Preparing for Finals: How Turnitin and Proctoring Exams Can Help

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We’re quickly approaching the end of the semester, so it’s time to make sure you have all the info you need to finish strong. Today we’re going to be talking about finals, and make sure you check out our post about reviewing your gradebook and submitting your grades as you prepare to do that.  

Because of the unique challenges of this year, your finals may look different from the norm. Whether you’re having your students write a final paper or take an exam, here’s a few features to consider as you make your plans.  

1. Use Turnitin for written final projects 

Turnitin integrates seamlessly into Canvas assignments – you only need to select “Turnitin” from the drop-down in the Plagiarism Review section of the settings page. Once you’ve done that, you can choose the settings you want. For more information about and recommendations for defining Turnitin settings, check out “Turnitin: Three Tips for Accurate Similarity Report Assessment.” Additionally, you can learn about some new features TurnItIn added recently in “Turnitin: Feedback Studio Updates and Contract Cheating” and “Turnitin Adds AI Writing Indicator to Similarity Report.”

2. Proctor your exams for students out of class 

You may have a situation where you have some students in the classroom taking an exam while other students need to take the exam remotely. In those circumstances, you can set up the exam as a Canvas Quiz and work out a time with the student(s) to remotely proctor the exam via Teams. This is not a requirement in any way – it’s an option that you can take advantage of if it’s something you’re interested in. For more information on how to do this and a template of an email to send to students, check out “How Can I Proctor an Exam for Students Unable to be in Class?”  

If you have questions as you prepare for finals, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us – we’re here to help! You can email us at ctl@cedarville.edu or leave a comment below.  

Editor’s note: This post was originally published November 10, 2020 and was updated to reflect the most current recommendations for finals solutions.

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