turnitin assignment moodle

Documentation

Turnitin's moodle direct integration - frequently asked questions.

• Administrator Guide
• Instructor Guide
• Student Guide
• Download Latest Build
• 1 How do I configure the Moodle Direct integration?
• 2 What are the main differences between Moodle Basic and Moodle Direct?
• 3 Can users migrate their data from the Moodle Basic integration?
• 4 Can both Moodle Direct and Moodle Basic integrations exist in the same account?
• 5 Do users have to install anything new to use Moodle Direct?
• 6 Can both plug-ins be installed and be used simultaneously?
• 7 Does Moodle Direct handle due dates correctly?
• 8 Does Moodle Direct work with Moodle Groups?
• 9 I am a student, how do I submit my paper?
• 10 I am an instructor, how can I make a submission on behalf of a student?
• 11 How can I create a Turnitin Assignment via Moodle Direct?
• 12 The error "Base API URL is incorrect or unavailable" is occurring when attempting to connect to TII
• 13 An error occurs (No HTTPS - the URL was not transmitted via HTTPS)
• 14 An error occurs (Could not write data to file) every time the button 'add submission' is clicked
• 15 Do we need a new plug in for Turnitin2?
• 16 Further logs to diagnose issue/error

How do I configure the Moodle Direct integration?

Below is an overview of the steps that need to be taken to integration Turnitin with Moodle using the Moodle Direct plug-in:

• Configure the Moodle Direct area in the administrator account via www.submit.ac.uk or www.turnitin.com entering a shared secret key (that you make up), your institutions IP range of 255.255.255.255 and the error call back URL of https://submit.ac.uk/api_error.asp if you are on the submit.ac.uk service or https://turnitin.com/api_error.asp if you are on the turnitin.com service.
• Navigate to the 'Download' link next to step 2 at the top of the page and download the latest version of the plug-in for Moodle Direct
• On the server, place the 'turnitintool' folder in the 'mod/' folder
• Ensure that you have cURL installed – you can check if you have via 'Site Administration >> Server >> Environment'
• Log-in as the Moodle administrator and navigate to notifications
• Navigate to 'Module >> Activities >> Turnitin Assignment' to complete the configuration of the plugin. A video guide on how to do this can be found here
• If you are connecting through a proxy please complete the appropriate fields at the bottom of the configuration page. Including the correct URL, Port and Username and Password if applicable. Please note: that if the credentials entered here are incorrect the calls out to Turnitin will not succeed.
• Click 'Run Connectivity Test' to test connection to Turnitin. If this is successful then you will be able to proceed and create Turnitin assignments.

What are the main differences between Moodle Basic and Moodle Direct?

The Moodle Basic plug-in supports the full Turnitin WriteCycle: Originality Checking, GradeMark, and PeerMark. When this plug-in has been installed users can access Turnitin from within Moodle via a framed in window. This means that all instances where Turnitin is used, the actual Turnitin screen appears within Moodle. With this plug-in, papers submitted to the Turnitin assignment are only stored in Turnitin. The following languages are supported with this plug-in: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Korean, Thai and Malay.

The Moodle Basic plugin is recommended for customers who would like to use the full WriteCycle or for international customers who would like to use the integration in one of the supported languages other than English. Moodle Direct will have languages other than English implemented before the end of the 2010. Although the Moodle Basic integration incorporates all of the Turnitin WriteCycle functionality, some users may prefer to only work from within the Moodle interface. Customers with such a desire can use the Moodle Direct integration.

The Moodle Direct plugin currently supports Turnitin Originality Checking and GradeMark. By using the Moodle Direct plugin, all Turnitin actions have been incorporated seamlessly into the Moodle workflow. This includes: Turnitin assignment creation, submitting papers to the assignment, and accessing Originality Reports and GradeMark. With this plugin, papers submitted to a Turnitin assignment are stored in both Moodle and Turnitin. This plugin also allows instructor and student users to access submissions in Turnitin via the website.

The Moodle Direct plugin is recommended for customers who would like Turnitin to be incorporated seamlessly into the Moodle workflow and only wish to use Turnitin Originality Checking and GradeMark. Although PeerMark is not currently available in the Moodle Direct plugin, there are plans to include PeerMark in the future.

