Learning Edge

The smell of spices, alcohol and pine, warm log fires, spending time with family and friends, crackers, pudding and brandy cream… Yes! It must be that time of year… end of semester one before Christmas and time for submissions!

We’ve drawn together some good practice to ensure that your submissions over the next week go as smoothly as you could possibly wish for. There are always chances of uncertainty, but with a little thought and preparation (like a good Christmas present) you’ll be riding as high as Father Christmas himself as opposed to slipping up on black ice.

1. Read the guidelines first and keep in touch!

Before you begin, If you have any doubts about your expected submission through Learning Edge, please ensure you follow the guidelines you have been provided with.  These will either be located within your module handbook or detailed within your module area within Learning Edge. It may have been that your tutor covered this in a session, so make sure you’re up to speed with any information you may have missed. If for any reason you can’t locate your submission drop-box or if you don’t understand what you need to do them simply contact your tutor for further support.  Keep your tutor informed of any problems you may have, especially in the days leading up to a deadline – it helps them to keep track of your progress and ensures they can help you quickly if need arises.

2. Follow us or even Ask Us!

Have you ever encountered a Learning Edge or Turnitin issue during submission? If you think this could be system related, we do have preferred Twitter feeds for you to follow that will highlight any known issues:

@EdgeHillVLE provides scheduled Learning Edge maintenance alerts and up to date system notices around different technologies used within the VLE such as Turnitin.

@Turnitinstatus is the official feed for Turnitin system status, you may find that Learning Edge is fine but Turnitin is unavailable.  Checking this feed will help you diagnose an issue around Turnitin submissions.

Let’s say everything is OK technically and you have an issue around the online submission process and Learning Edge? A good starting point would be to head over to the Ask Us service and see if your question can be answered here. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, you can simply type your question and we will discuss it with you in real time using our live chat facility.

3. Running in to technical problems?

Why is it you get a technical problem right at a critical moment?  If you have given yourself time, you should be able to try another PC if you run into problems. We know that anything could happen at any moment; internet dropping out, PC crashing, wireless not connecting the list goes on, so give yourself a break and some time to try out another computer – in university, in work or even your mate’s PC. If it’s just not happening for you, see the first point (keeping in touch with your tutor).

It is often the case that tutors will allow multiple submissions to an online drop-box, so you may be able to use this to your advantage. Check with your tutor and if this is the case, try submitting your work, even if not quite finished yet, to the drop-box a few days before the deadline just so you’re up to speed with the process before your final submission. Waiting until 1 minute before the deadline isn’t the time to start figuring out how everything works!

4. The final countdown…

It may come to the time of doing your ‘final’ submission but if in Turnitin you have submitted an earlier version you will find that when you submit everything looks the same…at least for 24 hours. You will have to wait until the next day to see your new originality report and the preview of your updated document – another good reason to be organised and get your work in handy! Remember at the second stage of submitting to Turnitin you can check what you are about to submit just to be certain you’ve attached the right file.

5. Space to breathe

We know that when that deadline is approaching it’ll be stressful enough without unexpected niggles, so try not to leave your submission till the last minute. This echoes all points above but if done correctly will ensure the final moments before you click ‘Submit’ will be as stress-less as possible.

Once all done, sit back, put your feet up with a nice cuppa and enjoy your Christmas holiday!  And remember, if you have any problems Keep Calm and Ask Us!

 

 

Carol Chatten
Learning Technology Development Officer