Guidelines for incorporating online assessment into your unit
Here are four key guidelines:
1. Keep educational purpose to the forefront
It's easy to get 'carried away' with the technical possibilities in MyLO. So:
- Have a clear educational purpose in mind for each online assessment strategy. Be sure you can explain how it will 'add value' to the assessment program.
- Make sure the purpose is aligned with the learning outcomes of the unit.
- Make sure your online assessment is integrated with other assessment strategies for the unit.
2. Begin small and 'low stakes'
- Give yourself and students time to develop familiarity and skills in using online assessment tools.
- Don't take on too much yourself in the beginning - just what you are comfortable with.
- Keep the percent value attached to online assessment modest at first (e.g. no more than around 10%). Focus more on the formative/diagnostic rather than the summative.
3. Give students the opportunity to practise using the assessment tool(s) in a non-threatening environment
- Lessen the 'threat' by keeping the stakes low (see 2 above).
- Provide sample quizzes and assignments to try first, before the real thing.
4. Test and evaluate your initiatives
- Do test all assessable assessment (quizzes, assignments) before releasing them to students. [MyLO makes this easy for you - simply click on the Student View tab and interact as a student.]
- Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your online assessment component and students' reactions to it. Use this information to inform any further development.
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