Monitoring Student Progress (Understanding the Participation Monitor)
Overview
The participation monitor provides insight into student activity on an active (non-archived) flow. It allows Managers to:
See when a student has opened a flow, uploaded a file (FLOWassign/ FLOWhandin) or participated in an assessment (FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti) and submitted their work
See the unique IP addresses associated with student access
See detailed data logs of activity, including the time a file was uploaded and file type/ size
Add extra time/ amend a student’s deadline
Add comments to provide additional detail for an individual’s activity (e.g. why extra time was added or how a submission came to be recorded after the published deadline)
Tip: Users that are added to flows as Invigilators have access to the participation monitor for the duration of the submission period. Basic Invigilators can view student activity and any passwords that are in use (FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti), while Head Invigilators also have the ability to add extra time and comments.
The participation monitor can be accessed from the participants list on the main flow page:
View a list or a graphical summary (overview) of student progress on the flow
Options to filter the students listed
The list view of student progress on the flow
The actions column, which allows Managers to extend time, access data logs and view or add comments on student activity
Options to flag students based on a period of inactivity or other conditions
Access direct messaging
Tip: The Overview layout can be very helpful for rapidly checking successful submissions towards the end of an exam:
Basic Information
The table below provides explanations of the basic information that is available when you first open the participation monitor.
Participation monitor info | Description |
|---|---|
| Grey “Opened”: The student has not opened the flow |
| Blue “Opened”: The student has accessed the main flow page |
| Green “Opened”: FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti: the student has launched the exam environment |
| Paper saved/ characters saved/ percentage: Work is in progress. At least one file has been uploaded, a number of characters have been typed (FLOWlock) or the student has progressed through a percentage of the exam questions (FLOWmulti) |
| Submitted: The student’s work has been submitted |
| Blue clock: This student’s submission deadline was amended via the participation monitor |
| Comments: There are one or more comments on this student’s activity which may provide additional insight |
Note: If the assessment is a group project which is using either the “group paper” or “group with shared submission and individual grading” setting, it is possible to see students in the participation monitor that have made a submission without accessing the flow or uploading a file. This will be because another student in the group has uploaded a file and completed the submission on their behalf.
For FLOWmulti assessments: depending on the nature of the assessment, students may not be expected to answer 100% of the questions (i.e. in an exam which features optional questions).
Understanding the Data/ Event Log
Important: It is very unlikely that the data log will ever give us a definitive answer about a student’s activity on a flow. Generally speaking, it may only offer clues and/ or suggest what might have happened. While the information stored in data logs can be helpful, it is important not to be overreliant and treat it as infallible evidence.
Remember that information can only be recorded accurately in the data log when there is a stable internet connection. If a user reports connectivity problems, some events may be missing.
The data log provides a more detailed list of an individual student’s activity on an assessment. Data logs can be accessed by clicking the clipboard button in the Actions column of the participation monitor:
Events in the detailed data log are retained for 13 months. After this time, they are archived in “deep storage” and are not readily accessible. If you require access to data log information after it has been archived, please contact a Digital Assessment Advisor.
Below are some events that are commonly recorded and their meanings:
Event Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Illegit keyboard/touchpad interaction detected (1 times) - participant warned | The user has made a gesture on their device which is interpreted as an attempt to navigate beyond the lockdown browser without knowing the Invigilator password (FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti) | This does not necessarily mean the user was attempting to cheat - it is very easy to make such gestures in error. Participants will receive a warning message when this happens. If a similar gesture is detected multiple times, the user may be booted from the exam and require staff assistance to regain access. |
Individual participant deadline set | This student’s submission deadline has been changed (e.g. they were granted extra time during an exam) | This event is only logged if the student’s individual submission deadline was amended via the participation monitor. It won’t be registered if a deadline is extended via the participants list. |
Invigilator menu opened | A user has opened Invigilator options on this assessment (FLOWlock/ FLOWmulti) | The user who actioned this knows the invigilator password. In an in-person online exam, this may mean that a member of staff has provided assistance to a student experiencing technical issues. |
Participant set element value | A custom field on the cover sheet was filled in | This event may appear multiple times if there are multiple fields on the cover sheet that can be filled in. They should be followed by the event “Cover sheet updated”. |
Paper handed-in | The user submitted their work |
|
Save abandoned - No changes | Work has not been automatically saved because the user has not done anything recently |
|
Upload initiated / Upload completed | The user started uploading a file/ the file upload was successful | Hovering your cursor over this event will provide info about the file name, type and size. Size is recorded in bytes. |
If a staff member has actioned something on behalf of the student (e.g. extended a deadline via the participation monitor, submitted a file, etc.), they may have provided additional detail via the comment function.
Commenting on student activity
If you have acted on behalf of a student (e.g. submitted a document on their behalf or added extra time during an exam), it is good practice to leave a note to explain what has happened in order to account for any discrepancies or seemingly unusual activity in the participation monitor’s data logs.
Access the participation monitor and click the comment button in the Actions column:
In this example, the student deadline was extended via the participation monitor and one comment has already automatically been added to confirm that the deadline was modified. Add any detail as appropriate in the text field and click Add comment to finish:
Engagement with Feedback
Once the marking period has ended and feedback is released, you can use the participation monitor to see the date and time that students accessed their feedback.
Once the flow is in the concluding phase, access the participation monitor. Click the burger button on the left and select the option to display the Feedback accessed column:
An additional column detailing if/ when a user accessed any released feedback will now be visible.