Can users migrate their data from the Moodle Basic integration?

Migrating data from the Moodle Basic integration to the Moodle Direct integration is not possible. However, users will still have access to their old data as long as they do not uninstall the Moodle Basic plug-in.

Can both Moodle Direct and Moodle Basic integrations exist in the same account?

Yes. Users can run a single Moodle instance with both the Moodle Basic and the Moodle Direct integrations installed.

Do users have to install anything new to use Moodle Direct?

Yes, you will need to install Moodle Direct plug-in. The plug-in can be downloaded from the administrator account via www.submit.ac.uk or www.turnitin.com

Can both plug-ins be installed and be used simultaneously?

Yes, both plug-ins can be run in parallel, although this could be very confusing for both instructors and students, since these are two completely different ways to create assignments and submit papers. In other words, there would be two Turnitin Assignment links in the 'Add an activity' list.

Does Moodle Direct handle due dates correctly?

Yes, the plug-in fully supports due dates and post-dates, incorporating the Moodle GradeBook. Therefore, any grades entered in Turnitin's GradeMark feature will be passed into the Moodle GradeBook on the post date specified in the assignment settings.

Does Moodle Direct work with Moodle Groups?

Not currently, but this is planned for a later date.

I am a student, how do I submit my paper?

Please see the instructional video here for a walkthrough on how to make your submission.

There is also a Student User Guide here and a PDF available to download here .

I am an instructor, how can I make a submission on behalf of a student?

Please see the instructional video here for a walkthrough on how to make a submission as an instructor on behalf of a student.

There is also an Instructor User Guide and a PDF is also available here .

How can I create a Turnitin Assignment via Moodle Direct?

Please see the instructional video here for a walkthrough on how to make a Turnitin Assignment using Moodle Direct.

There is also an Instructor User Guide and a PDF is available here .

The error "Base API URL is incorrect or unavailable" is occurring when attempting to connect to TII

Check that that API URL entered in the plug-in configuration via "Modules" >> "Activities" >> "Turnitin Assignment" is correct. For UK users on the 'submit.ac.uk' service the API URL needs to be https://submit.ac.uk/api.asp however the rest of the world users (non-UK) on the turnitin.com service will need to enter https://www.turnitin.com/api.asp

An error occurs (No HTTPS - the URL was not transmitted via HTTPS)

This error occurs when you configure the API Url with the http instead of https for example:

• http://api.turnitin.com/api.asp << INCORRECT
• https://api.turnitin.com/api.asp << CORRECT

An error occurs (Could not write data to file) every time the button 'add submission' is clicked

The error 'Could not write data to file' only occurs when you try to do a copy and paste submission, it occurs because PHP could not create a text file for the submission; this is usually due to directory permissions on the server in the 'moodledata' directory. For a file upload you will likely receive a 'File Upload Error' this will occur for the same reason. To resolve this you will need to add the necessary permissions to allow the web server to create files in the 'moodledata' directory.

Instructions for setting the correct permissions depends on your environment and server set up:

• Creating Moodle site data directory
• Windows installation using XAMPP#Moodledata folder

The above links explain how to set up the 'moodledata' directory permissions for a couple of example systems. If you are still unsure about how to do this please check with either your hosting provider / server administrator for more detailed information on how to set the correct permissions on your particular server set up.

Do we need a new plug in for Turnitin2?

You will not need to upgrade your plug-in for your VLE once Turnitin 2.0 is launched. The changes are being made to the features such as the Originality Report and GradeMark. The integration connects TO these features from Moodle.

Users will be defaulted into the new 'Unified Interface' that Turnitin 2.0 will bring once launch, however each user will have the ability to revert to the previous version of the Originality Report and GradeMark up to 12 months after launch.

Further logs to diagnose issue/error

In order to diagnose issues in more detail, turn diagnostic mode 'ON' from the plug-in configuration screen in Moodle (Logs are kept/produced when diagnostic mode is activated). To create logs for diagnostic purposes, reproduce the error then navigate to the logs on the server. The location should be '/moodledata/temp/turnitintool/logs/....' the comms and activity logs produced should be tagged with the date so you can identify which file the error would be shown in.

