In this article we will walk you through how to use Peer Review from the perspective of a teacher.

If you’d like more information on how this tool works, you can check out the overview article here:

Depending on whether you are creating an assignment from scratch or copying an old assignment/from a template, you will see a different view of the tool - we are rolling out a new and updated user interface as of April 19th, 2024 for all newly created assignments from scratch. From June 24th, 2024 this will also apply to all assignments created by copying another assignment or from an existing template.

Where the interface for the new version of the tool differs, you can click the toggle button () to show the image for this tool version.

You can read more about this update here:

At the top of the assignment, you will see the Overall student progress overview. Click on statistics per active student to see individual students' progress. Here you can see if students have read the instructions, given feedback, the total number of review comments, and finally, if students have read the feedback they received.

Click on the headers in each column to change the order (ascending or descending) in which students are displayed.

The check marks under read instructions mean that that student has finished the step. The light purple dot means the student has not read the instructions yet. The red dot means the student has missed the deadline for handing in.

Under the give feedback header, you see a rod for each review that a student needs to complete. In the example in the screenshot, students need to complete two reviews. A dark purple rod stands for a finished review.

A light purple rod means a peer has been assigned for the student to evaluate, but the evaluation is not yet complete. A white rod means the student has not yet been assigned a student to evaluate, click here for an explanation on how peers are assigned.

It is also possible to export all the student data into an excel file. This file contains information concerning review ratings, review comments and grading. You can download this export by clicking on the export analytics button in the overall student progress window.

Here you can see the instructions written when setting up the assignment. These can be changed by clicking on edit on the top right corner of the screen.

Directly underneath the instructions, you can select options for student collaboration.

When selecting student collaboration options, there are several configurations to choose from. Please bear in mind that collaboration options need to be selected before students participate in the assignment - once a student makes progress, the configurations can't be updated.

Options for students hand in:

Options for students evaluate:

This will allow for the following combinations:

For more information on configuring groups when using FeedbackFruits within Blackboard, Brightspace or Canvas, click here. If it's not possible to sync the groups within your LMS or if you are using the platform, you can find more information about how to create groups here.

When creating your assignment, you can configure submission options for your students.

Required number of files to hand in: Set the amount of files that students are required to hand in. Note that students' will not be assigned to a peer for review if they submit fewer files than required. The submission requirement can be set at exactly, minimum or between your chosen amount. Students can always hand in more files than required. In the example given in the screenshot, you would set this to 2: they hand in a word doc and slides.

Scheduling deadlines: Set the hand-in deadline. Students have to upload their work before this deadline. When this deadline has passed, students will be assigned work of a peer or group to review. When no deadline is set in this step, students are assigned work to review when 2 students have handed in. Click here for an explanation about how peers are assigned. When not setting a deadline there is a chance that the allocations cannot be distributed equally, therefore setting no deadline works best in a 'live' feedback session.

If a deadline for submission has been set for the students, you have the option to allow for students to hand in after the submission deadline has passed. Simply enable this option (as shown on the screenshot below), and students will be able to hand in after the submission deadline as well. Keep in mind that enabling this option will not affect the student analytics - you will still be able to see if students have submitted on time or not.

File requirements: Check the box next to the file type you want your students to hand in. Students will not be able to upload file types to you deselect. For an overview of which formats are supported for each file type, click here.

Please note that embedded audio and video in documents and slideshows cannot be played in FeedbackFruits.

Plagiarism check: If your institution has opted into our Turnitin integration, you can select here whether the check should be toggled on or off. You can read more information here: Turnitin FAQ

Anonymity: The students who review the assignments won't be able to know the name of the peer they are reviewing.

Guiding students (optional): If you have specific hand-in instructions for your students (such as the desired font, line spacing, naming the file, etc.) fill them in here. Example: Please name your student number in the file-name. Upload both your essay and the slides you will use when presenting about your essay.

Once the assignment has been set up, this step provides an overview of the students' submitted work, and which students have not submitted their work.

The students' submissions can also be viewed in the assignment itself. By clicking on the file in the files handed in column in the row for the student's name, you can see which files they have submitted. Click on 'view' to view the submitted work. Note: If the student has submitted a video, you will see the video player instead of the document.

