  
• How often is the site accessed by the target audience?
• How recently was the site accessed by the target audience?
  
• What is your audience doing in the site (e.g. accessing support materials, participating in a forum)?

Once that you have collected and analysed your data, you can re-evaluate your site:

• Is the site working: visual design, online engagement, and purpose?
• What activities and resources are used/not used?
• What does user feedback tell you?
• Has the site’s purpose changed over time?
• Are there new developments?
• Is it sustainable? How can we improve overall site maintenance over the years?

Students will access FLO from different time zones. Settings inside FLO and on user's personal devices will affect how dates and times display in FLO.

Where is the date and time displayed in FLO?

Time is displayed in many locations in FLO:

• Timeline block – a centralised place for students to see upcoming due dates
• Calendar – a centralised place where all dates and events in a topic are collected/recorded
• Activity index pages – accessed from the activities block and the topic management panel, the activity index pages contain a variety of information depending on the tool you are looking at, such as due dates, number of attempts/submissions, unread posts, etc.
  
• Activity settings – for example, assignment due dates, quiz times, restrict access by date/time
• Text-based content – for example, within lecture recording links, documents, pages and descriptions
• The interface of the activity – for example, scheduler, attendance, forums
• Blocks – eg. Clock block, upcoming events block, activities block
  

How is the time displayed in FLO?

FLO displays dates and times based on the time zone setting in each user's profile preferences. All user's initial FLO time zone is set to server time, which is the current time in Adelaide, South Australia. Server time automatically adjusts for Adelaide Daylight Saving Time. 

Users can choose to set a different time zone in their profile preferences. FLO will then display most times and dates converted to their chosen time zone, with a few notable exceptions. These exceptions are listed below.

Note: FLO's time zone settings do automatically update with your device's settings.

Individual tools and activities in FLO will display times:

• as the time in Adelaide
  
• converted to the time zone in a user's preferences
  
• converted to the time zone on the user's device.
  

Individual tools and activities in FLO may obtain the current time from one of three sources.

Time displayed	Tool
Adelaide time (server time)	Clock block*, Assignment extension requests, Lecture recordings, Statement of Assessment Methods (SAMs), Turnitin feedback studio (similarity reports)
Converted to the time zone in a user's profile preferences	Active quiz, Assignment, Attendance, Calendar, Chat, Choice, Database, Dialogue, Feedback, Forum, Glossary, Group self-selection, Lesson, OU blog, Quiz, Scheduler, Self and Peer Assessment, Turnitin draft tool, Wiki Restrict access settings by date/time Dates entered into the topic calendar
Converted to the time zone on the user's device	Clock block*, Collaborate

*A block you can add to your site that shows all users both Adelaide time and their local time.

Third-party sites (e.g. KuraCloud, Mobius, textbook publishers) are dependent on the publisher and may vary.

Tip: Be aware that FLO displays and operates within most FLO tools as a 24-hour clock for staff when setting dates and times, and displays as a 12-hour clock to students.

Tip: You can also manually add key dates to the calendar , for example, you could add Collaborate session times as an important additional support for students in different time zones.

This entry relates to topic administration.

Topic rollover is the process of creating a new topic space in FLO, applying a template, and applying content to it in line with the topic coordinators’ requirements, all in preparation for the next teaching period.

Once topics have been rolled over, there are additional support resources that may be helpful:

• Preparing for teaching in FLO
  
• Contact your College eLearning support team

Once you have built, adjusted the settings, and edited your topic in preparation for student access, you can preview it as a student to see what it looks like from a user perspective (rather than as an administrator).

• How sites are created
  • Shared topics
  • Course sites
  • Short courses
    
• Topic settings
• Topic coordinator/teacher role options
• Change your topic format
• Upload a banner to your topic (separate entry)
• Change the maximum upload file size available in your topic
• Turn on completion tracking in your topic
• Manage groups in your topic
• Recover deleted items using the Recycle bin (separate entry)
• Dates and times in FLO (separate entry)
  
• Roles in FLO (separate entry)
• Editing your topic
  
  • Adding a new activity or resource
  • Moving activities, resources and blocks
    
• User management
  • View a list of participants
  • Contact a student (messaging tool)
  • Download a list of student list FANs (for emailing)
    
• Reports

1. How sites are created

Topics are automatically created in FLO using data from Student Two. If your topic does not appear, contact your local eLearning support team for assistance. Staff have access to topics 77 days prior to the teaching start date, with students getting access 7 days before the start of teaching. See:

• Topic production cycle for information about topic rollover and access
• Preparing for teaching in FLO for tasks you may need to do leading up to and during teaching.
• Technical checklist for online teaching is designed to help you optimise your FLO site for online students with slow internet.
  

Both staff and students have access for 730 days after teaching finishes, except when a student withdraws or a staff member is removed from the teaching team in Student Management.

Shared topics

A shared topic combines several cohorts (topic availabilities) into one FLO site.  View more information and guidelines

Course sites

Depending on its purpose, a course site may be set up to support students across topics/programs and/or staff. View more information and how to set up

Short courses

It is possible to create a non-award (short) course in FLO using existing infrastructure, though some processes are less automated than what is possible for award topics. View more information

2. Topic settings

You can do many things under the Topic management menu.

• Topic coordinator/teacher role options
• Change your topic format
• Upload a banner to your topic (separate entry)
  
• Change the maximum upload file size available in your topic
• Turn on completion tracking in your topic
• Manage groups in your topic
• Recover deleted items using the Recycle bin (separate entry)
• Dates and times in FLO (separate entry)
  
• Roles in FLO (separate entry)
  
  

Topic coordinator/teacher role options

The Topic management panel can be opened by clicking the button (cog icon) on the main menu. As a teacher, you will see more options than a student. It gives you access to activities, the question bank, badges and user links. If you are on your topic's home page, you will also be able to access topic administration features (through the Actions menu ).

Change your topic format

You can use different formats to change the organisation and structure of your topic.

1. On the homepage of your topic, open the Topic management window and click the Actions menu cog
   
   
   
   
2. Select Edit settings in the drop-down list
   
   
   
3. Under Topic format, change Format to either Grid format or Collapsed modules. See examples of topic formats (Example FLO sites)
    
   Collapsed modules – shows your topic in a format where modules can be toggled/collapsed (recommended).
   Grid format – shows your topic in a visual grid format (alternative format, requires images and may have additional rollover tasks each semester).
   
   
4. Select the number of modules you require
   
   
   
5. In the Hidden modules section, select your preference ( Hidden modules are completely invisible is recommended)
   
   
   

Upload a banner to your topic

A banner is designed to give a face to your site and make it recognisable to your students. The banner is visible on top of the site, as well as on the topic 'card' on the MyFLO page.

Change the maximum upload file size available in your topic

This is managed in the Files and uploads section. By default, topics are set at 40MB but can be changed to accept files up to 2GB. If you need to upload video/audio, please follow the Kaltura (My Media) process.

Turn on completion tracking in your topic

This setting controls completion tracking topic wide. By default, completion tracking is not enabled.

Manage groups in your topic

A group or grouping can be used on two levels — topic level and activity level. When the group mode is switched on at the topic level this is the default for all activities in the topic (including filtering in the gradebook and in participants/enrolled users pages). To enable group mode in a topic, follow the steps below.

1. In the Groups section, select either Visible groups or Separate groups
   
   Separate groups – Each group can only see their own group, others are invisible.
   Visible groups – Each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups. (The other groups' work is read-only.)
   
   
   
2. If Force group mode is set to Yes, the Group mode setting is applied to every activity in the topic. Group mode settings in each activity are then ignored.
   
   
3. Assign a default grouping (if required)
   
   Note: Students can see the membership of any group, so don't name groups based on extensions, grades, language proficiency or medical conditions.

