Category: Turnitin

Ultra student assessment guidance: Taking Blackboard Tests as a timed assessment or exam

Posted on by peter.peasey


Info: This guidance only applies to Blackboard Test exams taken in a Blackboard Ultra course. If you are taking your test in a Blackboard Original course, you can find the correct guidance here. If you are unsure which course type you are taking the test in, contact your school far in advance to clarify.

Keep this checklist to hand to help you resolve any issues quickly. Contact your school office well in advance of the exam date if you have any questions.

This guide doesn’t cover taking exams using a Proctoring service.


  1. Read the instructions very carefully. Contact your school if you have any problems or questions regarding the exam, for example about the timetable or the technology you will need to use.


Info: To take the exam, you MUST log into the online system using your UoB credentials. Try to do that now, by logging onto Blackboard. If you can’t remember your password, you can re-set it from the IT services page.
  1. Your school will let you know the location of the exam within your Blackboard course: make sure you know where it is so you can find it easily on the day.
  2. Chrome and Edge are the supported browsers. Ensure that you have the latest version installed on your computer. You can check if your browser is supported on the Blackboard Browser Checker.
  3. You are expected to take the mock to familiarize yourself with the format of the exam. Try this out as soon as possible using the recommended devices and check the navigation options, the type of questions, and ensure that any multimedia content is accessible on your computer.
  4. If you feel that you need more help with taking online exams generally, work through the Study Skills resource on online open book exams. For step-by-step help with understanding your Assessment and Feedback Area in Blackboard, and for further help and support, go to your Digitally Ready course.
  5. Plan where you will be physically when you take your exam. Can you find somewhere quiet? Does it have a power supply if you are using a laptop? Is the chair comfortable for long periods of time? If you are in a shared environment, talk to the people around you, and make sure they know when it will be. Perhaps arrange for some quiet time if that’s possible.
  6. If something goes wrong on the day or during the exam contact your School.
  7. Read the troubleshooting guide below and keep it to hand for when the exam begins.


  1. If you are unable to take the exam during the scheduled exam session, let your school know as soon as you can.
  2. Re-read the exam instructions and make sure you know how much time you have to complete the exam.
  3. Set up your physical space and gather together what you will need (computer and charger, water, snacks, etc).
  4. If you are using a laptop, ensure that it is plugged in and not running from the battery.
  5. Get your contact list to hand know who to contact if anything goes wrong.
  6. Open Chrome. Close all tabs, windows and programmes other than the ones you will use for the test.
  7. Log in to Blackboard, find the exam and click on its name.


  1. When you are ready, click Start attempt. If your test is timed, a banner will appear asking you to confirm whether you want to start the timer. If your test is not timed, you’ll be taken directly to the test page.
  2. Once on the test page:
    • You will see a status bar at the top of your page showing you how many questions are remaining. The status bar changes colour to green to show that you’ve answered all of the questions. If your test is timed, the status bar also shows how much time you have left. If you’d prefer not to see the timer, click the eye icon to the right of the time remaining.
    • The system tracks which questions you have completed and automatically saves your answers. Depending on the settings, you may be able to click Save and close to exit the page and come back to complete your attempt later.
    • If the test is timed and you click Save and close without submitting, the timer will continue counting down.
    • If you click Submit before you’ve finished the test, a warning banner will pop up asking you to confirm that you want to do this.
  3. To complete the test and send it to your instructor for grading, click Submit. If the test is Turnitin-enabled, you will receive a pop-up asking if you are happy to agree to the End User License agreement. Provided you are, click Submit. If the test is Turnitin-enabled, you will receive a pop-up asking if you are happy to agree to the End User License agreement. Provided you are, click Submit again.
  4. A box will appear telling you that your submission was successful. We recommend using the Download button to download your submission receipt: a copy of this will also be sent to your university email address.Screenshot showing a notification of a successful submission. The notification shows the course name, assessment name, submission date, submission size, and the confirmation number. There's a download button to download a submission receipt.


I accidentally came out of the exam

Don’t panic! Log back in and resume the exam. The exam system auto-saves answers every few seconds, but you should check the questions you have already answered before submitting.

The exam doesn’t look right or isn’t working properly

If you’re not using Chrome, try switching to that browser. Refresh your browser if you have been inactive for a while. If you are unable to take the exam during the scheduled exam session, let your School know as soon as you can.