All submitted files can be downloaded by clicking the 'download' icon in step 2. The submissions are in a zip file, the files in this zip file have a name in the format [First name Last name Student] Original file name.

View Submissions navigates you to the submissions playlist, where you can start viewing student’s submissions packets. The reviews at this step show the deliverable submitted by the student.

Please note: if you are using the earliest version of our tool, you will not see a view submissions button. In this case, you can click on the name of individual students in order to view their submissions.

Selecting Open on the line item will direct you to the deliverable. Please note that this action will not allow you to access the feedback given or received on the artefact. To access this feedback, follow the next two steps outlined below.

Note: If the student has submitted a video, you will see the video player instead of the document.

In this step, you can specify criteria to help guide students as they give feedback. Click configure to edit, add, or delete criteria. Click here for a detailed guide on setting criteria.

Required number of peers to review: Specify how many peers/groups each student has to review. Reviewing multiple peers is good practice, giving students a broader view of how their peers did in the assignment. At the same time, it means that students get reviewed by several peers, giving a better, more nuanced view of their own efforts.

Self-assessment: Students are able to review their own work before reviewing their peers.

Scheduling deadlines: Set the deadline for giving feedback. Note that reviewers will not be able to view or edit their reviews after this deadline passes. Leave the deadline blank to allow reviewers to view and/or edit their feedback indefinitely.

Allocations: By clicking change you will be able to select your preferred method of allocation. If you set this to all, students will have to review everybody in their group - it's important to be mindful of the student workload when using this setting.

Automatically - One by one: The students will be assigned a review one by one, the second review will appear after starting the first one, and so on. This is the default and recommended method of allocation.

Automatically - All at once: Only available if the amount of required reviews is set higher than 1. With this allocation option, students will be assigned all the reviews they'll have to complete at once. The advantage of this is that students will see all their peers at once. The disadvantage is that it allows for less flexibility, i.e. if students only complete 1 review, the others can no longer be assigned to.

Anonymity Enabling this option will make reviewers anonymous. Reviewers will still see the name of the peer they are reviewing. Teachers can also see the name of the reviewer.

Visibility Choose when the students can see their feedback. You can set this to 'instantly', 'after release date', a 'certain date' or 'never'.

Guiding students (optional) If you have specific hand-in instructions for your students (such as the desired font, line spacing, naming the file, etc.) fill them in here. Example: Please name your student number in the file-name. Upload both your essay and the slides you will use when presenting about your essay.

In an active assignment in this step, you can access an overview of all provided feedback. The reviews in this step display the feedback provided by the student.

Please note: if you are using the earliest version of our tool, you will not see a view reviews button. In this case, you can click on the name of individual students in order to view their reviews.

Students who have begun giving feedback on their peer’s submissions will reflected in this step. Clicking on the ‘headers’ will change the order (ascending or descending) in which the students are shown.

Underneath the Given Reviews header, you have 3 buttons - view reviews, show allocations, show ratings and fullscreen. We will cover view reviews in more detail in the next step.

Show Allocations displays the work assigned to the student for review. If you've chosen a collaboration option other than hand in individually you will also see your chosen collaboration option here.

Show ratings presents a heatmap displaying the assessments given by the students. If you have added a self-assessment step, you will also see a button to access this next to the given reviews header at the top of the table.

Full screen offers a wider display for easier view. You may also leverage the Search capabilities to search for individual students.

The reviews in this step display the feedback provided by the student. View Reviews navigates you to the given reviews playlist, where you can start viewing individual review packets. You may also navigate to a specific student review by hovering over the student’s name in the table below.

Please note: if you are using the earliest version of our tool, you will not see a view reviews button. In this case, you can click on the name of individual students in order to view their reviews.

Show feedback given to filter defaults to All Reviewers. This provides a consolidated view of all feedback given by Saul Goodman, enabling you to review all his feedback swiftly without navigating multiple sections.

When navigating the Feedback section of the 'All Reviewers' packet, you can hover over the ratings to view the two peers to whom the student assigned that rating. Additionally, 'New' buttons indicate unread comments.