3. Editing your topic

In this section, we go through the editing within the topic using an activity, resource or block.

1. To begin editing your topic, click the Turn Edit On button
    
   
   
2. To add a new activity or resource, click the Add an activity or resource link that will now be available at the bottom right corner of each module 
    
   
   
3. The activity chooser window will open – it has tabs for different views:
   

   Starred – any activity or resource you (the teacher) 'star' as a favourite or frequently used activity
   All – all  Activities and Resources together
   Activities – only Activities
   Resources – only Resources
   
   

4. To edit existing activities and resources, select an option from the Edit menu that appears as a drop-down list alongside each item and click Edit settings
   
   
   
5. To change the name of an activity or resource, you can also click the Edit title button. Press Enter on your keyboard to save the new title
   
   
   
6. To move activities and resources up and down the page, hover over the Move resource icon and then click and drag the item to its preferred location. Activities and resources can be moved both within and between modules
   
   
   Blocks can be moved in a similar fashion. Click the Topic Blocks button to view existing blocks. Blocks can be positioned in Column A, Column B or Column C by clicking and dragging using the Move block icon. A block can also be moved up and down within the same column.
   
   
   

4. User management

In the User management section, you can do a variety of tasks relating to users in your topic.

• View a list of participants
• Contact a student (messaging tool)
• Download a list of student list FANs (for emailing)
  
  

View a list of participants

You can view a list of all users in your topic on the Participants screen.

1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
   
   
   Or open the Topic management window and select Participants in the User Links section
   
   
   
   
2. A list of participants will show
   
   
3. You can use the search filter to find participants in the FLO site based on:
• Name
• Student ID or FAN
• Role (e.g. student, tutor)
• Group name
• Who currently has access (active)
• How long they have been inactive
  
  

1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
   
   Open the Topic management window and select Participants in the User Links section
   
   
   
   
2. A list of participants will show
   
   
3. Use the search filter to find participants with a particular role, inactivity, or membership to a group
    
   
   
4. Select individual students by clicking in the box alongside their name 
    
   or tick the Select all box at the top of the list
   
   
5. Select the required format from the With selected users... drop-down list
    
   The .csv or .xlsx file can be opened in Excel.

5. Reports

You can view a wide variety of reports in your topic. Available reports:

• Competency breakdown – allows teachers to view the competencies of each student in their topic, along with their ratings
• Dates – allows you to filter by activity and change the dates for multiple activities all on the one screen
• Engagement analytics – provides information about student progress against a range of indicators
• Logs – provides logs for the topic activity for users, these can be generated by selecting any combination of group, student, date, activity, actions and level
• Live logs – provides live logs for the topic including time, user name, topic, component, event name, description, origin and IP address
• Activity logs – shows the number of views for each activity and resource
• Topic participation – a report for a particular activity can generate a list of who has participated in a given activity, and how many times. This can be filtered by role, group, and action (view or post).
• Resource activity – this report details a list of activities showing the number of views, students, not accessed and last accessed
• Statistics – generates graphs and tables of user activity

View Reports - main entry for more information. You can also contact your local eLearning support team.

This entry relates to topic administration.

The Online Learning and Teaching team can assist with:

• Learning design advice (course structure, content and strategies)
• Creation of FLO site
• Assigning 'category administrator' access (so that someone can add students to FLO sites)
• Rolling over a site for a new cohort
  
• Skills development support
  

1. New courses: Request learning design advice (contact your local Learning Designer)

• Advice on course structure
  

  Discuss options for how the course is structured, how you want participants to engage with the digital learning environment and how completions will be administered.
  

• Advice on content and strategies
  You can create the non-award (short) course using the standard FLO tools and activities, curate outside sites in the FLO site, or embed SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) packages into FLO. Advice is focused on the tools within the FLO ‘ecosystem’. It may be possible to transfer existing content into FLO if existing online courses are hosted on Moodle platforms. 
  
  

2. Create FLO site (Service One request) 

• FLO site creation
  The Online Learning and Teaching (OLT) team can create a FLO site for your non-award (short) course. This may consist of a single site, a series of discreet sites, or linked sites. We can advise you, dependent on your requirements.
  
  
• Category Administrator role assigned
  One person can be enrolled as the site/s owner, with the Category Administrator role, enabling them to manage access to the FLO site. Once participants in a course have been assigned a FAN, and once they have activated the FAN, they can be granted access to the FLO site.
  

• Repeat site for a new cohort
  If the course will be run in several iterations, content from the existing FLO site can be 'rolled' into a new site for each new iteration. This strategy enables you to manage cohorts discretely. The alternative is to manage existing and new enrolments within the one FLO site. 
  
  

3. Skills development  

• Skills development
  Online Learning and Teaching teams can provide workshops and 1:1 support for staff who will be developing and teaching using the FLO sites. Please note that the Online Learning and Teaching team are not resourced to build FLO sites for non-award (short) courses. 
  

The Preparing for teaching in FLO site is useful for tracking FLO-related tasks associated with effective topic coordination (whether you are a new/existing topic coordinator or other staff members with topic responsibilities). Links to Uni-wide/college-level support resources/information are provided in the site.

As well as including detailed month-by-month modules (leading into the teaching of the topic), there is an Interactive checklist of key tasks (quick view) (Module 0) in case you are not starting within the ideal timeframe (2-3 months prior to topic commencement).

This entry mainly relates to 'Build' in Topic administration - main entry, although it includes some information around when the topic is running and once the topic is finished.

This entry relates to styles and layout, topic administration, and any situation where you set up activities and resources.

FLO allows you to preview your content and activities as a student would. This is particularly useful when checking the setup and design of your topic (the building and testing phases).

Steps

1. In your topic, in the top toolbar, open the drop-down menu next to your name/login
   
   
   
2. Click Switch role to...
   
   
   
3. In the next screen, select Student from the list (note that this view may not be perfect – see Moodle: Switch roles for more information) 
    
   
   
4. You will notice that Student appears under your profile name. You can now navigate around your site as a student would.
   
   
   
5. To return to your normal role, click the Return to my normal role link under the drop-down My FLO menu
   
   

This entry relates to topic administration. 

If you accidentally delete an activity or resource from the topic page you can restore it using the Recycle bin.

When you delete an item, it’s stored in the Recycle bin for 28 days before it’s permanently deleted.

The Recycle bin (from the Actions menu in the Topic Management window) will only be visible when there are items within to restore. After an item is deleted it can take a few minutes for it to appear in the Recycle bin.

1. On your topic's home page, click on the Topic management button
    
   
   
2. In the Topic management window, click the Actions menu cog (top right corner)
   
   
3. Select Recycle bin from the drop-down menu
   
   
   
4. Locate the item you wish to recover and click the Restore icon
   
   
   
5. A message will appear stating the selected item has been restored
   
   

Once an activity / resource has been restored, it should be located at the bottom of the module in which it was originally in.

This entry relates to topic administration. 

Staff can be added to FLO through two different methods, depending on the purpose:

• Roles available in FLO via the Student Management System
  E.g. Topic Coordinator, Teacher, Tutor
  These roles are assigned by Student Administration Services teams at a college level, and requests can be made via Service One (Education > FLO - Teaching Team Member Update)
  
  
• Roles available in FLO via direct entry in FLO
  E.g. Guest Lecturer, Learning Support, Observer, Reviewer
  These roles are assigned by eLearning support teams in colleges, and requests can be made via Service One (Education > FLO - General Query)

If you have any questions relating to roles in FLO, contact your local eLearning support team.

Student Management roles

Non-teaching roles available within FLO

This entry relates to topic administration.

A shared topic combines multiple topic availabilities into a single FLO site.  

A shared topic could be useful if you teach a topic in multiple locations or teach multiple topics with the same content (eg for different discipline areas). 