• Turnitin's Moodle Direct Integration
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On This Page:

• Add a Turnitin Assignment to a Moodle course

Configure basic settings for Turnitin Assignments in Moodle

• Configure due dates and other additional settings within a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle

Turnitin assignments differ from regular Assignments in Moodle. Turnitin helps instructors evaluate the similarity of students’ work by comparing electronic documents to online sources and the Turnitin database. The software returns an Similarity Report which rates submitted assignments and highlights text that appears elsewhere. Faculty can have their students submit their assignments to Turnitin, or they can use it to assess suspect submissions (e.g., assignments without works cited pages, assignments without drafts, etc.).

Adding a Turnitin assignment in Moodle is a two-step process. First, you add the Turnitin assignment to your Moodle course page and edit the settings from within Moodle, you can then open the assignment and make additional settings within Turnitin.

Add a Turnitin Assignment to a Moodle course

• Locate the section where you want a Turnitin assignment to appear. If the section is collapsed, click the arrow icon above the Section name to expand the section.
• At the bottom of the section, click  +Add an activity or resource . The Add an activity or resource pop up will open showing a tile for each available resource or activity. Note : By default, the panel opens to All and shows all resources and activities. If you have starred favorite activities or resources, the panel will open to Starred . To only view resources, at the top of the pop-up, click Resources .

• Select the Turnitin assignment icon or Turnitin assignment link . The Adding a new Turnitin assignment page opens.
• Enter a title for your Turnitin assignment in the Name field (required). The name you enter will display as a link to the Turnitin assignment on your main course page.
• To configure basic settings for the Turnitin assignment, see Configure Settings in Moodle (below).
• Click Save and return to course to return to your main course page, or Save and display to view the assignment page.

When you add a  Turnitin assignment activity to a Moodle course, you are required to set the assignment's name, and the Submission Type . The remaining settings are optional. This section describes each setting.

• Turnitin Assignment Name  (required) This is used as the assignment l ink on your course page.
• Summary Enter a summary of the assignment and instructions. The Summary  will be visible to students when they click the assignment link, or you can select Display description on course page to display the Summary on your course page (best if the  Summary is very concise).
• Any Submission Type  lets students choose to submit either a file or text entry.
• File Upload requires that students upload a file containing their essay. Acceptable formats include PDF, Microsoft Word, and others. For the latest list of supported file formats, see Supported File Types and Size .
• Text Submission provides students with a text box where they can type or paste in the text of their essay. This may work better for shorter submissions rather than essays that have multiple pages and have specifically formatted reference lists.
• Number of Parts Specify whether students can submit multiple parts of their assignment, for example if they are uploading separate sections of an essay independently. This can be used for submitting multiple drafts of an essay.
• Maximum File Size Set the maximum size of the file that students can upload. 
• Allow submission of any file type? This setting will allow any file type to be submitted. With this option set to Yes , submissions will be checked for similarity where possible, submissions will be available for download and GradeMark feedback tools will be available where possible.
• Display Similarity Reports to Students Specify whether students can see the reports that Turnitin generates. The default is No . Note:  Instructors can  always see these reports. This setting  only determines whether a student can see the report that the instructor received for their submission which can be useful in resolving disputes on similarity of the student's work, or for draft submission to allow students to improve citations.
• Grade Display This option sets the display mode for the grades options. Grades can be displayed as a fraction or percentage.
• Auto Refresh Grades / Scores Specify whether grades and similarity reports will be refreshed automatically. The default is Yes, automatically refresh similarity scores and grades .
• Set these values as assignment defaults Select this option to make the current settings default for future Turnitin assignments.
• Grade Select the Grade Type : None - The Turnitin Assignment will be ungraded and worth no points. Point - Grade out of a simple number of maximum points. Enter the maximum possible score for the Turnitin Assignment in a Maximun grade  field. Scale - Select a preset or custom Scale from the Scale drop-down. ( See Standard & Custom grading scales in Moodle ).
• Grade Category Select a Category in your gradebook under which you would like the Turnitin assignment to be placed. See Grade Category Options in the Moodle Gradebook  for instructions on how to create a category in your gradebook. 
• Grade to pass This setting determines the minimum grade required to pass. The value is used in activity and course completion, and in the gradebook, where pass grades are highlighted in green and fail grades in red.

