Crowdmark Student Guide

Crowdmark is an application for handing in your work and receiving detailed marks and feedback for exams and assignments. Online grading tools like Crowdmark are designed to help your instructors and teaching assistants collaborate better on grading, so they can return outcomes to you more efficiently and fairly.
Access Not immediate Your instructor will need to set up a course and will ask you to verify your Crowdmark account first. Then you can use this account to log in to Crowdmark.
Bandwidth Yes Low demand on internet connections.
Privacy Yes Verified by UBC’s Privacy Impact Assessment process.

What will I use it for?

Your instructor may have you use Crowdmark for any of the following:

  • Hand in scans of paper-based assignments, quizzes, or exams
  • Complete fully online assignments, quizzes, or exams
  • View grades and written feedback for your work

This tool guide was last reviewed in March 2023.

What do I need to use Crowdmark?

A supported web browser

Crowdmark runs in your web browser and supports using Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari.


A Crowdmark student account

A Crowdmark account will be created for you after your instructor enrols you in a Crowdmark course. Please wait for notification of your account before you follow the steps below.

Tips

  • Once you’ve received and verified your Crowdmark account, you can access Crowdmark by logging in to app.crowdmark.com/sign-in/ubc. Select the option to sign in with Canvas.

How do I use Crowdmark?

You will first verify your Crowdmark account and set a password. Then you can participate in the course activities that your instructor assigns within Crowdmark.

Click any bar below to find instructions and tips for using Crowdmark.

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Verify your Crowdmark account

A Crowdmark account will be created for you after your instructor enrols you in a Crowdmark course. Please wait to receive an email from Crowdmark before you try signing in initially. Once you've verified your account for one UBC course, you should not need to do it again.

  1. You will receive an email from Crowdmark when your instructor first distributes an assignment (for fully online work) or returns a graded test (for paper-based work). Once you receive this email, click whichever link you see:
    • Sign in and go to assignment for new assignments
    • Sign in and view grades for graded work
  2. When you access Crowdmark for the first time, you will need to verify your account by clicking Claim my account.
  3. Another email will be sent to the email address associated with your account. Click Claim my account in the new email that arrives.
  4. Enter your full name, set a password, accept the terms of service, and click Claim my account for a final time.
  5. You will be taken to the assignment or graded work linked from the original email.

Tips

  • If you accidentally create an account ahead of time, you will not see any courses, assignments, or graded work right away. You will also need to make sure that you are accessing Crowdmark with the same email address that your instructor has used to enrol you (usually the default email set in your Canvas account).
  • You can check your default email address in Canvas and change it to match with Crowdmark. Log in to Canvas and follow our tip for updating your email address in Canvas.
  • If you still can't see your course, assignment, or graded work, you can try troubleshooting yourself. Follow the Crowdmark instructions for accessing assignments and grades.

Hand in work with Crowdmark

Whether your instructor has asked you to hand in an assignment, a quiz, or an exam, Crowdmark will list your work as an assignment on the course page.

  1. Access Crowdmark, select Sign in with Canvas, and log in using your UBC CWL.
  2. Click Authorize to give Crowdmark permission to access your Canvas account.
  3. Click the course to access your assignments and then click the assignment you want to complete.
  4. Read the instructions carefully, taking note especially if this assignment will be timed. For a timed assignment, when you are ready, click Start the assessment now.
  5. Complete the assignment. You will answer any multiple-choice or textbox questions on the screen. You can answer other types of questions on paper or in an application like Word, unless your instructor has specified otherwise.
    • Each question that can't be answered on the screen will require a separate file upload. Please complete these file-based questions on a separate piece of paper or digital page, and label each answer with the question number.
  6. For each file-based answer, click the dotted box upload area to add your file.
  7. Make adjustments to any file uploads, as needed:
    • To rotate a PDF page or image, click the magnifying glass icon on top of the file preview, then click Rotate page until you are satisfied, and click Done.
    • To remove a PDF page or image, click the x icon on top of the file preview.
  8. Once you are satisfied with all your answers, click Submit pages for evaluation.
  9. Once the submission finishes uploading, scroll down the page and review your submission to make sure everything was uploaded correctly.
    • So long as time remains before the due date passes or the timer runs out, you can click Edit and resubmit to make changes, then click Resubmit for evaluation.

Tips

  • Optimize your files as best you can before handing them in to make sure your instructor and teaching assistants can view your work properly. Crowdmark offers tips for preparing your images for upload.
  • There are limits to the size of the files you can upload. Crowdmark accepts PDF files up to 25MB and JPG or PNG image files up to 12MB.
  • You can resubmit work up until the due date passes or the timer runs out. Once the due date has passed or timer runs out, your submission will be locked in so that your instructor and teaching assistants can begin grading.
  • Crowdmark will email you if and when your instructor chooses to use Crowdmark for returning grades, and you can access your grades and feedback using the link in the email or following the instructions for reviewing work in the section below.

Troubleshoot issues with handing in Crowdmark work

If something goes wrong while you are trying to submit your assignment, you will usually see an error message. Both you and your instructor have access to a Crowdmark log of all actions you have taken to submit the assignment, so your instructor will know you had issues. However, you can try to resolve these yourself.

General error

A general error is usually temporary and happens when something interferes with the upload. You can try the following:

  1. Use a different internet connection.
  2. If you are submitting from a mobile device, switch to a desktop or a laptop computer.
  3. Disable extensions/add-ons in your browser, update your browser to the latest version, and/or try a different browser.
  4. Reduce the sizes of the files you are uploading.
  5. Re-save the files to a different compatible format (PDF, JPG, or PNG).
  6. If none of these steps solve the problem, contact support@crowdmark.com and include the error message, the file you’re trying to submit, and the browser and operating system you’re using.

Incorrect file type / File size is too big

Crowdmark accepts PDF files (up to 25MB) and JPG or PNG images (up to 12MB). Save, scan, or photograph your answers into one of these accepted types. Select a lower quality for your scanner or camera, if your files are too big.

PDF text appears garbled

After uploading to Crowdmark, sometimes PDF files do not look as expected, particularly if they include special characters. Export the PDF pages as JPG or PNG images instead. This conversion will flatten the text and ensure that the formatting is maintained.

Pages are missing

Re-save your files to a different compatible format (PDF, JPG, or PNG) and try submitting again.

Photo rotation is wrong

If you’ve submitted an image from a mobile device, the rotation data may be sent incorrectly. Switch to a computer instead and try rotating the image there, then upload the new image to Crowdmark.

Review your graded work in Crowdmark

Not all instructors will release grades using Crowdmark; ask your instructor or teaching assistant if you are not sure what to expect in your course.

  1. Access Crowdmark, select Sign in with Canvas, and log in using your UBC CWL.
  2. Click Authorize to give Crowdmark permission to access your Canvas account.
  3. Click the course, and then click any work with a status of "Graded".
  4. On the grades page, you will be able to see your total score and your score for each individual question, as well as a class scores distribution (if your instructor has not disabled it). Any additional markup and written feedback will be accessible as well.

Tips

  • Crowdmark will email you if and when your instructor chooses to use Crowdmark for returning grades. You can access your grades using the link in the email or following these instructions.
  • You can download a copy of your graded work when viewing it. Use the print option at the top of the grades page, and choose a PDF format as the output instead of a printer.

Where can I get more support with Crowdmark?

Technical support

If you have trouble accessing Crowdmark:

If you have technical issues using Crowdmark:

  • Contact Crowdmark support directly.
  • Reach out to your instructors or teaching assistants with questions too, as they may be able to provide real-time assistance in helping you resolve issues.

Online learning support

Learn more


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