Shared topics can also enable a more social learning experience if they bring together many small groups of students or individuals.

Shared topics must be created before students have access. Contact your eLearning support team to create a shared topic. 

Guidelines for shared topics 

• Let your students know they are participating in a shared topic site 
• Internal and distance – the FLO site must be designed for online delivery (see the Structuring your FLO site tip sheet) 
  
• Undergraduate and postgraduate – activities and assessment must be appropriate to the AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework) level of the student enrolment and clearly communicated to students to avoid any confusion 
  
• Gradebook – grading can be complex in shared topics due to different SAMs. Please make sure you contact your eLearning support team for assistance with setting up the gradebook as early as possible

---

What do shared topics look like?

Shared sites are mostly the same as a regular FLO site, but with a couple of minor differences.

Naming

The names of shared topics are a combination of the availabilities in the shared site. The names are kept as concise as possible while still providing the same level of information. For example:

1. PALL8441 ONC-U-S1 + ONL-FLN-S1 2022 Understanding Cancer Is a combination of the ONC-U-S1 (Bedford Park) and ONL-FLN-S1 (online) availabilities.
   
   
2. NURS1004 ONC-U-NS1 + ONC-RV-NS1 2022 Physical Dimensions of Being Human is a combination of the ONC-U-NS1 (Bedford Park) and ONC-RV-NS1 (Riverland) availabilities.
   
   
3. COMP9700(A-D) ONC-TON-S1 2022 Masters Thesis (4.5/18 units) is a combination of COMP9700A, COMP9700B, COMP9700C and COMP9700D. All are taught at the Tonsley campus (ONC-TON-S1).
   
   
4. AMST3013 ONC-ADL-NS1 + GOVT9004 ONC-U-S1 2022 The Alliance and the Re-Emergence of China is a combination of AMST3013 ONC-ADL-NS1 (Undergraduate, taught at Victoria Square) and GOVT9004 ONC-U-S1 2022 (Postgraduate, taught at Bedford Park)

Groups

The Student Two groups will be named differently so you can easily identify which groups belong to each availability. A group will also be created for each availability shared into the FLO site.

Statement of Assessment Methods (SAM)

While students will only see the SAM for the availability they are enrolled in, you will be able to access all of the SAMs from the SAM tool.

This entry relates to topic administration. 

In FLO the role of auditing student has been renamed to ‘Student equivalent’, in order to try to avoid confusion. The term auditing student has a very specific meaning. According to policy, auditing students are not permitted access to FLO. Therefore, asking for someone to be given access to FLO as an auditing student is a conflicting request.

The ‘student equivalent’ role has the same permissions in FLO as a student role. Requests for users to be added to FLO topics using the ‘student equivalent’ role can be sent to your college eLearning support team via Service One.

‘Student equivalent’ may be an appropriate role to assign in the following situations:

• Demo student for testing / reviewing purposes
  
• A student completing a research project who may benefit from access to teaching materials
  
• Students listed as ‘Incomplete’ who may benefit from access to teaching materials
  
• Temporary access to a past topic for students repeating that topic
  
• Access for RPL requirements
  
• Access to an undergraduate topic for a postgraduate student
  

Additional references

• Auditing a topic – University webpage
  
• Auditing a topic – University policy library
  

What is Suspended or Not current status?

The Participants screen shows all students and teaching staff associated with the topic. If you see a user whose status is Suspended or Not current, this means the user is no longer able to access the topic.

Reasons for Suspended status:

• a student withdrew
  
• a staff member was removed from the teaching team
• their access has expired
  
• they have a sanction on their account

Reasons for Not current status:

• their access hasn't started
• their access has expired 
  

How to get a list of active students

1. Open the Participants screen via the Participants link in the Navigation menu (left of your screen)
   
   
   Or open the Topic management window and click Participants in User Links section
   
   
   
   
2. A list of participants will show
   
   
3. In the filter at the top of the screen, select Status from the drop-down menu, choose Active then click the Apply filters button
   
   
   
4. All active participants will show (students and staff)
   
   
5. To only see active students, add a second filter by clicking the Add condition link, choose Role then Student, set the Match filter to All and click the Apply filters button
   
    
   
   By default, the gradebook only shows active students, so you can also view the list of active students in the Grader report screen. See Gradebook – view students’ grades for more information.
   
    
   

Slow internet could be a realistic scenario for students studying online, so the following checklist is designed to help you optimise your FLO site and enhance the student experience.

What to check: Embedded video

For every embedded video on the page, there is significant data downloaded every time the topic page loads. The only video that should be embedded on the homepage is the welcome video.

How to check:

• Scroll down your topic page and count the number of embedded videos you have.
  
• If your topic is using grid layout, turn editing on before you start your count. Although a student only sees one module at a time, all of the content in the modules loads in the background every time the topic is loaded.

How to fix:

• Create a page resource and embed the video within that page. 

What to check: Images

Images can have large file sizes if they haven’t been saved for viewing online. All images should be resized and optimised before inserting into FLO.

The image dimensions and quality and file type all contribute to file size. JPG or PNG file formats are ideal:

•  JPG will allow better quality with smaller file size, particularly for photographs or images with many colours.
• PNG is a good file type for icons or illustrations with limited colour palettes.

How to check:

• Review the file size of all images used in your FLO site.
• If you are using the Firefox browser: right-click the image and select ‘View Image Info’ from the pop-up menu. This will provide file size, pixel dimensions and the file type.
• If you are using the Chrome browser: right click the image and select ‘Open image in new tab’ from the pop-up menu. The tab title will provide the filename (type) and pixel dimension (hover the mouse pointer over the tab to see full image details). Right-click the image and select ‘Save as’ to determine the file size.

How to fix: 

• Right-click the image and save it to your computer. 
• Open the image using graphic editing software – all Flinders staff can download SnagIt from the IDS Support Portal | Install Software.
• Resize the image using SnagIt.
• Edit the FLO site and replace the image with your new version.

What to check: Images used for headings or titles

Images use up more data than text. Additionally, any text in an image can not be read by screen readers, which may be used by some students with vision impairments.

How to check:

• Can you highlight letters and words with your cursor? If yes, then it is text. 
• Can you click on the heading and start to drag it? If yes, then it is an image.
• If you right-click the item does the pop-up menu have image related options? If yes, then it is an image.

How to fix:

• Remove the image and replace it with text. 
• Use a heading style in the HTML editor to provide emphasis. 

What to check: File sizes

Be mindful of the file size of files such as PDF, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, etc. The larger the file the slower it will download. Ensure the file size is displayed to students. Aim for 5-10 MB, the smaller the better, whilst retaining the file readability.
  

How to check: 

• All uploaded files display the file type and size after the link name. 

How to fix:

• Show file size & type in FLO 
• Reduce PowerPoint and Word file size by compressing images.  (tip: choose the option “Apply to all pictures in this file”). This will also reduce the size of PDFs created from these files.
• Reduce the file size of PowerPoint files by removing un-used background layouts or use the PowerPoint template for online teaching.

What to check: Progress bars

There are indications that progress bars can have an impact on load times. If your students are reporting problems loading your site, you may need to consider removing progress bars.

How to fix: 

• Discuss with your eLearning team if your students complain of slow page load times

What to check: Video content

If your students are reporting extremely slow internet and problems accessing video on your site, you may need to consider offering a text-based or audio-only alternative for video resources.

How to fix:

• For videos in Kaltura - create a transcript (turn on auto-captioning and download transcript). Add the transcript to your FLO site as a page or a file.
• For other videos – source an article or another resource that addresses the same content

This entry relates to the Quiz activity.

Your quiz may have a range of question types, including essay and/or short answer. The Essay question is the only one designed for manual grading.