Assignment Parts

By default, Turnitin assignments are composed of one part. If the assignment has more than one part (set above), each part will have its own form.

• Name (required) A name for the assignment part. The default is Part 1 .
• Start Date This defaults to the precise date and time the Turnitin assignment was created. Modify this if you want students to be able to start submitting their work at a later date and time.
• Due Date This defaults to 7 days after the precise date and time at which you created the Turnitin assignment. Modify this with the actual due date you want for your assignment. Note : Students may still be able to submit their work after the Due Date if you enable Allow Submissions after the Due Date   (under Similarity Report Options, below).
• Post Date This is the date at which your grades and feedback are made available for students to view. The default is 7 days after the precise date and time at which you created the Turnitin assignment. Modify this if you want your grades to be posted at or after your actual due date. Note : To have Turnitin and Moodle sync grades correctly you must have grades entered into Grademark BEFORE the Post Date. Any grades entered AFTER the post date must be synced individually. Instructors should set a reasonable time in which to grade student work for their Post Date.
• Max Grades Enter the maximum points that can be earned in this part. The default is 100 . Note : In multiple part assignments, if all parts have the same Max grades value, the parts will be weighted equally in calculating the grade for the entire assignment that is recorded in the Moodle gradebook..

Similarity Report Options

• Allow Submissions after the Due Date Set this to Yes  if you want to allow students to submit beyond the due date.
• Generate reports immediately (students cannot resubmit) generates an Similarity Report as soon as a student makes a submission. With this option selected your students will not be able to resubmit the assignment.
• Generate reports immediately (students can resubmit until due date): After 3 resubmissions, reports generate after 24 hours  allows students to continuously resubmit the assignment until the due date. It may take up to 24 hours to process Similarity Reports for resubmissions.
• Generate reports on due date (students can resubmit until due date) only generates an Similarity Report on the assignment's due date. Note : This setting allows all assignment submissions to be compared against each other when the Similarity Reports are created.
• Store Student Papers Papers stored in the UMass Amherst dedicated databases of assignments at Turnitin  are used solely for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism during the grading process this term and in the future. Select no repository to disable this feature. The default is Institutional Repository (Where Applicable) .
• Check against stored student papers Select  Yes to check submissions' similarity against those stored in the Turnitin repository. Similarity reports will provide details for matches within your current and previous classes, and general information for other matches found.
• Check against internet Select  Yes to check submissions' similarity against internet content. 
• Check against journals, periodicals and publications Select  Yes to check submissions' similarity against content from academic publications.
• Check against Institutional Repository Select  Yes  to check against UMass' Institutional  Respository , which contains student work submitted at UMass. This is separate from  Turnitin's  databases.
• Exclude Bibliography Select  Yes  if you would like to exclude the bibliography section of student submissions from similarity checking.
• Exclude Quoted Material Select  Yes  if you would like Turnitin to skip over any quotes used in the student submission, as these are more likely to match works submitted elsewhere.
• Exclude Small Matches Enter the minimum number of words (or the percentage of the essay) that need to match in order to flag a section of the student submission. This can cut down on commonly used phrases being flagged for similarity.

Grademark Options

To use a rubric for the assignment:

• To use a rubric you have already saved, in the  Attach a rubric to this assignment  drop-down menu, select the desired rubric .
• To build a new rubric, select Launch Rubric Manager . The  rubric editor will open.

Note: Quickmark feedback must be configured from within Turnitin (see below).

Configure due dates and other additional settings from within the Turnitin Assignment

• On your Moodle course page, click the  Turnitin assignment to configure. The Turnitin assignment will open to the Submission Inbox .

• To view a student submission click the Submission Title . Submissions open in the Turnitin Document Viewer, in a new browser tab. From the viewer you can give feedback ( Grademark , Rubric , score ).

For additional help with Turnitin, see Turnitin's Moodle Moodle Direct V2 support articles for Instructors .

