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Logging has been enabled. Canadian Association for Distance Education MAUD Seminar on Teaching via the Internet Carling Room Evaluating Students On-Line - Terry Anderson Terry is moderating. The floor is open for discussion. The room is not locked. Local host time is Mon Jan 29 12:35:16 1996. The following users are in attendance: |
| jimz | jim zimmer | mount royal college | |
| terry | Terry Anderson | U. of Alberta | |
| mireille | mireille caron | University of Moncton - Shippagan Campus | |
| kathim | ??? | 0 | |
| sharon | Sharon Roy | Laurentian University |
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Terry says: Ok, This session was written up to cover more than just real
time DE, like there were vague references about doing courses on the
Internet etc. Terry says: So I did prepare a mini -lecture on using the nets for student assessment, but I'm not sure that this medium, is great for that type of information dissemination. Terry says: I'd be interested in some feedback from yourselves, about how we should look at stduetn assesment on the nets. A brainstorm? past expereinces? my lecture?? Sharon says: What lecture? Terry says: Well, it is 4 points on a page infront of me, with lots of little points under the 4 points!! Sharon says: Let's begin with the 4 points. Terry says: I choose the topic after reading an article on assessment in DE by Robin Mason in Open and Distance Learning by Fred Lockwood Terry says: OK Terry says: The first is to use it for rapid turn around of assignments. This has been shown empirically to improove completeion rates. Terry says: Athabsca has reduced tuyrn around from 4 weeks to 5 dyas using Loutus notes and email in their MBA program. Terry says: It also allows staged submssion and the ability for students to re work drafts, which generally hasn't happened in DE before. Terry says: Second point is fairly obvious, in that the nets support collaborative learning activities and subsequent collaborative grading and evaluation. Terry says: This helps students learn essential communication skills. Terry says: Third Point is to let the computer be used to mark assignments on line. Terry says: This implies multiple choice or fill in the blank type tests, but does provide immediate feedback, potential saving of instrcutor time and probably lends itself very well to certain types of learning. Terry says: New tools from Next and others are making WWW access to host programs and databases much easier to build, and maintain. Terry says: In addition Java and other application languages will make it possible to download run time programs, simulations and testing tools. Terry says: Fourth, and finally, The transcripts generated either asynch or synch. can be used as the basis for evaluation. Terry says: Students can reflect upon their own contributions, and gain a sense of metacognition. Sharon says: I don't understand your fourth point. Terry says: Thus ends the four point, mini-lecture!!! Terry says: A comment or question PLEASE! Sharon says: Ok, I do understand your fourth point, now. But you're probably typing an answer aren't you. this is not REALLY sycronous, is it. Terry says: Great Sharon. Most online activities leave a transcript. Like the logs from this session which will be available online. A student could be assigned the task of explaining their contributions, showing their growing undertnading of the problem and generally using the transcript as a means of documenting their learning. Terry says: You're right, there is a problem with the LAG - especially with poor typists like myself. Jimz says: With respect to writing online exams at a distance: how are people addressing security issues, that is, how do we know who is sitting at the computer writing the exam? Sharon says: these transcripts and the ability to submit assignments in stages are great for writing classes Terry says: Good question Jim. I don't think we have a good answer. The traditional ways to address this in DE, is to have a proctor invigulate the examination or assume it is a take-home type exam. and not worry about it! Any suggestions? Sharon says: wouldn't exams be best given using an invilator who downloads, prints, and supervisors? Or replace exams with research assignments? Sharon says: My goodness. I can't spell!!! Terry says: Mireille, Have you used the nets for testing at all? Jimz says: The proctor system is what we currently employ in our distance courses, and I suppose it could be adapted--for example, rather than have the student go to the proctor (which we currently do), have the proctor come to the student and supervise the on-line session. Terry says: Right Jim, or when tools get ubiquitus, they may be available at the proctor's place as well. Terry says: The folks at Carleton have a WWW assessment system running, which others can adopt. Terry says: The url is http://www.civeng.carleton.ca/~nholtz/tut/doc/doc.html Terry says: Another benfit of on-line examns is that the teacher/tutor is able to keep a better handle on how the student is progressing. Terry says: One can imagine, smart testing programs sending messages to the prof, letting her know which questions/concepts are giving students trouble. Terry says: Well, do you think a "mini-lecture" like this, with the ability to answer questions, is a valuable use of a students time? Sharon says: Yes, if only because the students will have the opportunity to "meet" their instrucor, tutor, and fellow students. Terry says: Right, but the actual content could have been read on paper, or on a WWW site much quicker. Terry says: I guess, maybe we should assume that students had read this type of material and then come to class prepared to discuss it. Sunshine says: I agree that the actual content could have been on paper Terry says: But then, we've all known times when they arrive without doing the pre assigned reading. Sharon says: Yes, I wouldn't want to try to cover content here in this way. But discussions, group work, and social interaction works well, from what I see. Jimz says: Yes Terry, I think conferencing like this is valuable, but for the population of distance students we (our program) serves, I think an asynchronous tool like listserv would be more heavily utilized by students. Sharon says: That's always a problem, on or off campus. Terry says: Right Jim, this is especially a problem when we start delievrying globally and can never find a time that suits all. Terry says: Kathim, wrote (privately, just know) that the pace is too slow. I agree and find that I tend Terry says: to be reading, talking on the phone etc. which probably impairs my ability to really partcipate in synch type converstaions. Sharon says: the Maud is useful though, as a place where students can meet on a casual basis in the lounge, or where they can meet their instructors in sycronous time outside the classroom, as on campus students can. Terry says: Right, In fact here at U. of A. in our Philosophy Mud, office hours are probably the most used function of the MOO. Terry says: any other comments on assessment using the nets? Jimz says: Terry, is the pace slow because of the server or number of participants, or is this the pace at which conferencing normally moves along? Like you, I find myself doing other things simultaneously to fill the time between posts. Kathim says: does a "culture" or way of interacting arise/does a particular style of communication evolve over time? Terry says: I think it is the slowness of the typing function. Some MOO types I know say they routinely carry on 3-4 different conversations at the same time. Terry says: I'm sure that different cultures are created on the different MOOs Kathim. In fact it is sometimes very difficult for newbees to undertand anything hapopening around them. Terry says: Do you think we are creating a culture hear today Kathim? Kathim says: probably. I do feel a level of disconnectedness. I guess that would go away with time. Kathim says: thanks terry Terry says: One does get more comfortable with the logistics of talking and moving about, but it is a much different world than face-to-face. Not all worse, but definatly, different. Terry says: Well, I think we are about to end the session. Sharon says: Quite different. But I see a lot of potential for our students who are hundreds of miles away from any postsecondary institute. A Virtual Campus would do them a lot of good. Terry says: To summarize, we can use lots of old assessment tools and techniques and update them for an on-line world, but as we discussed, new ways of assessing need to be developed to meet the constraints and capacities of on-line learning systems. Terry says: Thanks for joinging in this afternoon. Terry says: see you back in the plenary hall. Logging has been disabled.
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