Manually grade an essay question

The Manual grading report enables markers to manually grade written submissions within a quiz. This grading method is automatic for the Essay question type (irrespective of what the quiz is set to).

1. In the topic, click on the Quiz activity
   
2. Click on the Actions menu cog in the top-right corner, then select Manual grading
   
   
3. In the Questions that need grading screen, click on the grade link in the To grade column 
    
   
   
4. Use the Options section to choose which questions to mark and the order in which they appear
    
   
   
5. Underneath the options, you will see a list of student responses to be marked.
   The student's response appears in the blue box. Include your comments and a mark in the green box  
     
   
   
6. Click Save and go to next page when you have finished marking all those displayed. When you have marked all of the questions, you will be prompted to return to the Questions that need grading screen, with the responses that you marked now appearing in the Already graded column. 
     
   
   

Manually grade automatically graded questions

If you want to manually grade questions other than the essay question (eg the Short answer question type), you will have to override the automatic mark for that question. 

1. In the topic, click on the Quiz activity
   
   
2. Click on the Actions menu cog in the top right corner, then select Manual grading
   
   
   
3. Click on Also show questions that have been graded automatically (above the table of questions and grades)
   
   
4. In the next screen, find the Already graded column and click on the Update grades link
   
   
   
5. Use the Options section to choose which questions to mark and the order in which they appear
         
   
   
6. Underneath the Options, you will see a list of student responses to be marked. The student's response appears in the blue box. Include your comments and a mark in the green box. Save the changes. 
   

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Overrides are used to create multiple due dates for different students (eg different due dates for different tutorial groups, or individual due dates for each student), or to facilitate a resubmission. Overrides are not an alternative to granting an extension using the Assignment extension request tool or the Assignment grading screen.

If you want to create a group override, you may need to also set up groups in your topic. 

• Group alternative due date (override)
• User alternative due date (override)

Group alternative due date (override)

1. Open the assignment
   
   
2. Click on the cog in the top right corner of the screen and select Group overrides
   
   
3. Click on the Add group override button
   
   
4. In the next screen, choose a group from the Override group box (required)
   
   
5. Edit the relevant dates for the group you have selected. Allow submissions from, the Due date and/or Cut-off date. You can remove a date by unticking the relevant Enable box.
   
   
   
   
   Timeline block: Group override dates don't currently show to students
   
   
   
6. Click Save (if you need to enter more overrides, click Save and enter another override)
   
   

User alternative due date (override)

 This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

When you set up an assignment activity, you can choose to either automatically give students the chance to resubmit until they receive a pass mark (as specified by you) or manually control when resubmissions are given. If you are using this feature to allow resubmissions as per the Assessment Variation Procedure then it is recommended that the manual setting is used.

The resubmission feature allows both staff and students to review the full submission history (a resubmission will not overwrite a previous submission), including all submissions and feedback.

• The resubmission process
• Enable resubmissions on an assignment
• Granting a resubmission to an individual student
• How to view an earlier attempt

The resubmission process

Students, having met the criteria stated in section 6 of the Assessment Variation Procedures, can request to resubmit an assessment. Students do this by emailing you a Notification of Intent, as outlined on the resubmission page. Depending on the nature of the assessment, you may need to facilitate this resubmission through FLO.

The instructions below cover how to enable resubmissions through the assignment activity. For advice on other activities, contact your local Learning Designer.

Note: When granting a resubmission for an assignment, FLO will consider the new extension date and time as the submission due date and time for that assignment submission and not the original due date and time. In the example above, the assignment was submitted at 12.38 PM on 25 May, 2021. In the image on the left, the original assignment due date was 12.45 PM on 25 May 2021. The assignment is calculated to be about 5 minutes early. In the image on the right, the new assignment extension due date was 12.50 PM on 25 May 2021. The same assignment is then calculated to be about 10 minutes early.

The settings that enable resubmissions to occur

Important: If enabling resubmissions as per the Assessment Variation Procedure, these settings should only be changed AFTER the assignment has been marked and feedback returned to students.

1. Edit your existing assignment
   
   
2. Expand the Submission settings section
   
   
3. Select either Manually or Automatically until pass from the Attempts reopened list
   
   
   If you are using this feature to allow resubmission as per the Assessment Variation Procedure then you should choose Manually, and use the settings in the individual marking form (see instructions below: Granting a resubmission to an individual student).
   
   Note: If Automatically until pass is selected, you will need to open the Grade section of this page and configure the Grade to pass setting so that FLO knows when to re-open the submission for the student. 

4. Select the maximum number of times a student can resubmit by choosing a number (or Unlimited) for the Maximum attempts setting
   
   Note: this field is most important if using the 'Automatically until pass' option for the 'Attempts reopened' setting, as this can limit the number of times a student is able to resubmit. Configuring this field when 'Manually' is selected for the Attempts reopened setting will limit the number of times a student can resubmit.
   

Granting a resubmission to an individual student

1. Grade the student using the individual marking form (View all submissions > Grade).
   
   
2. At the bottom of the right panel is the Attempt settings section. In this section, change Allow another attempt to Yes.
   
   
   
3. If the new due date extends past the due date or cut off date, you will need to add a user override to set a new due date and cut off date.
   

How to view an earlier attempt

1. Open the individual marking form for the student (View all submissions > Grade). 
   
   
2. Scroll down to the very bottom of the panel on the right side of the screen. Click on the button titled View a different attempt.
   
   
3. Select the attempt you wish to review and click on the View button.
   
   

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The online annotation feedback method allows you to open PDF assignments in your browser (eg Chrome, Firefox, Safari), provide comments and annotations, and save without needing to download and upload submissions into FLO.

Students can submit in either Word, Open Office (.odt) or PDF file format. If they submit in Word, FLO will generate a PDF file, as you will use PDF annotation tools to mark it up online.

• Annotate online – steps
• Add a comment to a quicklist (save time)

Annotate online – steps

When marking online, you can annotate student assignments, provide a grade and feedback all in the one screen. In the 'individual marking form' for each student, you will see the student's 'Submission status' (eg Submitted for grading – once you have graded the assignment this will change to Graded). Depending on how the assignment activity is set up, you will also see a Grade box, a Feedback comments box (if enabled), and a Feedback files box (if enabled).

1. Click on the Assignment link in your topic
   
   
2. In the next screen you will see a Grading summary – how many students have submitted, how many need grading etc. Use the Visible/Separate groups box (depending on how the assignment has been set up) to select a group you need to mark (if applicable)
   
   
   
3. Click the View all submissions button to see the list of students, and then click on an individual student's submission (Grade button). Alternatively, you can go straight to the first student assignment listed in the Grading summary screen by clicking on the Grade button (next to the View all submissions button).
   
   
   
4. To move between students, use the arrows in the Change user box (top of screen) to move to the next student's submission. You can also select a specific student from the drop-down list
    
   
   
5. Look at the bottom right side of the screen for the individual student – there are options for how the screen is displayed. Your choice will depend on what you want to do at that time – mark the submitted file, complete the feedback file (rubric, marking guide, checklist), or provide feedback and a grade. You can switch between each of these screens as you mark. How you have set up the assignment (eg with a marking guide/rubric/checklist) will determine your viewing options
    
   
   
6. The first page of the PDF submission is displayed. The annotations toolbar appears at the top of the page. You may need to click the down arrow to see all tools.
   
   
   
   The following table outlines the tools and keyboard shortcuts available for online annotation. Note: Keyboard shortcuts are activated by pressing Alt + Shift + Keyboard shortcut.

