Blackboard Assessment: Getting the Most Out of Tests and Surveys

There are many successful ways in which an instructor can assess learning in a face-to-face classroom, so why then should a blended instructor consider using online assessments as a regular means to judge learning?

Providing assessments online can add variety to the types of assessments used.  Formative assessments work particularly well online, allowing students to assess their own learning at their own pace.  Aside from ungraded test questions for students to practice, giving students the opportunity to do peer reviews work particularly well online.   Summative assessments can benefit from the variety that a substantial test bank offers, allowing for the rotation of questions. Assessments can also be set to give feedback immediately to students.

Once you’ve decided the type of assessment you’d like to use online it’s important to plan for not only the success of your assessment but, for student success as well.  Make sure that your assessments address the learning outcomes you have set for your students.  You might even want to make this your first formative assessment to see where students stand at the start of your lesson/unit.  Use the same assessment again throughout or at the end of what’s been taught to give your students comparative data.

As you are designing your assessments, consider how much time your students will need to complete the assessment an plan accordingly to ensure that students are given ample time to complete the activity.  Also, remember that clear instructions are important, especially if you intend to deploy the assessment asynchronously.  The rubric located here is a good starting place to designing successful online assessments.

Here are some examples of assessments in Blackboard from the University of New South Whales.

 

For more information on online assessments and how to develop them, visit: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/online.html

Some excellent Blackboard video tutorials and instructions on developing online assessment in Blackboard can be found online at, http://ondemand.blackboard.com/assess.htm

What are some concerns you have about using assessments online and what are some ways in which you think you might be able to overcome them?  Please share your thoughts by using the comments feature for this post. 

Community Building Strategies

Especially in the early weeks of your course, it’s important to foster a feeling of community. You’ll find that if you take the time to build community early in your course, students will be more motivated to be active and engaged in your course in subsequent months.

Here are a few simple ideas on how you can build community in your course.

Establish a Presence

  • Make sure to create a staff information page.  This page should tell your students a little about you, how to contact you, and the best times to contact you.
  • Respond to all emails & calls in a timely manner
  • Modeling – when appropriate jump in and join your students for an activity.  The Discussion Board is a great place to interact with students & you can model the way in which you’d like them to respond to their peers.

Be Inviting and Encouraging

  • Post regular announcements with words of encouragement, task and due date reminders, interesting facts, fun events, new websites, etc.
  • On occasion you may want to send important course reminders to your students via email, or words of encouragement or congratulations on work well done.

Encourage Socialization Among Students

  • Create a “Student Lounge” in your course.  It can be a place where students can discuss items that aren’t related to the curriculum (DB forum or chatroom), a place where you showcase student work, post interesting finds that may or may not be related to class work, etc.  Let your imagination go with this one.
  • DL buddy activities are a good way for students to work with and get to know their classmates.  At the start of the semester you might consider having your students do an online icebreaker activity that breaks them up into groups or buddies to get to know a few of their classmates better.  As the course continues, successful groups can continue to meet to discuss assignments or for group activities.

Highlight Achievements

  • It’s always nice to be recognized when you’ve worked hard to accomplish something.  Take the time to recognize the students in your course that put a little extra effort into a project or assignment by creating a Student of the week/month announcement to highlight their hard work.
  • If you’d prefer not to single out a student, another idea could be to highlight exemplary work.  Create a section in Blackboard that shares the creative, accurate, and imaginative work.

***Think about which of the strategies above you’d like to incorporate in your blended/online learning course and share them with the group by adding a comment to the post.  If you have any other ideas/suggestions on building community in online courses, please add those too!***