My internet connection dropped

If you lose your internet connection for a couple of minutes during the exam, don’t worry. Refresh your browser, log back into the exam and resume. The system auto-saves answers every few seconds, but you should check the questions you have already answered before submitting. After submitting your exam, contact the school office to let them know that you lost your internet connection and for how long.

My internet connection failed completely

If you lose your Internet connection and you are not able to complete the exam, contact your school.

My computer failed completely

If your laptop/computer fails and you don’t have another to use to complete the exam, contact your school.

I’m having a problem with an exam question

If you have an issue with a question in the exam, note down the issue and let the school know after submitting the exam.

The colour of the status bar keeps changing

In a timed test, the remaining time appears next to the status bar. You will see time warnings appearing with different colours indicating how much time you have left. When the time expires, you will get the following message ‘Time is up! Your work was automatically saved and submitted.’

Ultra student assessment guidance: Accessing marks and feedback in Blackboard or Turnitin

Posted on by peter.peasey


Ultra Only: The information in this document only applies if you are submitting work to a Blackboard Ultra course. If you’re unsure if the course you are submitting work to is an Ultra course or not, check with your school administration team.


  • Use a laptop or PC rather than mobile device to access your feedback.
  • Marks in Blackboard are provisional.
  • Final marks are available from eVision.
  • For questions, contact your School admin team in the first instance.

 


  1. Go to your Blackboard home page.
  2. Select My marks on the left-hand side.
  3. Select the appropriate course name.

Tip: if you find you cannot see the assignment in My marks, you can also try accessing your marks and feedback through the original submission point. Do this by clicking on the assignment submission point.

  1. Click on the assignment name.
  2. For Blackboard assignments or Blackboard tests, click on Your mark to access your feedback. For Turnitin assignments, click Launch then select the Paper Title.


  • Your provisional mark is in the top right.
  • Feedback forms, annotated documents or any other files uploaded by the marker will be on the right-hand side, under Feedback for student.
  • If the marker has used a rubric for feedback this is available by clicking on the rubric symbol. Unfortunately, you cannot save the rubric. However, you can copy and paste it into a document.
  • There may also be annotations in the assignment. Click on yellow comment icons and highlighted text to see comments. Not all highlights contain comments.
  • To download your assignment with these annotations, click on the download icon in the top right.


For Turnitin assignments you will be taken to the Feedback Studio.

  • Your provisional mark is in the top right.
  • Text comments and voice comments left by the marker will be available on the right-hand side, under Instructor Feedback. If you can’t see Instructor Feedback, select the blue speech bubble icon.
  • If the marker has used a rubric for feedback this is available by clicking on View Rubric. This can be downloaded along with your annotated feedback (see below).
  • Scroll down the submission to see comments, highlights and strikethroughs. Click on blue comment icons to read what they say.
  • To download your annotated assignment, click the download icon to the right of the screen. Click Current View. The downloaded PDF will include an annotated version of your submission as well as other general feedback, rubrics or grading forms.

Ultra student assessment guidance: Submitting Work to Blackboard or Turnitin

Posted on by peter.peasey

Ultra Only: The information in this document only applies if you are submitting work to a Blackboard Ultra course. If you’re unsure if the course you are submitting work to is an Ultra course or not, check with your school administration team.


Looking for information on preparing your work?: If you are looking for information on preparing your submission before submitting it, you can follow the same preparation guidance provided to students using Blackboard Original.


You may be asked to name your file in a specific way by your tutor or school (especially if you are submitting anonymously), so it is always best to check the submission point or guidance in the Blackboard course in advance. However, the name of your submission file should only contain characters from the list below:

  • ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
  • abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
  • 1234567890
  • _ [underscore]


  • Allow as much time as possible to submit before the deadline.
  • Try to use a stable, secure internet connection (wired if possible).
  • Use a laptop or PC rather than mobile device to submit your work.
  • If you are uploading handwritten work, check guidance for preparing handwritten submissions.
  • Close any documents you are uploading before submitting them. Close programs and windows other than Blackboard.
  • Follow your School instructions for submitting your work.
  • Any problems, try changing browser or refreshing cache. If problems persist, try resubmitting, or wait and try again a little later.
  • For questions, or if problems persist, contact your School office in the first instance.
  • Please ensure you have followed the instructions for preparing your submission.