   Icon	Keyboard shortcut	Description
   	h g	h = Search comments  g = Expand/collapse all comments
   	q h	Rotate – You can use the rotate icons to change the orientation of an uploaded document, for example, if the student submitted it in landscape mode  q = Rotate 90 degrees to the left   w = Rotate 90 degrees to the right
   	z	Comments – Adds a comment box to the PDF. Once a comment has been typed into a comment box, it can be added into your comment 'quicklist' (see instructions below). Any comments in your quicklist can be inserted again by clicking the small box (top right of the comment box) and selecting from the drop-down list. To delete a comment, click in the small box and choose 'Delete comment' from the menu. Note: The colour of the comment box can be chosen using the Comment colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'x' to select the colour picker.
   	c	Select – Used to move or deleted previously added annotations. (Deleting comments can be done using the comments tool – see above.)
   	y	Pen – Adds a freehand colour line to the submission.   Note: The colour of the freehand line can be chosen by the colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'r' to select the colour picker.
   	u	Line – Adds a coloured straight line to the submission.  Note: The colour of the line can be chosen by the colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'r' to select the colour picker.
   	i	Rectangle – Adds a coloured rectangle to the submission.  Note: The colour of the rectangle can be chosen by the colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'r' to select the colour picker.
   	o	Oval - Adds a coloured oval to the submission.  Note: The colour of the oval can be chosen by the colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'r' to select the colour picker.
   	p	Highlight – Adds a highlight line to text/images.  Note: The colour of the highlight can be chosen by the colour picker, or by using the shortcut key 'r' to select the colour picker.
   	n	Stamp – Adds a stamp to the page. The stamp appearance is chosen from the stamp drop-down list. A stamp can either be simply applied by clicking the screen, or by clicking and dragging the stamp to the size you require.

   
   
   
7. To navigate between pages, either use the Previous page / Next page buttons, or select a specific page number from the drop-down list activated by selecting the current page number:
   
   
   
8. Once you have finished annotating the submission, you can insert a grade, leave feedback comments or attach feedback files on the same screen:
   
   

   Grade

    
   
   

   
   Feedback comments

   In the Feedback comments section, you can provide feedback using the HTML editor . Types of feedback  include: 

   • Text – type directly into the box provided 

   • Audio – click the Record audio icon to create a short audio file ( up to 2 minutes  long)   
      

   • Video – click the Add media icon to embed a pre-recorded video from the topic Media Vault. See  Manage topic video content with the Media Vault (Kaltura)  
      
     

   
   
   
   

   Feedback files

   
   
   
9. Save changes on the individual marking form – this will return the annotated document to the student. Note: If the assignment is hidden in the gradebook, the student will not be able to see the feedback file. Grades and feedback are only made available once the assignment is visible in the gradebook
   

Add a comment to a quicklist (save time)

Using the comment quicklist can save time when providing comments to submissions using online annotation. To save a regularly used comment to your comments quicklist, complete the following steps.

1. Select the icon in the comment box of the comment you wish to save
   
   
2. Select 'Add to quicklist' from the menu
   
   
   
3. To add this comment elsewhere on the document, add a blank comment box and select the icon in the top right corner. All previously saved comments will appear in a list. Select the comment from the quicklist
   
   

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Group assignments are used when students work on an assignment in teams and upload one submission per team. Note: Before creating your group assignment, you will need to organise your students into groups and add these groups to a grouping.  

Create a group assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Group submission settings

Setting	Description
Students submit in groups	Set to Yes to create a group assignment (this will activate the next three settings)
Require group to make submission	If enabled (Yes), students who are not members of a group will be unable to make submissions
Require all group members submit	This setting is enabled if Require students to click the Submit button is Yes in the Submission settings. This setting controls whether every member of the group must click the Submit button, or whether one member can 'submit' on behalf of the group:  No — When one member of a group submits an assignment it will count as submitted for the whole group Yes — The assignment will not be submitted until every member of the team has clicked the Submit button (students in the group will be notified about who still needs to click the Submit button) As with individual assignments, if students forget to press the Submit button you will still be able to view and mark their assignment in draft mode. We recommend that you lock the submission to prevent changes while you are marking.
Grouping for student groups	Choose the grouping you wish to use for the group assignment. Select the grouping that you created when you organised your students into groups. Important: It is vital to have your students in the right group/grouping. If you do not include a grouping for this setting, FLO will take your entire topic as a group, so the first student to submit will be submitting for everyone and their assignment submission will be visible to everyone. If this isn't set up correctly it cannot be changed once someone submits – you need to recreate the entire assignment.

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Mahara ePortfolio is an evolving resource that records, stores and archives a student's artefacts of learning and reflection. It has the potential to demonstrate professional and personal growth, exemplify evidence-based practice and provide a planning space for future professional development needs and experiences

Create a Mahara assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Submission settings

For Submission types:

• Untick file submissions
  
• Tick Mahara portfolio.

Locked submitted pages

Note that with any of these options, a student may at any time make a copy of their submitted work and keep editing it. Hence it is helpful to think of submitted work as a 'version' or a snapshot in time. If you need to see another version at a later time, create another Assignment dropbox.

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Create an assignment (for file submissions)

• Add an assignment activity

• General settings
• Availability settings
• Submission types settings
• Feedback types settings
• Submission settings
• Notifications settings
• Turnitin plagiarism plugin settings
• Grade settings

Add an assignment activity

1. Turn editing on using the green button available top left of screen on the topic page
    
   
   
2. Go to the module where you would like the assignment to appear
   
   
3. Click the Add an activity or resource link at the bottom of the module
   
   
   
4. Select Assignment from the Activities tab
   
   
   
5. You will be taken to the Adding a new Assignment screen where you can set the parameters (settings) for your assignment (see information below)
   

General settings

Availability settings

Submission types settings

Add a word count field to an assignment submission

Under the Submission types section, enable Word count declaration by ticking the check box:

Student view

A compulsory word count field will form part of the submission process for the assignment:

Feedback types settings

Feedback comments

The Feedback comments box enables 'rich' constructive feedback (links, video etc) using the HTML editor, and is great for overall feedback on an assessment item. 

Submission settings

Notifications settings

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Turnitin plagiarism plugin settings

Turnitin is integrated with the Assignment activity. It produces Originality reports that provide a summary of matching or similar text found between submitted work and other materials, such as online sources (eg webpages, journal articles and other electronic information).

Most of the Turnitin plagiarism plugin settings cannot be changed, however, you have the option of excluding the following elements of a paper from an Originality report:

Setting	Description
Exclude Bibliography	The default setting is No. If Yes, text appearing in the bibliography, works cited, and references sections are excluded.
Exclude Quoted Material	The default setting is No. If Yes, text appearing in the quotes of student papers can be excluded.
Exclude Small Matches	The default setting is No. If Yes, matches that are not of sufficient length can be excluded (the options available are Words or Percent – either the number of words or percentage of text to be excluded can be entered into the box that will appear underneath this field).

Note: For Turnitin to generate an Originality report, the student’s submitted file must:

• be less than 40MB
• include a minimum of 20 words
• be less than 400 pages.

If the use of text-matching for the assignment is nonsensical or will throw an error, it can be turned off (contact your local eLearning support team).

---

Grade settings

Setting	Description
Grade	Select the type of grading you want to use. The options are: None – The assignment will be ungraded and worth no points, however, feedback can be given if enabled in the Feedback types settings. Scale – The assignment is graded using a non-numeric value. Choose a scale from the dropdown list (eg Non-graded Pass). If a new scale is required, contact your local eLearning support team. Point – The assignment will be graded out of a maximum number of points. This is the default setting (maximum grade = 100).
Grading method	If Scale or Point for the Grade setting is chosen, the following options are available: Simple direct grading (default setting) — This is the most used method, where a final grade and feedback is provided. Checklist | Marking guide | Rubric — These are advanced grading methods for online marking. All methods will require a template to be set up.
Grade category	Controls the category in which the assignment’s grades are placed in the gradebook.
Grade to pass	This setting determines the minimum grade required to pass. The value is used in activity and topic completion, and in the gradebook, where pass grades are highlighted in green and fail grades in red.
Anonymous submissions	Hides the identity of students from markers. Anonymous submissions settings will be locked once a submission or grade has been made in the assignment. Note: students will need to be instructed to exclude personal information (eg name, ID number) in their submission. Further information: Create an assignment with anonymous submissions
Hide grader identity from students	Hides the identity of markers from students. If enabled, the identity of markers is not shown to students when they view their feedback through the assignment link. Note: This setting does not affect the Comments link (Submission comments column) on the grading page. If you add a comment, your identity is not hidden.
Use marking workflow	If you choose Yes, the Use marking allocation setting will appear where you can choose to allocate markers to each student. Note: Allocating markers is done on the grading screen. Marking cannot commence until markers have been allocated.

