Teaching online is similar to teaching on campus. You will need to present your course content, create assignments that foster student learning, and develop assessments that measure student achievement. There are many factors that will require you to look at your plans from a different perspective. One of these factors is how to assess learning. This is because it is so important that you are able to accurately assess student learning while maintaining academic integrity.
Below are three questions that instructors often ask about online education.
How and when do I assess the learning in my online course
Your online course may have many students because of the flexibility of online learning. Bridgett McGowen–Hawkins, Senior Professional Educator, says that assessment can (and should!) take place throughout the course and not just at “test times.” This will require you to change the way you evaluate learning.
Consider your course’s learning goals and determine the best activities to help students learn the skills and concepts that you teach. You could ask students to record videos or make presentations to test their speech skills. Or, you could use online discussions to assess students’ understanding of the readings or viewing material.
Online quizzes and formative assessments can help you and your students track their progress throughout the course. They can also help students reinforce what they have learned.
Are you interested in adding a traditional summative assessment to your course? Your LMS may have tools that allow you schedule tests. This can help ensure that students take the tests on a specific date, at a particular time, or within a specified window of time.
How can I ensure academic integrity during my online course?
Instructors can’t see how students behave online, which can make them nervous. You may want to include an objective question-based examination in your course work. However, most learning management systems can randomly assign questions to each student. This will make it difficult for cheaters to pass along questions and answers to their classmates.
You can also address cheating potential by asking students to submit regular updates on their progress. If you are evaluating learning through a research project you might ask students to submit their thesis statements and bibliographies.
You might ask, “What about the fact students can look up answers while they work?” While it is true that students have access to resources (such internet and texts), you can still measure the quality of their learning by asking questions that require students to demonstrate higher-order thinking skills such as application, evaluation, and analysis. These types of questions not only make it more difficult to find the answer, but also help students understand the course material better.
How can I give feedback on my online course?
It’s easy to have a conversation about student progress with students if you meet them in person in an on-campus class. You can also hand-write notes about the work they have submitted.
Although you may miss the face-to-face interaction you had in an on-campus course initially, it is possible to give timely, meaningful, and effective feedback to your online students. Consider the following options and consider what might work for your situation.
If you are administering an objective test, make sure your LMS allows you to add rejoinders to help students understand why the answer is correct or wrong.
Students can submit papers to track changes functionality. This allows you to add comments or notes. An interactive rubric is also possible.
When you assess learning through discussion board questions, make sure you respond to some, if not all, of their comments. Also, look out for “teachable moments”, as you read.
If you have general feedback that is applicable to the entire class, you might consider recording it or posting it in a discussion board post. Or, you could share your observations during your lecture.
