The Digital Learning Environment (DLE) team is currently developing a new double marking tool for UCL Moodle, with an expected release in December 2025. The marking tool, called “Coursework”, is designed to support complex marking workflows, especially double marking, all within the Moodle platform.  

We are pleased to share an overview of the key features of the forthcoming Coursework double marking tool, which may be of interest as you plan assessments for Term 2 and Term 3. 

Double marking 

The Coursework tool enables markers to complete their marking independently, eliminating the need for multiple inboxes or external spreadsheets. As one user who helped pilot to the tool noted, “Finally, we have an option for blind second marking.” 

Marking workflows can be configured as either: 

• Open marking – where marks and feedback are visible between markers. 

• Blind marking – where each marker’s input remains hidden until both have submitted their marking. 

The Coursework tool maintains a comprehensive marking history, including first marks, second marks, and the final agreed mark. This history is accessible to external examiners for review and audit purposes. 

Markers retain control over what is released to students, with the option to share either all marking or only the final agreed mark. 

In cases where consensus cannot be reached between two markers, a third marker may be added to provide an additional independent mark. 

Candidate number anonymisation 

Coursework introduces the use of Candidate Numbers for anonymising student identities and submissions. This long-awaited feature will now be available within UCL Moodle, making it easier to manage assessments whilst maintaining compliance with UCL policies. 

Marking features

Coursework incorporates several time-saving features to support markers whilst giving them full control over what feedback they return to students. 

• Mark suggestions: Based on UCL academic policy, the tool will suggest a final agreed mark if the first and second marks are within 10% and do not cross classification boundaries. This suggested mark can be manually adjusted if necessary. 

• General feedback: Option to release cohort-wide feedback independently of individual student feedback. 

• Flexible marker allocation: Markers can be assigned manually, via spreadsheet upload, or distributed evenly across submissions. 

Suitable assessment types 

Coursework is particularly well-suited for: 

• Dissertations 

• Research proposals 

• High-stakes coursework requiring documented double marking 

It may also be used for: 

• Essays 

• Reports 

• Other written coursework 

While Coursework offers comparable functionality to Moodle Assignment and Turnitin, its key advantage lies in its support for independent double marking. It can also accommodate single marking workflows, and moderation workflows. 

Further information and engagement 

For questions, feedback, or to request an early demonstration, please contact the Digital Learning Environment Team via MyServices. 

To stay informed about Moodle developments: 

• Subscribe to the Digital Education blog 

• Join the Moodle Development User Group on Microsoft Teams for early access and opportunities to contribute to ongoing development.

The number of SITS assessment types eligible for marks transfer has now been broadened to include:

• EC01 – Written examination (main exam period)
• EC02 – Written examination (December/January)
• ED01 – Written examination (Departmentally managed)
• ED05 – Exam (In Person Written) (Departmentally Managed)
• PDO1 – Practical examination (Departmentally managed)
• XD01 – Exhibition

If you are using these assessment types on a module, they will now appear in the Moodle marks transfer table and you will be able to transfer marks to these components in Portico from your Moodle assessment activities in the same way as the other eligible assessment types.

For more advice on marks transfer, please see the detailed guide.

Following feedback from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, the DLE team have implemented an enhancement to Moodle Exam Guard which allows a quiz close time to be extended in exceptional circumstances for a whole group when a cohort is currently sitting an exam and exam guard is in place.

As a reminder, Exam Guard was introduced last year to prevent staff from editing a course while an exam is underway due to its risk to Moodle performance. In the past, this caused some exams to be disrupted, particularly for larger cohorts.  It works by preventing staff from editing their course or indeed the quiz itself from 10 minutes before the Moodle quiz opens until 10 minutes after the quiz has closed.

However, we were alerted to a use case where editing the duration of a quiz might be necessary – for instance, if a fire alarm were to go off and the assessment needed to be extended for everyone currently sitting it. Therefore, it is now possible to add more time to an exam which is in progress when Exam Guard is in place.

Editing tutors on the Moodle course in question or site admin roles can now see an “Extend time” button in the quiz when the exam is in progress should such a scenario occur and they can then add the extension time duration in minutes.

 

 

Please note: if other users or groups are taking the same quiz at a different time (e.g. in the case there are different sittings or for students with SoRAs), it will not affect the close time for their quiz as it will only extend the time for those who are currently in the process of undertaking the assessment.

For further details, please refer to our wiki guide.

The Digital Learning Environments team is thrilled to introduce the new staff view of the Feedback tracker. This feature allows staff to view an overview of  assessments from all their Moodle courses on a single page.

Assessments are displayed by academic year, term and assessment type. Each assessment includes a count of submissions, applied extensions or overrides for Moodle assignments and quizzes, and a marking progress indicator.

To access the Feedback tracker, simply log on to Moodle, click your profile image in the top right and select Feedback tracker.

The new staff view follows on from the launch of the staff marking block and student view. You can read the Feedback tracker wiki guide to learn more.

Next, the team will be working on an institutional report.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Feedback tracker, please contact the Digital Education team via My Services.

We are writing to inform you about an important update to our Moodle default settings. These changes are being made to align Moodle more consistently with UCL practices.

What is changing?

Users with Non-Editing Tutor roles will now be able to manage grades in Moodle assignments. This will allow them to set the marking workflow state on a Moodle assignment submission to Not marked, In marking, Marking completed, In review, Ready for release, and Released.

Previously they could only set the marking workflow state to Not marked, In marking, Marking completed.

Note. Non-Editing Tutors will now be able to release grades and feedback if they select the “Released” status.

Why are we making these changes?

Based on feedback from our users.

When will this take effect?

13th March 2025.

How will this benefit you?

Greater flexibility for marking teams.

Need help?

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Digital Education team via My Services.

The UCL Moodle team are delighted to announce a new Marking block for staff on the Moodle dashboard.

Previously, the My Feedback block on the Moodle dashboard was only accessible to students, providing them with a summary of up to five recent assessments with available feedback.

The latest update introduces a staff Marking block, allowing staff to see up to five summative assessments across Moodle that require marking. This new feature aims to streamline the marking process by making it easier for staff to access and manage their pending marking.

The Marking block includes Turnitin assignments, Moodle assignments, and Quiz assessments that are categorised as summative on Moodle. These assessments are from courses that have started and not yet ended, with an additional three-month extension to accommodate late summer assessments.

Assessments are organized by their due dates, ensuring that the most relevant marking is prominently displayed. To keep the information current, only assessments with due dates within the past two months or the upcoming month will be shown.

This update is part of the ongoing digital assessment workstream of the UCL Moodle team. It follows on from our recent Feedback tracker feature. If you have questions or would like to feedback on early UCL Moodle prototypes please contact the UCL Moodle team via the MyServices portal.