Overview

The Marking Scheme Generator (MSG) software provides support for structured marking of student coursework to enable detailed feedback and overall marks to be produced.  The concept is that a marking scheme template is created containing assignments, tasks, and grades.  The course tutor describes what is required to obtain each grade with feedback comments covering aspects that can be improved.  This allows feedback to be automatically generated based on the grades selected during the marking process, and combined with reusable, bespoke, task and/or assessment level comments. The software can then assemble and email the individual feedback for each student based on the grades, feedback options selected, and bespoke feedback created.  The tool will work best for assignments that are clearly structured into a number of tasks with well defined criteria for the attainment of specific grades for a task.

Cohort information (student reference, names, email) can be imported from spreadsheet or  .csv files (from ASTRA), and conventional marking template spreadsheets can be produced for a marking scheme.  Alternatively, completed spreadsheets are produced if grades are entered and feedback selections are made in the tool GUI, and this has the advantage that more sohpisticated feedback generation than can be achieved from the spreadsheet.  Probably the easiest way to get an idea of the capability is to watch the short video clips or download and experiment.

Here are some example feedback email messages generated by the system (click to open full size).

Functions

The software provides main functions outlined in the diagram below.

• Provide a grade based marking mechanism to assist the marking process and to hopfully facilitate rapid production of feedback for students (process illustrated with green arrows)
• Capture and reuse grade-based marking scheme templates for multiple assessments containing multiple tasks and allow modification and reuse of existing marking schemes for new cohorts or assignments.
• Provide a friendly GUI interface to enter grades whilst marking. Feedback options can be selected and bespoke feedback added (and reused). As grades are selected, marks, feedback preview, and feedback options instantly shown to verify the feedback is fully appropriate allowing bespoke comments to be added if necessary.
  
• Instantiate a marking scheme for any number of cohorts, and produce spreadsheet marking templates (process illustrated with orange/dash arrows in the diagram) or completed spreadsheets (green dash arrow).
• Produce standard (i.e. name alphabetical) module spreadsheets containing all of the information and formulas required during the assessment process.
• Automatically reorder completed spreadsheets into the form required for entry to the student records system including checksums etc.