---

Hide assignment grades until ready for release

After creating an assignment, we strongly recommend you hide the grades. This will prevent students from seeing their grades until you are ready to release them (both in the assignment activity and in gradebook). As soon as you have created an assignment (and clicked Save and display), you will see the Grading summary screen.

You can hide the assignment grades at this point, by clicking on the eye in the Grade visibility row. Once hidden, the Grade visibility row will change.

Students can still see the assignment and details of their submission, but they won't be able to see their grades until you unhide them (see Hide and release marks/feedback to students).

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The assignment tool in FLO can be used to deliver take-home exams. In this format, students get access to the exam question/topic at a particular time, then need to submit (either by uploading a file or by typing text directly into FLO) by the due date.

Create an assignment as a take-home exam

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings:

General settings

Enter the instructions for the exam in the Description box and include any additional files if required.

Availability settings

Set the Allow submissions from date/time – this is when the exam instructions will be released to students.

Note: The Always show description box should not be ticked – this will ensure that the instructions to students only display after the Allow submissions from date/time.

Remember to set the Due date and the Cut-off date as usual (see Cut-off date/time setting additional information below).

Important: Cut-off date/time setting

If the Cut-off date is not enabled, late submission (after the Due date) is possible.

The images above depict a scenario where students are provided with the exam instructions 2 days before the Due date. The instructions in the assignment description state that ‘late submissions will not be accepted’, so the Cut-off date is the same as the Due date.

For an exam that has a strict time limit (for example, a 3-hour exam), ensure the Cut-off date is set to at least 15 minutes after the Due date to allow for last-minute technical issues. If students submit after the Due date but before the Cut-off date, their exam will be accepted but will be recorded in FLO as being late.

Student view

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Anonymous submissions hide the identity of students from markers. When marking, instead of student names, markers will see a randomly generated participant number.

It is important to be aware of the following when using anonymous submissions:

• You will need to advise students not to include their name in the file name or within the file as FLO is unable to remove this identifying information
• Providing assignment extensions, due to the hidden nature of student identification, can be tricky
• Anonymous submissions cannot be enabled once submissions have been made

Consult your eLearning support team before using anonymous submissions.

Create an assignment with anonymous submissions

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Grade settings

Scroll down to Anonymous submissions and change to Yes.

Note: Topic coordinators and teachers in FLO can reveal student identities, but once this is done the assignment cannot be made anonymous again.

Marking an anonymous submission

When the teaching team mark the assignment, students' names will be obscured. Each submission will be identified by a unique Participant number, for example:

Once marking is complete, the topic coordinator (or teacher) must release the grades into the gradebook. Students will not be able to access marks and feedback until this has been done.

1. Using the Grading action menu to Reveal student identities. Note: This action cannot be undone.
   

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

In some cases, assignments are iterative – students are asked to provide work for formative feedback rather than summative feedback and a mark, or students are providing drafts. In these cases, it may be appropriate to disable the Submit button.

Create an iterative assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Submission settings

Change Require students to click the submit button to No.

Note: The benefit of setting Require students to click the submit button to Yes is that once students click submit, they will be prevented from making changes to their submission during marking. Setting Require students to click the submit button to No should be used with the knowledge that students will be able to continue editing their submission.

Once a student enters their assignment (file upload or online text) the submission status will be displayed as Submitted for grading, however, they will continue to be able to edit their submission. At no point will they need to finalise their submission.

If you want to prevent students making further submissions, you can lock individual or multiple submissions.

Availability settings

Depending on the nature of your assignment, you may want to disable the Due date and Cut-off date by removing the tick from the enable boxes. (You also have the option to Remind me to grade by.)

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

An offline assignment can be used when students do not need to upload any work into FLO – for example, when doing presentations, posters or lab books. The assignment tool can be used to manage and return marks and feedback.

The benefits of creating an offline assignment:

• Communicates assignment requirements to students
• Adds the due date to the topic calendar
• Allows for electronic management of feedback and marks

Create an offline assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Submission settings

For Submission types, untick File submissions.

Availability settings

It may not be necessary to set a due date for offline assignments, as no submission occurs through FLO. If this is the case, you might like to untick the box next to the Due date to disable the date for the assignment. However, if a due date is noted in the Statement of Assessment Methods (SAM), you should include it in the assignment settings. If a due date is included, it will appear in the topic calendar.

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Online text assignments allow students to type their assignment directly into a text box in FLO. Online text assignments are good for assignments with small word counts or for short-answer responses. It should be noted that the text entered by students is stored in FLO and cannot be downloaded.

Create an online text assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

Submission types settings

Untick File submissions (the default setting) and tick Online text:

Note: If you want to provide students with a choice, or if the assignment requires both types of submissions, you can tick both File submissions and Online text. Students can then upload a file(s) and/or type directly into the online text box.

With the Online text option, you can set a Word limit (tick to enable) – a warning will display to students if they exceed the set word limit at the time of submission:

Feedback types settings

Set Comment inline to Yes to annotate the text the student has submitted. This will copy the submitted text into the Feedback comments box, where you can use different font, colours etc to show your mark up.

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The best experience for students doing video assignments is for you to design the assignment submission so that students submit their video using My Media, which is part of Kaltura (the online video platform in FLO). Unlike the standard file upload option in FLO, My Media doesn't have a file size upload limit, so students won't need to compress their video files before submitting. Having to compress their video can affect the graphics and sound quality, which may make it difficult for you when watching and marking their video. Using My Media means that students will be able to provide a higher quality video file, and won't need to go through the additional stress of using a compression software prior to submission. 

Uploading to My Media can still take a little while if students have produced full-HD or very high resolution videos (which they tend to do when filming on mobile devices and/or using modern video editing software), so please encourage students to allow plenty of time for uploading and submitting. For example, testing on a high-speed home internet network and on the University network showed that uploading a 2GB video took around 20–30 minutes. Upload times depend on the speed of the internet connection students are using. 

Create a video assignment

Create an assignment (for file submissions) and make the following adjustments to the settings.

General settings

In the Description section, outline your assignment requirements for the video/s you want students to create including relevant privacy considerations. Include a link to the help documentation for students located in the FLO Student Support site: Assignment Submission > Video assignments.

Submission types settings

Essential step: Tick to enable the Online text submission type. Students will submit their video by embedding it from their My Media using the text editor. If students are only required to submit a video, you should also untick File submissions. 

 

Optional step: If students also need to submit a text document or other additional files along with their video, you will need to select File submissions and restrict the accepted file types. It's recommended that you untick any video file types, as this will ensure students can't upload their video via this method (rather than via embedding from My Media).

• Google Chrome – will display the download file in the bottom bar in the left corner. Click the arrow and select Open
  
• Mozilla Firefox – a window will display. Select Open with… and click OK
  
• Safari – the zip file is saved under Downloads
  

On Windows computers

You will need to extract the files out of the zip by clicking Extract all files in the toolbar (instructions may vary depending on what version of Windows you are using).

