As stated before there are a number of ways to assess online students. However, I will assess online students not only through T/F, TEST, M/C, but also writing papers, case analysis, team project involvement and class participation in relation to rebut or answer to other students postiong and give your version of the post topic assigned by the instructor.
Jai
We are in the development stages of an online course program but the information contained in this program will be instrumental in achieving our goals.
Anne,
The question presented was regarding the types of assessment methods you would use in an online course that you were either developing or teaching. What are your thoughts on this topic?
Thanks :)
Jane
I teach online courses in Medical Terminology, A&P., and Medical Billing and Coding. I use powerpoint presentations during my live virtual classroom lectures, then archive all of the lectures for students to watch when they have the time. I use case studies which for the medical field are great tools for assessment of what they have learned. I use discussion forums such as this, also time for synchronous chat ending with a quiz at the end of each week. They are only allowed one attempt at the quiz unless they fail, I think the one attempt is important so I know exactly what they have learned and they are not going back and just writing down correct answers. When doing medical coding it is important to have a good assessment of the knowledge the students are retaining.
Jan ODonnell
I teach Computer-related courses. For both Online and onsite course, I would use the
quiz-style format to assess the learning outcomes.
I have taught Visual Basic using the PageOut website provided by the publisher. During a class period, I have had students present their final projects to the class. Each student began a thread by posting the name of their project on the asynchronous Discussion Area component of the course website.
After each student presented his program, classmates were required to post a response and give comments on the quality of the program and suggestions on how the program could be improved. Students were then able to revise their projects before they were submitted to me for grading.
Redundancy is not necessarily a bad thing.
Unless online students could view videotaped presentations and post a critique online. Voice inflection, pace, gestures, are easily detectable on a video, and I'd argue that eye contact is as well.
I think students would benefit greatly from videotaping their presentations, watching their own, improving on it, and submitting their best effort.
I also use Powerpoint for some demonstrations, use projector to help students walk thru exercises, and students working on their own asking questions on need-to-know basis. Daily assignments include working assignments (documents, spreadsheets, emails, etc.)which are graded from a student folder on the network. Use multiple choice questions, identifying parts, production (given set of instructions to create a document or carry out a task), computer delivered quizzes that require a task or procedure be completed for different types of testing. I also use a syllabus, course policy, and assignment sheet.
I have taught an online course for basic writing. The assessments I used were to assign a topic each week for students to write a paper. Each week the papers go longer and required more involvement from the students.
I gave feedback on each paper within 48 hours to make sure that with each week they saw their mistakes and could correct them for the next paper.
I teach online medical billing and coding courses I use online powerpoint presentations as well as discussion forums. I chhose these methods becasue they get the students involved.
Pamela:
Are your PowerPoint presentations supported by audio? This would account for the delivery of the instruction. What assessment methods do you use to evaluate student's acheivement of the learning outcomes?
Satrohan
I teach Programming Principles for adult students. In this class which is 5 weeks, 5 sessions I use:
• Weekly assignments. Student fallow instructions about the assignment, Mostly research about the topic we are going to see in class and sometimes practical programming exercises.
• One final exam on line
• Oral class presentation and written project. A real or fictitious situation followings clear instructions
• Group mini projects. Research in internet and then a class discussion.
• Power point presentations.
I believe some of the techniques can be use online except for the oral presentations in front of the group:
Fernando:
Unless students are being evaluated on their ability to deliver oral presentations, they can submit a text-based version of what they would had said, had they been making the presentation in a traditional classroom environment. Arrange for these presentations to be posted in the Discussion Forum in a timely manner that would allow other students to evaluate each other's "presentation" as they would have done, had they been in the classroom.
Satrohan
With You-Tube being readily accesible to most students, perhaps this tool could be utilzed for students to post their recorde speeches to. All students could send their urls to the class, and students can go to their You Tube space and post criteria based comments on. Just a thought. With advancements in technolgy new tools will beocme available that can enhance online distance learning and delivery.
Kathleen:
At least one institution with which I am currently uses You-Tube. Not many Course Developers are open to this option. Most of them still adopt narrated PowerPoints. It is an excellent recommendation to adopt new technology in online learning; however, the willingness and ability of students as well as Instructors to utilize such technologies are crucial factors to success.
Satrohan
I have taught business courses on ground and on line. The assessment methods used have been discussion questions, research papers, oral presentation, and a final exam. The discussion questions provide an opportunity for students to share their knowledge with each other. The research paper gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the course concepts. The oral presentations (done with everyone logging to a classroom forum) provide another opportunity for discussion. The final exam is a combination of multiple choice and short answer. The final exam provides feedback as to whether the student read the assigned readings and understands the course concepts.
In an on ground class, role playing could be used. Adaptation to an online course would be a discussion of sharing thoughts and experiences of what one would do in that situation.
Charlotte:
In my opinion, you have been using a comprehensive assessment strategy.
Satrohan
I teach a freshman composition course, so students are assessed on the quality of essays, research papers, and their posts on discussion board threads. We do not use quizzes or exams in freshman composition--just essays. I think this method is effective because students demonstrate their knowledge and competence through writing samples.
Currently I teach/facilitate our externship program, which is currently an on-ground program even though the all of the students are earning their contact hours at an approved off site mployer. I am interested in converting the course to an online format, but being new to this I am unsure of the best way to be to have site supervisor be able to verify the students weekly contact hours and the site supervisors final evaluation of the students progress. Does anyone have any suggestions?
