FeedbackFruits Templates

Last updated: September 13, 2024
Audience: InstructorsIT Staff / Technical

FeedbackFruits tools made easier with templates

FeedbackFruits’ Group Member Evaluation and Peer Review are flexible tools – they can be configured for many different use cases. With flexibility, however, comes complexity; these tools can be daunting to set up, especially if you’re using them for the first time.

If creating a FeedbackFruits peer feedback activity from scratch feels challenging, try starting with templates. 

  • Activity templates provide ready-to-use Group Member Evaluation (GME) or Peer Review assignments that you can add to a course and modify as needed. 
  • Rubric templates provide ready-to-use rubrics that you can add as evaluation criteria when setting up your own GME or Peer Review activity in FeedbackFruits.

Templates in the Institutional Library within FeedbackFruits are centrally curated and managed and are available to any UW instructor to use and modify. The templates can save you time and help you understand how to use the tools effectively in your teaching. 

These templates are designed to enhance your teaching experience and empower your students. Feel free to explore and adapt them to your needs!

Note: Currently, two GME activity templates and one rubric template for writing are available in the UW Institutional Library. UW-IT will add additional activity templates and rubric templates during autumn 2024.

Adding an activity template from the UW Institutional Library in FeedbackFruits

  1. In Assignments in Canvas, click + Assignment to create a new assignment.
  2. Fill in information about the assignment, except for the Assignment Name; creating a FeedbackFruits assignment in Canvas overwrites the Assignment Name. You can also choose to complete this information after selecting a template. 
  3. Select External Tool and click Find to select FeedbackFruits from the external tool list, after which the FeedbackFruits toolpicker will appear (this may take a moment).
  4. Click the card for the Institutional Library and view available institutional templates under the University of Washington header. 
  5. UW institutional templates begin with “TEMPLATE: [COURSE] [QUARTER]:” followed by a very brief description of the activity. After selecting the activity template that you would like to try, you will be able to set up and save your FeedbackFruits assignment. 
  6. Choose which groups will participate in the assignment and click Done. Expanding the Note at the top of the activity will provide more details about the activity.
  7. Click Save; you will then return to the Configure External Tool menu. Click Select again in order for the tool link to be saved in your Canvas assignment.
  8. Edit the assignment name then click Save at the bottom of the page.

Modifying the template

  1. In Assignments, open the assignment that was previously created from a template.
  2. To the right of the assignment name, click the appropriate icon to either enlarge the assignment to fullscreen or open it in a new tab.
  3. Click Edit to edit the assignment.

Using the template ‘As is’

If you would like to use the activity as created, there are only a few changes to complete set-up:

  1. Modify the name of the assignment if you have not already done so. (We recommend including the name of the course and the quarter as well as an assignment name that you and students will easily recognize.)
  2. Decide on due dates. FeedbackFruits allows instructors to set multiple due dates:
    • A date by which students must complete their reviews of group members 
      • Expand “Scheduling deadlines” under “Given reviews” to set this date
    • A date by which students must read their reviews 
      • Expand “Scheduling deadlines” under “Received reviews” to set this date
  3. Edit the assignment instructions to include these dates.
  4. Ensure groups are complete and selected (expand “Student collaboration” under “Instructions”) before publishing the assignment.

Additional modifications to consider

You may wish to further customize the activity template for your specific course and purposes. Some changes you might want to consider are included below. Note: Changes to these features may require you to edit the assignment instructions before publishing.

  • Feedback criteria: If you would like to view or modify the criteria students will use to provide feedback, click Configure to the right of “Feedback criteria” and edit the criteria sections as appropriate. 
  • Required number of peers to review: Set a specific number, or select “All peers.” “All peers” requires each student to review the performance of all other students in their group, regardless of differences in group size (e.g., a group of 3 or group of 4). 
  • Self-assessment: This option requires students to begin the assignment with a self-assessment.
  • Automatic outlier detection: This feature allows instructors insight into unusual situations in teamwork assignments, like over- or underconfident students, or situations where group members are not contributing equally. Learn more about this feature and how to enable it.
  • Anonymity: In Group Member Evaluation and Peer Review, this option allows reviewers to be anonymous (though teachers will always see student names). 
  • Guiding students: The options under this heading allow you to select ways to help students write constructive and complete feedback.
  • Feedback-on-feedback: This option requires students to rate the usefulness of the feedback they received on a scale of 1-10. This rating is NOT shared with reviewers, only with instructors. If selected, instructors can set a deadline for completing this step.
  • Grading: Click Configure to select which facets of the activity should be included in grading and how those facets should be weighted.

Adding a rubric template from the UW Institutional Library in FeedbackFruits

If creating a FeedbackFruits Peer Review or Group Member Evaluation activity from scratch, follow steps 1-8 below, then follow directions for adding the rubric template to an existing assignment. 

  1. In Assignments in Canvas, click + Assignment to create a new assignment.
  2. Fill in information about the assignment, except for the Assignment Name; creating a FeedbackFruits assignment in Canvas overwrites the Assignment Name. 
  3. Select External Tool and click Find to select FeedbackFruits from the external tool list, after which the FeedbackFruits toolpicker will appear (this may take a moment).
  4. Click the Start from Scratch card and select the type of activity you would like to create (Peer Review or Group Member Evaluation). 
  5. Give the assignment a name and some initial instructions.
  6. Choose which groups will participate in the assignment and click Done. 
  7. Click Save; you will then return to the Configure External Tool menu. Click Select again in order for the tool link to be saved in your Canvas assignment.
  8. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Adding a rubric template to an existing assignment

  1. In Assignments, open the assignment to which you would like to add the rubric template from the UW Institutional Library.
  2. To the right of the assignment name, click the appropriate icon to either enlarge the assignment to fullscreen or open it in a new tab.
  3. Click Edit to edit the assignment.
  4. Scroll to step three in the activity, Given Reviews.
  5. Click Configure to the right of Feedback Criteria and scroll to the section Add from a Library; select Institutional rubric templates.
  6. Expand folders to view the available rubric templates and select one or more to use in your assignment. You will have the opportunity to preview your selection. Click Use this rubric and then Done to add it to your assignment. 
  7. You can click Configure again at any time to edit, reorganize, or delete your Feedback Criteria, or add new criteria (comments, scale rating, or rubric).
  8. Click Save at the bottom of the page when finished with your changes.

Modifying the rubric

If you wish, you can make changes to the rubric you added to your assignment. Follow the directions under the heading “Creating New Criteria: Rubrics” on the FeedbackFruits help page “How To: Set Up Feedback Criteria.”

Need help?

If you have questions or need help, send an email to support@feedbackfruits.com, or reach out to support by clicking the blue chat icon within the tool (chat is available 24/5; you will usually get a response within a few minutes).

Many instructors have appreciated having someone from FeedbackFruits review their setup and make sure they have configured their peer feedback activity as intended. Getting an expert review can help you learn more about the tool and help you feel confident that you and your students will have a smooth and successful experience once your activity is published.