  1. Go to your Blackboard home page.
  2. Click on the appropriate course and find the submission point. This will normally be found in the Assessment, submission and feedback.
  3. Click on the assignment name.
  4. A side panel will appear showing some assignment information and a black button at the bottom that says View instructions or Launch. Select this button to enter the submission point. There may not be any instructions to view, but you can continue to submit your work as you need to.
  5. Depending on the type of submission point, you’ll see one of the following two screens:

Blackboard submission point:

An image of a Blackboard submission point screen

Turnitin submission point:

An image of a Turnitin submission point


  1. Drag and drop a file into the submission box on the left-hand side of the page. You can also browse your computer for the relevant file by selecting the submission box and using the + icon to insert an Attachment.
  2. Edit the file’s display name if you need to.
  3. Your file will appear in the submission box. You’ll be able to see a preview of it. Please note that the word count displayed below the submission box does not reflect the word count in your file/s and is not used in marking or moderation.
  4. Use the preview to check that your file has uploaded correctly.
  5. Once you’re happy, select Submit. You’ll be asked to confirm and select Submit again.
  6. A box will appear telling you that your submission was successful. We recommend using the Download button to download your submission receipt. You’ll also receive an email confirmation.Screenshot showing a notification of a successful submission. The notification shows the course name, assessment name, submission date, submission size, and the confirmation number. There's a download button to download a submission receipt.
  7. If you have any problems submitting, or if you don’t receive your email receipt, first try re-uploading:
    1. Click on the assignment name.
    2. Click Start attempt on the right and follow steps 1-5.

  1. Ensure your large file has been uploaded and is available in OneDrive. In the OneDrive software, you will see a green tick displayed in the Status column.
  2. In Blackboard’s submission point (usually in the in the Assessment, submission and feedback area), click on the assignment name to open it.
  3. Select the submission box on the left-hand side. Select the + icon, then Cloud storage.Blackboard submission point showing the plus icon drop down menu on the right hand side. The Cloud Storage option in the drop down menu is highlighted.
  4. Select OneDrive, then Connect to OneDrive. You may be prompted to log in: use your university email and password.
  5. Navigate to and then select the submission file, then click the Select button.
  6. The file you’ve selected will appear in the window. If you have selected the wrong file, you can remove it by clicking the X on top of the file.
  7. When you’re ready, click the Import button in the bottom-right of the screen.
  8. The file will appear in the submission box and a preview will be generated. If you’ve selected the wrong file, you can remove it by using the Delete file icon to the right of the filename.
  9. Once you’re happy, select Submit. You’ll be asked to confirm and select Submit again.
  10. A box will appear telling you that your submission has been successful. We recommend using the Download button to download your submission receipt. You’ll also receive an email confirmation.Screenshot showing a notification of a successful submission. The notification shows the course name, assessment name, submission date, submission size, and the confirmation number. There's a download button to download a submission receipt.

  1. When you click Submit, there is no progress indicator to let you know the upload is in progress. Make sure you stay on the submission page, do not refresh the page or go back. If your file is large, it might take some time for the submission to process.
  2. When submitting your work, ensure you click Submit and not Save and Close. Saving and closing will mean that your work is not submitted. If you accidentally click Save and close you can return to your draft and submit it (or another file) by clicking the submission point and then clicking Continue attempt. This will return you to the submission page, where you can complete your submission.
  3. After submitting, check your university email account for an email receipt. If you can’t find one, remember to check your Junk folder. If you’re sure you haven’t received a receipt, it is likely that your submission hasn’t been received. You should try submitting again. Please note, your final submission is the one that will be marked.


  1. Click Upload Submission.
  2. Enter a Submission Title, making sure you follow instructions provided. Include your student number in the Submission Title.
  3. Select Choose File to select a file from your computer. You can also use the Cloud Submission tab if you prefer.
  4. Click Upload and Review.
  5. You will see a preview and be asked to confirm your submission. Check through your upload, using the arrows to view each page as necessary, and click Submit to Turnitin.
  6. Click Download Digital Receipt in the green bar.
  7. If you have any problems submitting, first try re-uploading:
    1. Click on the assignment name at the submission point.
    2. Click the Resubmit paper icon (up arrow on the right-hand side) and click Confirm.
    3. Follow steps 2-7.