Adapting Your Assessment Activities for Online Instruction

When adapting your assessment activities from a face-to-face course to an online course:

1. Do not implement course grading that relies heavily on exam or quiz assessments. A heavily test based course in the online environment is less than desirable for several reasons:

      a. The opportunity for cheating is high;
      b. Student engagement with the material is low;
      c. Multiple choice and true & false tests assess the ability to recall facts and lower level knowledge which provides less opportunity for the development of critical thinking skills and application of actual knowledge.

2. Consider weighting the exams/quizzes at 40%, participation and contribution at 10%, and the remaining 50% consisting of a variety of assignments spread throughout the course.

The opportunity to cheat can be lessened if not avoided by using a variety of assessment methods such as participation in threaded discussions, contribution activities, and group assignments. Discussion boards and chat sessions help to establish the student's individual "voice" and provides the opportunity to be actively engaged in the course. Well designed group activities encourage collaboration and prompts students to engage with course content and construct new knowledge collectively. Including a peer review or peer-grading component is another excellent method of assessing authentic student work and providing additional opportunity for active engagement.

Information adapted from: online learning insights: A Blog about Open and Online Education. 

Coming next: Adapting Your Assignments for Online Instruction