Generators
I have never used an online rubric generator do they really work well?
Tery
Terry,
Yes, try it and let me know .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The generators can be invaluable to instructors with limited time. My school changes ciriculum every few years and I is sometimes hard to keep up with the changes. Whenever we have a ciriculum change all of the rubrics must be changed since assessments change as the course content changes. It also helps in designing a ruberic that is more student centered and flexible to the needs of the student. Thank you for this tool which I will use quite a bit.
Gregory,
Good! Tools like the generator does help in updating. Rubrics should be student centered and student responsible.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I have used some online generators to create rubrics. They can be very useful. They can also just be helpful to gather examples and starting points for your rubrics.
Janelle,
Rubric generators like RubiStar are excellent, but many times need to be tweaked to meet your individual needs. It's important to make sure you are measureing what you need to be measuring and everyone understands the expectations/learning outcomes. Thanks!
Tery,
This is the first time I have heard about an online rubric generator. I will have to spend some time to investigate this concept to see what value it might provide and how easy it might be to use.
Laurie
Laurie,
Oh - the are great. RubiStar is one.
I have never used RubiStar, but because I have some of the same grade inflation concerns in the section #2, I'm going to check out this site. I'm going to see if I can find something "out there" to combine something with what I already have to create a better rubric for my upcoming term. I like the idea of using a 1-4 scale rather than a range to help clarify issues as well.
Out of the suggestions that we were given, does anyone have any thoughts about which one would be best for evaulating composition assignments? I'm open to help and feedback!
Alaina,
I use RubiStar as a guide to create my own rubrics. Many times the criteria or suggested sections on a particular rubric helps me think about how I would create my own rubric to assess the learning outcomes. I use only one point allotment for each column. That seems more clear to students. If column 1 is "Meets Expectations" and the range if 8-10 points and one student receives an 8 and the other a 10, how do you distinguish between the 8 and the 10 if they both "Meet Expectations?" Just a thought.
Due to the operating nature of some schools, a faculty member may not have the flexibility to remove an existing point structure to replace with a rubric scale. Thus, faculty using a scale of 1-4 for instance may still need to convert those values into a point system. It is not practical to create a rubric scale for each single point for an assignment, and usage of a holistic or general rubric would not apply for the specific assignment. Thus, is it appropriate to generate a rubric that contains a subsection that aligns to points? For instance, if the rubric equates 4 to excellence for a particular objective, then a subsection shows the learner would earn between 8 and 10 points, the faculty member's commentary should be able to explain why the student earned 8, 9, or 10 points for that particular element. Yet, such specific detail of correlating the scale to a specific point range may be why some faculty resist rubrics or view them as "busy" work.
Lewis,
Yes, if you don't have the flexibility you need, a subsection would most likely work. Work with what you have. Just tie everything to the learning outcomes. If a student is working toward a learning outcome, it should not be busy work.
I will have to look at Rubystar. Algebra rubrics seems not to change much, it is a gen ed standard course, but it will be worth a look, I'm sure.
Donald,
Yes, I can imagine Algebra rubrics may not change much, but it never hurts to look at a new tool like Rubistar. Thanks!
When I first started creating rubrics for online classes, I checked out rubistar, it was helpful to get a look at different rubrics. But I ended up building my rubrics in Excel, so that I could use a lot of bells and whistles there to add, create letter grades and percentages, and have scales linked to descriptors and scores automatically. It was a bit of work, being an Excel novice, but I can rework them pretty easily for a new class.
Christine,
I bet you learned a lot about Excel on your way to building effective rubrics. I too look at Rubistart just to get ideas sometimes. I have many times thought of another category or how to work criteria better by looking at other rubrics. Thanks for sharing.
I have also never created a rubric. They were always pre-made in all of the online classes I have ever instructed. Thank you for the great resource. I am going to look into it.
Very helpful, Christine! I'm going to check out rubistar. I'm trying so hard to gain a basic proficiency with Excel - for some reason, it's just a real struggle for me. Do you have any suggestions for someone who is completely clueless? :)
Darcy
Darcy and Christine,
I'm so glad you are helping each other. This is a great place to share. BTW - you can find some decent Excel tutorials by just searching Google for Excel tutorials.
Mike,
If they are pre-made, please please please make sure they are measuring the learning outcomes. It is best to put the actual learning outcomes in the rubric.
