Comparing Turnitin and Blackboard SafeAssign
Turnitin and Blackboard SafeAssign are both valuable tools integrated within Blackboard to support submission-based assignments and grading. They are primarily used to detect plagiarism in student work and uphold academic integrity. This article is designed to help faculty compare these two services and determine which is best suited for a particular course or assignment. Both tools are available through Blackboard, and faculty are encouraged to review their features before selecting one.
About Turnitin
Turnitin Feedback Studio is a web application designed to streamline the grading process by enabling more specific and detailed feedback. Student submissions are compared against an extensive database—including websites, prior submissions within the course or from other institutions, and academic publications. Each paper receives an originality report highlighting passages similar to other sources, accompanied by links to the original materials.
About SafeAssign
SafeAssign is fully integrated into Blackboard as part of your course site. It compares submitted assignments against a set of academic papers and internet sources to identify areas of textual overlap. Upon processing a submission, SafeAssign generates a report detailing the percentage of matching text, alongside suspected sources associated with highlighted sections.
Feature Comparison Chart
| Feature | SafeAssign | Turnitin | Notes |
| Drawing tool | Yes | No | |
| Rich and creative feedback |
Video/audio/mash ups can be embedded within the feedback area, as well as webcam video recordings | Text 3 min max audio file can be attached. |
|
| Private notes tool (information can be left that will not be seen by the student) | Yes | No | |
| Spellchecker | Yes | No | |
| Rubrics | Yes | Yes (But instructor must manually attach rubric so students can see before submission.) | |
| Control over addition of student papers to the databases | Yes – Instructor and student
Instructor controls whether student work is added to the Institutional database Student controls whether their work is added to the Global Reference Database (crossinstitutional) |
Yes – Instructor Instructor controls whether student work is added to the Turnitin database (crossinstitutional) | |
| Supports multiple drafts | Yes – Set up draft assignment
Instructor creates a “draft assignment” for each draft. Draft assignments not stored in SafeAssign databases; therefore, subsequent drafts are not compared to the original. Instructor creates a regular SafeAssignment for the final draft. |
Yes – Add to an existing assignment Instructor creates a “revision assignment” for work that was previously submitted. Revision assignments are stored in the Turnitin database, but are not compared to the original. | |
| Supports multiple submissions of the same assignment | Yes – Instructor must clear the original assignment to allow students to resubmit. Each submission overwrites the previous submission | Yes – Instructor can set up an assignment that allows students to submit papers multiple times until the due date, generating a new originality report each time. Each submission overwrites the previous submission. | |
| Preloaded Comments | No – Workaround is copying and pasting from a template of comments (e.g. on Word). | Yes (QuickMark) | |
| Paper Annotations | No | The GradeMark functionality allows the instructor to add comments, add the grade, apply rubrics (marking guide) completely online | |
| Online Marking (computer / laptop) | Yes | Yes | The online marking functionality of Turnitin is superior |
| Mobile device marking (tablet / mobile) | Yes – iPad | Yes – iPad | No current apps for Android / Windows devices |
| Offline marking using App | Blackboard Grader | Yes | |
| Supports multiple/delegated marking | Yes | No | |
| Double (triple, quadruple etc) Blind Marking | Yes | No | “Blind Marking” is the process of hiding any identifying information about a student while someone is grading their work
“Double Blind Marking” is the same as Blind Marking except that multiple graders may be scoring a student’s work, and none of the graders can see how the others are scoring |
| Multiple marker feedback | Yes | No | |
| Integration with Blackboard | Yes | Yes – Some issues | Copying assignment content areas to other courses can cause issues (note: this is caused by Blackboard software not TurnItIn) |
| Support marking Group assignments (one member submitting on behalf of group) | Yes | No | |
| Portfolio Assignment | Yes | No | |
| Quality/size of database (Published work) | The Internet, 6,800+ journals | The Internet, 130 million articles | |
| Method for backing up of marked work | As scripts are stored on local server, these are usually backed up with VLE server backups. Script can be added to complete additional backups. | Yes – but must be done assignment by assignment. Bulk download per assignment possible into zip file. | |
| Allows use of rubrics | Yes, in app or IMS standard for import and export (which IMS standard?) | Yes – can be built in app, or imported from Excel | |
| Maximum file size accepted for submission | 10MB | 20MB | |
| Accepted file types for originality checking (e.g. MS Word, PDF etc.) | DOCX, DOC, PDF, TXT, RTF, HTML, HTM and ODT | DOCX, DOC, PDF, TXT, RTF, HTML, HTM, PS, PPT, PPTX, WordPerfect | |
| Direct Submission from cloud storage services? | No | Yes. Google Drive and Dropbox. |