Peer Review is a customizable, interactive, online collaborative workspace where participants can post, create and discuss projects, papers, Web pages and other assignments. In Peer Review, individuals or groups can create documents. Participants can comment on the complete document, or comment on specific paragraphs or sentences. The comments are color-coded to identify contributors.

Log on to Peer Review.

Log in to Catalyst Tools. You will be required to enter your UWNet ID and password. Once you have entered your Catalyst Tools Account page, click Peer Review in the menu at the left. You will move to the Peer Review Main Menu.

Create a Peer Review Forum.

From the Peer Review main menu select "Create a new Peer Review" and then click "Next". When you create a new Peer Review you are creating a new "forum" for reviewers. Each Peer Review can contain multiple assignments, each of which contains a single document for review. So instead of creating a new Peer Review each time you want your participants to review work, simply create a single Peer Review and then add assignments to it. The configuration of your Peer Review will remain constant as you add new assignments.

Enter General Peer Review Information.

Enter the following information about your Peer Review, and then click "Next" to continue:

• Peer Review title - Enter a unique name for your new Peer Review in this text box.
• URL back to homepage - If you choose, you may enter a web location (often a course web site) where you would like your participants to be able to go by simply clicking on a button from within the Peer Review.
• Display comments when first read? - In this space, choose whether you would like participant comments to appear on a document when the document is first shown. (Comments can always be seen by clicking "show all" and then "update".)
• Is this Peer Review for a class? - If you are using this Peer Review for a class, enter "Yes" to include course information.
• Do you want to split participants into small groups? - If you would like to split students into small groups, select "Yes". You will have the opportunity to manually assign participants to groups or allow the computer to randomly group students.
• Submitting more than one document for review? - If you'd like to set up more than one assignment, select 'Yes' and enter the number of assignments you'd like to set up. If you answer 'No', only one assignment will be set up now.

Enter Class Information.

If you indicated that this Peer Review is for a class, then the class information page will appear. The information that you submit in this section will only be used to make your Peer Review more accessible to participants. When you have entered the following information about your class, click "Next" to continue.

• SLN Number - Enter the Schedule Line Number for your class from the official University of Washington time schedule.
• Department abbreviation - Specify the University of Washington abbreviation for your department.
• Course number - Enter the course number for your class.
• Section - If your course has sections, enter the section code.

Enter Group Information.

If you chose to split participants into groups, you will see a page that asks for information about the groups. Participant groups can quickly get complicated, so here are some tips to consider as you fill out this page. When you have determined how you would like to configure your groups, select the appropriate options and click "Next" to continue.
Creating groups:

You have two options for creating groups: you can manually assign participants to groups yourself, or you can allow the computer to randomly assign groups for you. If you choose to manually assign groups, you must know who will be participating in your Peer Review; therefore, you must provide the Peer Review with a participant list of UW NetIDs. This also means that your Peer Review will be protected by specific UW NetID security and thus only those participants on your list will be able to access the Peer Review. You can still allow the participants to use pseudonyms so they can remain anonymous if you wish.

If you choose to randomly assign groups, the computer will evenly distribute participants into the number of groups you specify as the participants log in for the first time. Once a participant logs in, they will have the option to view information about their other group members. If you choose this option, you may select any type of security you wish.

Normally a grouped participant will only see the work of other members in his or her group. However, you may also configure the groups so that the group of participants works together and submits a single document to the Peer Review. In this configuration, each participant cannot submit their own work, but they work together editing a single document. Participants will be able to comment on any other group's work.

Set up Peer Review Assignments.

You will need to provide information for at least one assignment when you create your Peer Review. You can always add, delete, or edit assignments at a later time. Participants may submit only one document per assignment (multimedia such as graphics, audio, or video files can be uploaded with a document if they are referenced within the document).

Each assignment has separate active dates and commenting types. Peer Review supports three types of comments: entire document, specific paragraphs, or specific sentences. Each assignment can only have one type of commenting and the commenting type may not be changed once the comment period has begun.

When you have entered information in the following fields, click "Next" to continue.

• Assignment name - Give your assignment a name that is easily recognizable by both you and the participants. Participants will select from a list of assignment names when they submit their documents for review.
• Type of commenting - Select the type of commenting (entire document, specific paragraphs, or specific sentences) for the documents submitted for this assignment.
• Turn-in begin date - Specify the date that you would like participants to begin turning in documents.
• Turn-in end date -Select the date that you would like to stop accepting documents. Participants who attempt to submit documents after this date will receive an error message stating that the turn-in period has ended.
• Comment period begin date - Choose a date on which you would like participants to be able to comment on each other's work. (Usually this date should be later than the turn-in begin date).
• Comment period end date - Specify a date after which participants will not be able to comment.
• Allow participants ability to delete documents - In most cases, the answer to this question is "yes"; however, you may want to disallow any changes once a document has been submitted for review.
• Allow participants ability to edit documents - Again, in special circumstances you may wish to disallow any changes once a document has been submitted.

Select the Desired Security.

There are five security options that you can select to protect access to your Peer Review. (Remember that if you chose to "manually assign" groups you will only be allowed to use the Specific UW NetID option.) Regardless of the security level you select, you may choose to allow participants to use pseudonyms.

• Basic UW NetID - Select this option to allow anyone with a valid UW NetID to access your Peer Review (this includes all faculty, staff, and students).
• Specific UW NetID - Choose this option to allow only those people whose UW NetIDs you specify to access your Peer Review. Follow the directions to create a participant group.
• Create your own password - If you select this option, the Peer Review will prompt all participants for a password. Participants must enter the password you specify here.
• None - Choose this option if you prefer no security. Anyone may view your Peer Review if they enter the correct URL.

When you have selected the security type and whether you wish to allow pseudonyms, click "Next" to continue.

Finish your Peer Review.

You may choose to provide your participants with instructions for this Peer Review by entering information on the "Instructions information" page. You may also provide a link to additional instructions by entering the appropriate address in the URL field. You may leave either or both of these fields blank if you prefer. When you have finished, click "Next".

When you have entered all the configuration information for your Peer Review, you will be presented the URL for your newly created Peer Review. You may link to this URL from a Web page, or distribute it to your participants.

Don't worry if you made a mistake in configuration! You can always edit the information about your Peer Review in the "Edit Menu."