Help Guide: File Upload & Markup
Two important content creation blocks available to authors are File Upload and Markup. Both blocks serve different purposes and offer unique capabilities for creating interactive, collaborative learning environments. Below is a detailed overview of each block, their differences, and ideal use cases.
1. File Upload Block
The File Upload block allows students or teams to upload documents, such as images or PDFs, for review by instructors and peers. This component is ideal for exercises where students need to submit their own work or research for evaluation or collaboration.
Key Features:
- Student Document Submission: Learners can upload images, PDFs, or other file types as part of the activity.
- Peer review (Optional):** If enabled by the instructor, students or teams can engage in peer review. This allows classmates to review and provide feedback on each other’s uploads.
- Collaborative Pinning & Commenting: Peer reviewers, as well as the instructor, can drop pins and add comments directly on the submitted documents. These comments are visible only to the document submitter and the teacher, maintaining privacy for feedback.
When to Use File Upload:
- Individual or Team Work Submission: When you want learners to submit their own work for grading or peer review.
- Collaborative Feedback: When enabling peer-to-peer or team-to-team review and feedback is an important part of the learning process.
- Document-Based Assignments: When the focus is on students uploading their own content rather than interacting with pre-existing content.
Allele tip
While Peer review is a great option to enable for File Upload, remember that Peer review can be enabled for any learning experience in Allele.
Use Case Scenarios:
- Research Papers & Projects: Students can upload written reports or project files for review and feedback from both instructors and peers.
- Image/Slide Submissions: In medical education, students could upload images of lab results, histology slides, or research data for peer collaboration and analysis.
- Creative Works: Students in design, engineering, or other fields can upload visual designs or schematics for peer critique and instructor feedback.
2. Markup Block
The Markup block is a powerful tool for interactive content creation. Educators can upload an image or PDF for students to annotate with drawings, shapes, and labels. This component is ideal for cases where students need to interact directly with visual content provided by the instructor.
Key Features:
- Image or PDF Upload: Instructors can upload visual materials, such as radiographs, diagrams, or case studies, for students to interact with.
- Learner Annotation: Learners can use drawing tools (arrows, pin drops, shapes) to annotate or label specific parts of the image or document.
- Customizable Shape Options: Authors can configure the types of shapes (e.g., circles, rectangles, arrows) that learners can use for annotation.
- Correctness Zones: Instructors can define “correctness zones” on the image. When a student places an annotation within these hidden zones, the system automatically registers whether the response is correct or incorrect.
- Labeling for Additional Context: Both educators and students can add text labels to shapes, providing more context or clarification to their annotations.
When to Use Markup:
- Visual Identification & Labeling: When you want students to interact with provided images or documents by marking and labeling key areas or concepts.
- Position-Sensitive Tasks: When the spatial position of a student’s response matters, such as identifying a specific location on an X-ray or microscope slide.
- Collaborative Image Review: When learners need to work in teams to identify and discuss visual information (e.g., marking cell structures or abnormalities in a pathology slide).
Use Case Scenarios:
- Medical Image Analysis: Students can analyze medical images such as X-rays, MRIs, or pathology slides and mark areas of interest or concern, such as abnormalities or disease markers.
- Anatomy Identification: Instructors can upload anatomical diagrams for students to label different body parts or identify structures.
- Scientific Data Interpretation: Learners can annotate charts, graphs, or lab results with key observations or findings, enhancing their analysis skills.
Key Differences: File Upload vs. Markup
| Feature | File Upload | Markup |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Student file submission for peer/instructor review. | Interactive annotation of provided images or PDFs. |
| Primary Interaction | Uploading files for review and feedback. | Annotating pre-uploaded visual content. |
| Feedback Mechanism | Pins and comments from peers/instructors. | In-document annotation with text labels. |
| Correctness Zones | Not applicable. | Instructors can define correctness zones for automatic scoring. |
| Collaboration Style | Peer review or collaborative uploads. | Team-based annotation on a shared document or image. |
Choosing the Right Block:
-
File Upload: Use this block when the focus is on students creating and submitting their own work for evaluation or peer collaboration. It’s ideal for projects, assignments, and document-based activities.
-
Markup: This block is best for image-based learning, where students need to visually interact with the content provided by the instructor. It’s commonly used for tasks involving medical images, diagrams, or other visual media where position and context are crucial.
Allele tip
The File Upload and Markup blocks in Allele offer educators versatile tools to create active learning experiences. While File Upload emphasizes student submissions and peer review, Markup provides an interactive environment for visual analysis and annotation. By understanding their unique strengths, educators can better tailor learning activities to meet the needs of their students and objectives of the course.