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• Turnitin Guides
• Turnitin in an LMS
• Assignment management
• Using the Turnitin Assignment Copy tool in Feedback Studio with Moodle LTI 1.3

Depending on your course setup, it may be easier to use the LMS course copy workflow instead.

This feature is only available with LTI 1.3 integrations.

Assignment Copy is a feature that makes it easier for instructors to copy assignment setups from previous courses for use in new courses. 

This feature is not limited to instructors who created the original assignment. Any instructors that were associated with the assignment will be able to locate it for copying into a new course.

For example, this tool makes it easy for instructors to:

• Copy assignment setups from previous academic-year courses into brand-new courses for the upcoming academic year with updated dates.
• Create a new set of assignments and then copy those assignment setups into multiple different courses using the same assignment dates.
• Create one assignment setup as a template and then copy that assignment setup multiple times within a course.

To use the Assignment Copy tool, follow the steps below:

It is not currently possible to edit the Instructions field for each assignment in this area. As a workaround, you can edit this field after the initial creation of the assignment(s). We are exploring adding support for this in the future.

• Once the copied assignments are created, you will be able to see them in your assignment list.

Articles in this section

• Creating a Handwritten Assignment in Moodle LTI 1.3
• Creating an assignment in Feedback Studio using Moodle LTI 1.3
• LMS course copy recommendations for Feedback Studio in Moodle LTI 1.3
• Editing an assignment in Feedback Studio using Moodle LTI 1.3
• Assignment settings in Feedback Studio for Moodle LTI 1.3
• Using the Assignment Inbox in Feedback Studio with Moodle LTI 1.3
• Submitting on behalf of a student in Feedback Studio for Moodle LTI 1.3
• Using the Analytics Dashboard with Moodle LTI 1.3
• Moodle LTI 1.1 to 1.3 migration FAQ for Feedback Studio instructors

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Integrating Turnitin V2 in Brightspace Assignments

Introduction  

Turnitin Integration (TII) Version 2 is a tool that helps maintain academic integrity by checking student assignment submissions for potential plagiarism and providing detailed feedback. This guide provides a step-by-step process for integrating TII V2 into your Brightspace assignments. 

To enable Turnitin for an assignment: 

1. Create or Edit an Assignment  

Navigate to your course. On the navbar, select Activities –> Assignments. 

Do one of the following: 

• To create a new assignment, click “New Assignment” and enter the name, grade, due date, and instructions. 
• To add Turnitin functionality to an existing assignment, click “Edit Assignment” and select the desired assignment. 

2. Enable Turnitin Integration  

On the assignment settings page, open Evaluation & Feedback 

At the bottom of the Evaluation & Feedback area, select Manage Turnitin .  

3. On Turnitin Integration Page:  

• Click Enable Similarity Report for this folder. 
• You can allow students to see the similarity scores for their submissions. 
• You may also want Turnitin to automatically check all submissions. 

• You can use Brightspace Assignment tools to grade student submissions and provide inline feedback on their papers. However, if you prefer to use the Turnitin Feedback Studio to grade, you can select Enable Online Grading for this folder, and Automatically sync grades as Draft. 

Options  

Choose More Options to further customize settings. 

Submission settings: By default, student submissions are added to the institution’s repository, but you may choose not to add the submissions for a particular assignment if, for example, you are using the assignment for initial drafts. 

Similarity Report : By default, students can only submit once, but you can allow students to resubmit until the due date. 

If you have customized the options and wish to save them for future assignments, check “Save these settings for future use.” 

4. Save and Submit  

After configuring the settings, click “Save.” Publish the assignment in Brightspace. Back in the Brightspace assignment settings window, make the assignment visible by toggling at the bottom of the window to make it available to students. 

5. Viewing the similarity report and grading the submission  

From Activities->Assignments, choose the assignment to evaluate. On the assignment screen,  

• Choose Go to Evaluation to grade the submission. 
• Click on the Similarity Report score to view. See the guide to navigating the report . 

Support and Resources 

• D2L Brightspace Overview of TurnItIn Assignments  
• Access the Turnitin Help Center for detailed guides and FAQs . 

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