By leaving Show extracted files when complete ticked a window will open containing the files you extracted, ready for use.

On Mac computers

Go to Downloads and double-click on the zip file. The file will automatically be decompressed by Archive Utility into the same folder the zip file is in.

Download feedback files 

Download the grading worksheet

1. Open the assignment
   
   
2. Scroll down and click the View all submissions button
     
   
   
3. Select Download grading worksheet from the Grading action menu (at the top of the screen)
   
   
   
4. To open the grading worksheet:

• Google Chrome – will display the download file in the bottom bar in the left corner. Click the arrow and select Open
• Mozilla Firefox – a window will display. Select Open with… and click OK
• Safari – go to Downloads and double click on the csv file
  
  

5. The grading worksheet is not a zip file and therefore you will not need to extract anything. Save the grading worksheet in a location you will be able to remember
   
   

Next step

 This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Removing a source from a similarity report will 'recalculate' the similarity index without consideration to the removed source in question. This feature is useful when a paper has been submitted to Turnitin multiple times, and the originality report is reporting a high match (eg 100%) to the previous submission. Removing a source from a similarity report provides a clearer similarity index (percentage). 

Steps

1. Open the assignment and click on the View all submissions button
   
   
2. Click on the percentage to load the Turnitin Feedback Studio document viewer
   
   By default the Filter and Settings will load
   
   
3. Click the graph icon to load All sources
   
   
   
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Exclude sources button
   
   
   
5. Select the sources you wish to exclude
   
   
6. Click on the Exclude button to save your changes.
   
   
   

Your report will then recalculate (excluding the sources you selected).

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Topic coordinators and teachers can grant students an extension beyond an assignment’s due date and cut-off date. This is usually done through the Assignment extension tool (which partially automates the process) but in certain situations can be done in the Assignment grading screen, for example, when a student has requested an extension without using the extension tool.

• Grant an extension
• Where do students see their extension date?

Grant an extension

Where do students see their extension date?

In their assignment:

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The Extension request tool formalises the extension process for assignments, ensuring a decision trail for each student's request. Students give the reasoning for their request, upload evidence (eg a medical certificate) and propose a new due date. The topic coordinator (or nominated person) receives notifications of pending requests, which they can approve, approve with amendments, or decline. Students are then emailed the outcome, and their assignment is automatically updated with a new due date if the extension request has been approved.

• Accessing the extension tool
• Adding assessments other than assignments
• Processing requests
• Notification settings
• Change your email frequency
• Nominate a new approver
• Send emails to a shared account
• Limitations of the tool
• College settings (not currently functional)
  

Accessing the extension tool

The tool is available in every FLO topic and is generally found either with the assessment information or in the top module.

When you open the tool, you will be asked to log in again with your FAN and password. This is normal behaviour for the tool.

If the tool has been deleted, you can add it back:

1. Turn editing on by clicking the green button available on the topic homepage (top left of screen)
   
   
   
2. Go to the module where you want to add the tool and click the Add an activity or resource link at the bottom of the module
   
   
3. Select External tool from the Activities tab
   
   
4. Select Assignment Extension from the Preconfigured tool list
   
   
5. Type ‘Assignment extension requests’ in the Activity name field and save your changes

Adding assessments other than assignments

The Assignment extension tool is automatically populated with the assignment activities in the topic, but you can add other activities to allow students to submit extension requests in a consistent manner. When you add other activities to the tool, you will need to manually manage the extension inside the activity (eg for a quiz, you would create an override for the student).

To add other activities to the tool:

1. Open the tool and log in
   
   
2. Go to the Topic settings menu and select Manage assignments
   
   
3. Click on the Add new assignment button
   
   
4. Add the name and due date of the activity
   
   
5. Click the Create assignment button

Note: Manually added assignments do not roll over, they will need to be recreated the next time the topic runs.

Processing requests

1. Assignment selection list 

View pending requests per assignment by selecting one assignment from the drop-down list, or you can view all assignments.

2. Extension request length tabs

Under each assignment, you can view all requests, or those 1 - 3 days, or 3+ days. If an assignment has no due date, it will be under the 3+ days tab.  Note: ‘days’ are university business days.

3. Bulk moderating requests 1 - 3 days 

On the 1 - 3 days tab you can choose all, or one or more requests and then click on ‘Approve/decline selected requests’ to moderate multiple requests. Individual moderation is also available by clicking on the ‘pending’ link located in the ‘Status’ column. 

Scrolling towards the bottom of the page allows you to:

• change the status of the request from pending to approved or declined
• review the proposed due date and amend it where it is not suitable
• give a reason or comment on your decision (this is mandatory for declined requests)

When you click Save and send, the extension date (new due date) will be set in FLO, and the student(s) will be emailed with your decision. Alternatively, you can press Email Preview to review what is sent to the student or Save without email to approve the request without emailing the student. Note: There is no ‘preview email’ function available if using the bulk moderating feature. 

Notification settings

By default, topic coordinators will receive a daily email with a list of requests that need attention. However, you can change the notification frequency or allow other teaching staff to review requests for a topic.

Change your email frequency

1. Go to the Topic settings menu and select My email configurations
   
   
   
2. Click on the Edit link at the end of the table
   
   
3. Change the frequency to Never, Daily, Weekly, or Immediately
   
   
4. Save your changes

Note: FLO will stop sending notification emails two weeks after the topic’s end date, to prevent emails from unprocessed requests from being sent indefinitely.

Nominate a new approver

If you are not going to be actively teaching in the topic, or if you have large student numbers, you can nominate other members of the teaching team to be notified of/process requests:

1. Go to the Topic settings menu and select Nominate approver
   
   
2. Click on the Add new nominee button
   
   
3. Select members of the teaching team (teachers/tutors) from the list of enrolled users and click the Add tutor / Add teacher button

Note: These settings do not roll over. You will need to add approvers each time the topic runs.

Send emails to a shared account

You can also send emails for pending requests to a shared email account (note that this only changes who is notified about requests, not who can access them).

1. Go to the Topic settings menu and select Set shared email
   
   
2. Click on the Add shared email button
   
   
3. Add the email address and choose how often the account should receive emails
   
   
4. Save your changes

Note: These settings do not roll over. You will need to set the shared email account each time the topic runs.

Limitations of the tool

The Assignment extension tool supports managing requests for extensions for the majority of topics, but this lightweight tool does not cater for all assignments:

• Timed release and complex restrictions: Assignments that are restricted to certain students (eg only available to one group) will be seen by all students inside the tool. Seeing assignments they don’t have access to may cause confusion for students.
  
  
• Feedback only assignments: Assignments set up to provide feedback only (ie no submission required) will be listed, along with any recorded due date.
  
  
• Overrides, granted extensions: When a student submits a request, the tool is unaware of any existing extensions or group/user overrides, and will only report the assignment’s original due date. If you use group/user overrides you should review the student’s overridden date when considering the length of the extension.
  
  
• Group assignments: If a student requests and is approved for an extension for a group assignment, only that student will receive an extension (not the entire group). In these cases, it might be easier to grant an extension manually within the Assignment grading screen instead, as this action can be done in bulk.
  
  
• Resubmissions/reattempts: If the assignment resubmission feature is used, the tool is unable to determine a student's current attempt number and it may be difficult to track extension requests.
  
  
• Hidden assignments: The tool will not list hidden assignments to students; however, teaching staff can see hidden assignments via Topic settings > Manage assignments.
  
  
• Other activities: The tool cannot apply extensions for other activities in FLO (eg quizzes). However, a quiz or other activity can be added manually to the list of assignments, but any extensions will need to be manually applied inside that activity (eg for a quiz, apply a user override).

If you have any queries about the suitability of the Assignment extension tool in your topic, please contact your local eLearning support team.