You may use the dropdown menu to filter by individual packets. For instance, if you click on Skylar White, you will see the review packet that Saul Goodman provided to Skylar White. The Submissions section contain all deliverables from the different peers that the student has given reviews to.

Selecting Open on the line item will take you to the deliverable that has received feedback. Here, Skylar White has provided feedback on Walter White's deliverable. The submitter's name is highlighted in the purple appbar. Refer to the sidebar to review the feedback from Skylar White to Walter White.

To navigate to the next student, click on the back arrow in the purple app bar, and you will be presented with the playlist again. Click ‘Next’ to move on to the next student.

In this step, you can toggle whether or not students rate their reviewer feedback (also known as feedback on feedback) and set a deadline by when the student should have read all of their received reviews.

In this step, you can view an overview of all feedback received. The reviews in this step display the feedback received by the student.

Please note: if you are using the earliest version of our tool, you will not see a view reviews button. In this case, you can click on the progression circles of individual students in order to view their reviews.

Click on the column headings to reverse the order in which the students are shown (ascending or descending).

The overview also shows how many comments the student has read and when the student was last active.

Click on the status chips Not started or Completed to view the list of students with those respective statuses.

The reviews in this step display the feedback received by the student. Clicking on View Reviews takes you to the workflow playlist, where you can start viewing student review packets. The reviews at this step show the feedback received by the student.

The Show feedback given by filter defaults to All Reviewers. This provides a consolidated view of all feedback received by a student, enabling you to review all his feedback swiftly without navigating multiple sections.

You may use the dropdown menu to filter by individual review packets. For instance, if you click on Walter White, you will see the review packet that Jesse Pinkman received from Walter White.

Click on the Next button to navigate between students who have received reviews.

You may view ratings and comments view the review packet or the side bar. It is possible to respond to these comments or upvote them.

To add yourself as a reviewer while reviewing the feedback a student has received from their peer, simply click on the purple icon located at the bottom left of your screen.

Upon clicking the purple icon, you'll encounter an empty review packet, with your name automatically added to the reviewer filter. From there, you can proceed to provide your review. It's important to note that once you submit your review, you won't have the ability to retract it, so please review your feedback carefully before finalising.

In this step, you can enable whether or not students should reflect on their assignment.

To add a reflection step, please scroll down to the bottom of the assignment in edit mode and click on the plus (+) button in the purple circle to view available learning steps to add.

When Reflect on Activity is selected, you can set a reflection deadline, as well as a required length of words. There is also a description field in which you can specify what you want students to reflect on regarding the assignment. Students can start with this step when they have completed step 3 ‘Give feedback to your peers’.

In this step, you can view an overview of all student-written reflections.

Writing a reflection is a valuable step to conclude an assignment. For example, the student can write a reflection on how the entire process of providing feedback went. The teacher will see this reflection in an overview in step 4 (if the teacher has enabled this option in the settings).

Students can write their reflections after providing feedback to their peers, regardless of whether they have completed the "Received Review" step.

Here the teacher can see which groups and which specific students have made progress in completing their reflection. Only the groups whose students have made progress on this step will be shown as in the image below. If the teacher wants to read a specific student's reflection, the teacher clicks "view" next to the student's name to see their reflection.

Clicking the View Reflections button will take you to the reflections playlist, allowing teachers to easily browse through the entire list of student-written reflections.

You can add grading criteria to your assignment by clicking on the purple plus (+) button on the bottom left. You can configure how many points you want to give to each process of the assignment and whether the grade should be published as a percentage or pass/fail.

By clicking configure, you can customise your grading criteria and toggle certain parameters on or off depending on the needs of the particular assignment you're setting up:

In this step, you have to access a comprehensive overview detailing the grades of each student within the system.

If the teacher has included grading in the settings, it will be visible after the last step. The image below shows what that will look like. By clicking on the arrow on the right or using the scroll bar at the bottom, the teacher can view the rest of the grade sections (from left to right). On the far right there is also an optional grade adjustment . This allows the teacher to add or subtract points for each student. Click on Fullscreen to get a better view.

If anonymity is enabled, the students work under a pseudonym, but the teacher can always see the student name.