HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
Assessment strategies for online learning
1. Assessment Strategies for
Online Learning
Caroline Conlon, eLearning Design Coordinator
Faculty Development & Instructional Design Center
2. Session Topics
• How assessment strategies fit into the overall
Instructional design process
• Assessment categories, specifically the role of
formative and summative assessments in an
online environment
• 7 Principles of Effective Online Assessments
• Assessment tools available for use in Blackboard
and considerations for their use in an online
environment
• Academic integrity
3. Assessment and the
Instructional Design Process
• Include assessment strategy into the ID
process
• Align assessment strategy with learning
objectives or learning outcomes
• Think about assessment from learner
perspective
4. Assessment Categories
Formative Assessment Summative Assessment
Surveys Midterm / Final Exam
Journals Quizzes
Blogs Standardized Tests
Wikis Final Grades
Discussion Boards Final Presentations
Self and Peer Assessments Term Papers
5. 7 Principles of
effective online assessment
Design learner-centered assessments that include self-
reflection
Design and include grading rubrics for the assessment of
contributions to the discussion as well as for assignments,
projects, and collaboration
Include collaborative assessments through public posting of
papers, along with comments from student to student
Use Assessment techniques that fit the context and align
with learning objectives
Design assessments that are clear, easy to understand, and
likely to work in an online environment
Ask for and incorporate student input
(Palloff & Pratt, 2009)
6. Assessment Tools
Rubrics
Allow for objective and consistent assessment
Clarifies your expectations about assessment
Makes students accountable for their
performance
Provides a rationale for grading
If team teaching or TA is grading, provides a
framework for all
8. Assessment Tools
Surveys
Use Survey tool to gather aggregate responses
from students
Remind students surveys are anonymous
If desiring to share findings with students,
copy/paste results into Word to post to
Blackboard
9. Assessment Strategies
Discussion Board, Wikis, Blogs, Journals
Provide clear expectations up front (word
count, substance, use rubrics)
Provide feedback or comments along with
grade
In the Discussion Board, best to grade by
forum versus the thread
10. Assessment Tools
Online Quizzes, Tests, and Pools
Allow students opportunity to practice
Format questions in MS Word and import using
the Blackboard Quiz Generator
Add test questions to pools for easy reuse and
expansion
Check with your textbook publisher to see if they
offer question pools for your textbook
Create tests from random blocks or question pools
whenever possible
11. Assessment Tools
Assignments
Use Assignment Manager for file exchange
Attach assignment instructions and/or
template files when creating assignment
Download submitted assignments for offline
grading
Enter feedback electronically & return to
students via the assignment
12. Assessment Strategies
SafeAssign
Use SafeAssign for substantial written
assignments
Inform students in the syllabus of the
requirements to use SafeAssign
Create draft version for students to submit to
in order to self-check their work
Make originality reports viewable by students
13. Academic Integrity
Plagiarism –
Use SafeAssign
Get to know the student’s capabilities through
the use of formative assessments
Tests and Quizzes –
Randomize the order of test questions
Randomly select a percentage from test pool
If a home quiz or test, allow open book
14. Academic Integrity
“Spending large quantities of valuable
time chasing after a small percentage of
cheaters can quickly lead to diminishing
returns”
(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2011)
15. References
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2009). Assessing the
online learner, resources and strategies for
faculty. Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., &
Zvacek, S. (2011). Teaching and learning at a
distance, foundations of distance education.
Allyn & Bacon.