By Nathan White, First-Year Masters of Journalism, Carleton University
At first glance, online assessments might seem more daunting than traditional papers, tests and final exams. But they don’t have to be. Whether you’re looking at using formative assessments to assess progress throughout the course, or summative assessments to evaluate competence and the achievement of course outcomes, online assessments provide an avenue for you to expand your existing teaching toolkit.
The EDC’s educational technology and instructional design teams have seen it all when it comes to assessment structures. Educational Technology Development Coordinator, Kim Loenhart, and Instructional Design Supervisor, Maristela Petrovic-Dzerdz, have worked with many instructors to incorporate online assessments into their courses. Below is a compilation of their top tips to help you get the most out of using online assessments.
- Assessed online doesn’t always mean “done” online – Online assignments can include experiential learning elements, such as conducting interviews, visiting museums or doing experiments, and then uploading the results online. If you want to brainstorm creative online assignment options, schedule a consultation with an instructional designer at the EDC.
- Explore your online tool options – For formative assessments, this could include quizzes, polls, discussion boards or other feedback tools. Summative assessments can incorporate everything from Kaltura Capture videos for visual presentations of research or ideas, to BigBlueButton for group work and presentations, to cuPortfolio for documenting the learning process and reflecting on final outcomes. The EdTech team can help you set up and learn how to use the tools. Schedule a consultation at edtech@carleton.ca.
- Low hanging fruit – Multiple-choice quizzes are popular and efficient. As a formative assessment, they can be a valuable learning tool, providing immediate, automated feedback. To be effective though, multiple-choice questions have to be designed following best research-based practices. Meeting with an instructional designer or signing up for one of the EDC’s multiple-choice retreats can sharpen your skills in this area. If you’re looking for help with the quiz setup, such as quiz settings, PMC overrides, or managing the question bank, you can consult with a member of the EdTech team.
- Clear connections between assessments and course learning outcomes – Whichever assessment you use, consider the course goals and learning outcomes. Tailor assessments to ensure students demonstrate the required knowledge and learning. This may mean going beyond a standard midterm or individual final paper.
- Be up front – As with all assessments, assignment instructions need to be clear in every aspect: submission requirements, deadlines, marking guides, etc. Make sure students know what’s expected and give them assessment criteria they can use as a final quality check before submitting. Pro tip: Keep online assignment instructions in one place in your cuLearn course page to avoid confusion if you need to make a change.
- Provide choice whenever possible – We all love options. When students have a choice, they might invest more in their work because they are selecting based on their interests, preferred learning modes and prior knowledge. Choice can mean selecting from a group of topics, or from different assignment requirements or formats. The cuLearn choice tool provides an easy-to-visualize way for students to indicate their selections.
- Model competence – Students love examples. When they don’t know where to start or how to approach an assessment, they may delay starting until it’s too late. Show them good work, or demonstrate the process you expect them to take to help them overcome that “getting started” hurdle.
- Sharing is caring – Technology allows for easy sharing of individual and group work. Knowing that a submission will be visible to the class, and being able to see their peers’ submissions, improves student motivation and usually raises the quality of work.
- Group assignments – If one of your course learning outcomes is building and improving collaboration and organizational skills, online group assignments will allow you to mark the assignment one time, and every student in that group will receive the same mark.
- Meet with an EdTech consultant or an instructional designer – If you’re trying something new, it’s never a bad idea to talk about the best online tools and strategies that could work for you. Consulting with a member of the EDC team before creating the assessments can help ward off any logistical or pedagogical issues that may arise. Plus, it provides a great opportunity to talk through assessments and solidify your purpose and desired outcomes. Email edc@carleton.ca to set up a consultation.