College settings

College support staff see a third menu option with additional settings, which are currently not functional. Click the link below for further information about these settings.

View resources

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

When you mark the assignments, you will likely want to hide the grades before you start marking, so that some students do not see their feedback before others.

When you have finished marking you will likely want to show the grades so that marks and feedback can be released to students.

1. Open Topic management panel
   
   
2. Under topic administration click on Gradebook
   
   
3. Click on Setup tab
   
   
4. In the Actions column alongside the assignment, select the Edit link.
   
   

   If the grades are visible, you will see an option to Hide them.
    
   

   If the grades are hidden, you will see an option to Show them.

    
   

Assignments that are hidden will appear greyed out. Compare the two assignments below - assignment 1 is hidden from students, while assignment 2 is visible.

 This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The Turnitin similarity/originality report checks each student's work against Turnitin's database of web pages, publications, and previously submitted assignments, producing a report showing:

• where the student's writing matches Turnitin's database
• the percentage of the student's writing that matches Turnitin's database.

It is natural for student submissions to match Turnitin's database as students will include quotes, references and common words or phrases in their assessments. As such the score in the report does not tell you if a student has breached academic integrity, and the report needs to be interpreted to determine if the matches are acceptable or not. 

The Academic integrity for staff FLO site contains information on how to interpret similarity/originality reports.

The Assignment activity in FLO allows teachers to collect work from students, review it and provide feedback, including grades. The work students submit is visible only to the teacher, not to other students, unless a group assignment is set up (see link below). For students, the assignment activity is generally referred to as the assignment dropbox, as this is where they upload their file/s for marking.

All student assignments generated in electronic form should be submitted by the student and returned to the student electronically (see assessment policy).

When students submit their assignment through FLO, there is no need for them to attach a cover sheet. FLO records their name, FAN, email address, exact date and time of submission, and by default provides them with an academic integrity statement that they must agree to before submitting their assignment (depending on the purpose of the assignment, you may want to disable this in the settings).

1. Plan

For considerations and questions, you might ask when planning/designing for assignments submitted in FLO using the Assignment activity (dropbox):

• Benefits of the assignment tool (PDF file)
• Planning assignments (submission) decision tree (PDF file)
  
• Assignment – planning questions

2. Build

The assignment purpose will determine the settings you use for the assignment activity.

• Create an assignment (for file submissions)
• Create a group assignment 
• Create a video assignment
• Create an iterative assignment
• Create an assignment as a take-home exam
• Create an offline assignment
• Create an online text assignment
• Create an assignment with anonymous submissions
• Create a Mahara assignment
  

Feedback methods

How do you set up your assignment to reflect the feedback method/s you want to use? When reviewing assignments, teachers can leave feedback comments (including short audio / video files using Kaltura) and upload files such as marked-up student submissions, documents with comments or spoken audio feedback (if marking in Word / PDF format offline). 

• Feedback methods and assignment set-up (PDF file)
• Set up a feedback template for offline or online marking
  

3. Test

Once you have set up the assignment, ask your local eLearning support team to check it for you (especially if this is the first time you have set up this activity, or if you are trying a new approach to assignments). It is best to amend mistakes before students submit their assignments.

4. Administer

Receive and manage assignments 

• Manage student assignments (for marking) (includes workflow) 
• Manage individual student assignments (revert a submission to draft, lock a submission, deduct marks for lateness) 
• Grant extensions using: 
  
• Assignment extension tool (formal method) 
• Assignment grading screen (administrative reasons) 
  
• Add a group or user alternative due date (override) (to create multiple due dates)
  
• Allow students to resubmit an assignment
  

Mark assignments 

A topic coordinator/teacher may provide a marking guide (this could also be called a rubric or feedback form) in the assignment activity by:

• adding it to the assignment activity as a file (Word/editable PDF) (for offline marking) OR
• creating an online marking guide, rubric or checklist (for online marking)

Text-matching software (Turnitin)

• Supporting academic integrity through text-matching software
• Interpreting the Turnitin similarity/originality report
• Exclude sources in a Turnitin originality report

Return assignments

• Upload marked assignments, feedback files and grading worksheet (offline marking) 
• Upload a feedback file for a single student (eg late submission)
• Hide and release marks/feedback to students (offline and online) 

5. Review

How did your assignment activity go? Would you set up the activity differently next time around? Do you want to mark differently (eg using an online marking guide)? Talk to colleagues and/or your local eLearning support team to get ideas for improvement.

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

Once students have submitted their assignments, you can manage individual or multiple submissions at the same time. You may need to do one or more of the following actions.

• Revert a student assignment submission to draft (pre marking)
  
• Lock a student assignment submission (pre marking)
  
• Deduct marks for lateness (during marking)
  

See also Upload a feedback file for a single student (eg late submission).

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

• Manage the list of student assignments
• Manage large numbers of student assignments
• Use the assignment marking workflow

Manage the list of student assignments

Manage large numbers of student assignments

When assessing work in Mahara, consider how you will provide feedback to students. If work has been submitted through the Assignment tool, you have two 'locations' where your interaction happens: in Mahara (through Comments) and in FLO (through the normal channels of assignment feedback). You will probably need to use a mix of both, as appropriate to your context. 

• Commenting in Mahara
• Providing feedback and marks in FLO
• Saving work as a PDF
  

Commenting in Mahara

When in a student's submitted Mahara assignment you are able to interact using the comments functions, provided the student has not turned comments off. Each page has a comments field, and some items of content also have comments enabled (Journal entries, Notes and files). As a visitor to the student's ePortfolio, you can leave comments here, but note that these comments are then managed by the student - they can choose to delete them if they wish.

Comments in Mahara 'give' the student something they can use in their portfolio as part of their portfolio, for example:

• praise for work well done
• useful extra information, or
• evidence of you having been there

Providing feedback and marks in FLO

Feedback that relates to your judgement on the quality of the work submitted and justifies a grade given is formal and should occur in FLO. This acts as a record of your thinking should there be a grade challenge. 

Saving work as a PDF

In some situations, you may need to save a submitted page as a PDF. This is an extra step and is not required for assessment records. However, you may choose to do this for:

• a record: if a formal record of the work is required, e.g. for accrediting bodies
• annotation: you want to annotate a page with comments (mirroring what you may do with a traditional assignment)
• research: the page is a research artefact
• example: the page is an example of work, intended to be shared or presented with others 

Remember to seek and gain the necessary consent if you are saving a Page for purposes other than assessment. 

To save as a PDF: 

1. Click on three dots on the top right corner of the Page
2. Choose Print
   
3. This will open your computer's printing screen. Go to the destination box and select a PDF option. The name of this option(s) can vary but may be called 'Save to PDF', 'Adobe PDF', or something similar.
   
   

The video submission is only available for online streaming so a reliable internet connection is required. Marking a video assignment is very similar to marking a standard assignment online, please refer to Mark online section in Assignment - main entry.

Tips for marking a video assignment

This entry relates to the Assignment activity.

The marking workflow can be used by:

• Markers to keep track and specify the stage they are at in the grading of their assignments
• Topic Coordinators to monitor the progress of the markers and coordinate the release of grades to students.
• Topic coordinators to use marking allocation to allocate markers to specific assignments (optional)

For marking workflow to work successfully, additional work is required from both the markers and the topic coordinator through the marking process. As such, the benefits of marking workflow are only realised in larger topics where there are multiple markers.

In small and medium-sized topics, or in topics with fewer markers, it is more efficient to use email or 1 on 1 communication between the teaching team, and to use a different method to release grades and feedback.

• Enabling marking workflow and marking allocation
• Using marking allocation
  
• Allocate a marker to individual students
• Allocate a marker to a group of students
• Using marking workflow when grading assignments
• Progress a single submission through the workflow
• Progress multiple submissions through the workflow