The commenting tool allows graders and planners to post Annotations and Page notes (general comments) to planners, graders, students, co-graders and administration (planners). The purpose is to improve the user experience and make it more efficient to provide feedback.
The annotation tool provides several options:
- Post general comments (page notes) on questions.
- Post comments to Planners, graders and students.
- Reply to comments from co-graders.
- Include mathematical notations in comments (LaTeX).
- Make draft comments (Post to Only me).
- Search comments and use text formatting tools.
- The commenting tool can be used on all Inspera Assessment question types, but for the Upload Assignment question type, PDF is the only supported format for annotations.
In Marking 2.0, you can use the commenting tool on the workspaces Marking, Results (for grader only) and Explanations.
Table of contents
- Overview of the different alternatives
- How to use the commenting tool
- Candidate experience
- Questions and answers
Overview of the different alternatives
Question tab
The Question tab will vary in audience from the student's answer tab. Annotations that are made within the Question tab can be displayed to a wider audience to make general announcements. Annotations made to students will be available to view within the Student Report.
- Choose the audience:
- All planners, graders and students: The comment is shown to all the planners, graders and students.
- All Students: The comment is shown to all students. Co-graders and planners can also see these comments.
- All graders: The comment is shown to all graders.
- All students in committee: The comment is shown to all students within the specific committee the grader is assigned to.
- All planners and graders: The comment is shown to all planners and graders.
- Toggle between hide / show highlights: Click this to make highlights in the text visible / non-visible.
- New page note: Creates a general comment where the grader or the planner can post a comment that is not related to a specific point in the question.
- Show annotations: The number indicates how many annotations the current text area includes. This also applies to highlights.
- Filter the annotation list: Search for a specific annotation or comment.
- Sort by location: Sorts the annotations and comments in chronological order or text placement.
Student tab
The only difference between the Annotations menu between the Student tab and the Questions tab is the audience. Planners / Graders can only address the individual student, as each answer is unique. Annotations made to students will be available to view within the Student Report.
- Choose the audience:
- Student: The comment is shown to the student that submitted the response.
How to use the commenting tool
The instructions that follow will be with image examples from the workspace Marking, but the commenting tool will be available and work exactly the same on the other workspaces as well.
- Start by selecting the candidate and question that you want to comment on.
It is recommended to view the question in full screen mode. Click the expand icon
in the upper right corner to expand, and use the icon 
to minimize and return. - To write Annotations, select the text to be annotated and then press Annotate or the annotate button.
Use the alternative Highlight for personal purposes, for example as a reminder. Highlighted text will not be shared with the candidate.
Note: Comments and annotations made under the tab Question will be attached to the question for all candidates. Here, graders can also write comments and annotations to all graders and planner(s) by selecting "All planners and graders".
- Write your comments in the text box that appears. Text formatting options are available, as well as support for LaTex.
Note: When adding formatted links, add the link text inside the brackets [] and the link inside the parenthesis (). A properly formatted link will look like this:
[My link text](https://support.inspera.com)
Once saved, the link will appear like this:
My link text
Don't leave the brackets [] empty - if there is no link text it will appear as if there is no link. - Click the selector at the top of the panel (Student by default) to select who the comment will be shared with. Once the comment has been saved to a group, it can not be changed to another, but it can be deleted after it has been saved. To make the comment private, click the arrow next to the save button and select "Only me".
- When you are satisfied with your comments and have selected the correct recipient, remember to save the comment by pressing the Save button.
- You can edit, delete or respond to comments at any time. To do this, use the buttons in the lower right corner of the comment box.
To write a general comment that is not associated with a specific point in the question, click the Page note button.
You will then automatically get to the Page Notes tab on the right side of the comment box. General comments will be visible in the question they were added to. You can add general comments to all of the questions in a test.
All annotations and comments that have been written on questions will be indicated by a speech bubble and the number of annotations and / or comments that have been written.
Candidate experience
The comments will be shared with the candidates when the marking is completed, provided that the planner has chosen the setting to share comments (see Test settings - After test for planners).
To find the comments, the candidate can log in, find the test in their archive, and click on the test. If there are comments, there will be a link to the question(s) which have been commented on.
The candidates will have a view to that of the marker the grader has, but the important difference is that the candidate cannot add or reply to the comment(s).
Questions and answers
Question: Can I add comments after the grading is finished?
Answer: Yes, new comments can be added and even shared with students after the grading is finished, but the candidates will however not be notified of new comments.
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Question: For how long will the comments be available?
Answer: Candidate submissions will as a general rule be saved for two years. After two years the submission may permanently be removed from the system - along with any comments.
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Question: My student / candidate / learner has uploaded a Word file, can I still comment the same way?
Answer: No, for the question type Upload Assignment, the only supported format is PDF. You can still add general comments (page notes) to the assignment.
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Question: Can I add comments on a PDF with sketches and hand written text?
Answer: No, but you can make comments on the question title or add Page Notes.