T: 051 401 2112 gadingerb@ufs.ac.za www.ufs.ac.za

Best Practice in online assessment:A collection of resources

Anneri Meintjes

OUTLINE• Why online assessment?

• Challenges

• Resources to address these challenges

• Institutional initiatives

WHY ONLINE ASSESSMENT?Institutional StudentLecturer

Increased student numbers

Variety of assessment methods

More regular assessment

Less marking

Gauge more regularly how students are

progressing

More prepared students

Immediate feedback

Convenient to complete anywhere

Understand the work better

58%

71%

18%

79%

17%

5% 2% 4%9%

2% 1% 1% 2%

79%

4% 2%

17%12%14%17%

30%

18%

3% 1% 0% 0%6%

CONTENT

COLLABORATION

INFORMATION

ASSESSMENT

UFS UNDERGRADUATE LMS USE

UFS UNDERGRADUATE LMS USE

85% of all undergraduate

modules registered on

the LMS

51% of undergraduate modules on the

LMS did not make use of ANY online assessment

tools

Online assessment challenges

Access to resources /

infrastructure

Student-related challenges

Lecturer skills

Lecturer confidence

Access to resources /

infrastructure

10%

82%

18%

66%

Desktop

Smartphone

Tablet

Laptop

50%

96%

60%

86%

Desktop

Smartphone

Tablet

Laptop

STAFF STUDENTS

ACCESS TO DEVICES

71%

12%

17%

Yes No Sometimes

21%

45%

34%

Yes No SometimesUFS STUDENTS

89%

11%

Yes No

UFS STUDENTS WHO ARE RELIANT ON COMPUTER LABS ON CAMPUS

UFS STAFF

ACCESS TO INTERNET OFF CAMPUS

Student-related challenges

78%

76%

38%

43%

21%

32%

26%

5%

8%

35%

31%

60%

44%

51%

I wish my students were better prepared touse institution-specific technology (e.g.,

Blackboard).

I wish my students were better prepared touse basic software programs and applications

(e.g., MS Office)

Most of my students have adequatetechnology skills for carrying out module

activities.

Too many of my students look to me or myteaching assistants for technology support to

fulfil module requirements.

Students are adequately prepared to usetechnology needed in courses when they enter

into university

Students are prepared to use institution-specific technology when they start university

(e.g. Blackboard, student portal, etc.)

Students are prepared to use basic softwareprogrammes and applications when they startwith university, (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc.)

Agree/ strongly agree Disagree/ strongly disagree

Staff perceptions of student preparedness to use technology in T&L

STU

DEN

TS T

HEY

C

UR

REN

TLY

TEA

CH

WH

EN S

TUD

ENTS

FI

RST

EN

TER

U

NIV

ERSI

TY

50%

44%

33%

40%

41%

60%

64%

21%

26%

33%

28%

27%

16%

13%

Blackboard

Basic computer skills like using amouse, keyboard, etc.

My tablet during class (for class-related purposes)

My smartphone during class (forclass-related purposes)

personal, purposes)

My laptop during class (for class-related purposes)

MS Office products

Internet searches

Strongly agree/ agree Strongly disagree/ disagree

35%

65%

Yes No

Student perceived skills development needs

Students who indicated that they need additional training

Student Cheating

Dealing with student queries

Lecturer Skills

STAFF PERSPECTIVES“You see, the thing with Economics is, it is a very difficult thing to teach online,

you know. You really have to draw that graph and explain why it shifts this way.

So trying to put that into a Word document, to translate a PowerPoint into a

Word document or even just your lecture plan to a Word document is quite

difficult.”.

“It [online assessment] is brilliant to use but then the academics, the students and the

admin support staff need to have the skills and the experience to really implement it in a

way where you can stand back and say this was really a valid assessment. I think that

was the biggest challenge during that time, a lack of experience and skills”.

Using Blackboard

51%

I could be a more effective lecturer if I were better skilled in…

Basic computer skills36%

Email42%

Using MS Office products

49%

Lecturer Confidence

STAFF PERSPECTIVES

“I think people that are good on a computer underestimate how much

time it takes for those of us who are not good on a computer to get

things done”

“What I usually find with technology, is that when I go to a workshop it

seems fine, like I can do it in the group, but when you don’t do it that

often, in my case, if I want to do it again in 2 weeks’ time, I tend to

forget what I need to do”

418 staff members attended online

assessment workshops

(2017 – 2018)

Questionmark used in192

modules (2017 – 2018)

Where are the others?

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT?

Types of online assessments and

practical ideas on how to incorporate it in your

overall assessment strategy

Objective vs Subjective question

types

Strategies for developing objective questions that test

higher order thinking

Providing feedback to students

Using assessment results effectively

Considerations and challenges in the SA

context

Resources addressing:

Online tests/ quizzes

Assignments

Discussion forums

• What are they?• Practical ideas for

how to implement it• LMS specific

resources • General resources

7 different objective assessment question

types

Developing good MCQs

Checklist

Interactive example of each

Guideline with example of poor question and example of how it can be improved

With guidelines for developing good MCQs – interactive on website + downloadable resource

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Assessment Blueprint

Strategies for developing questions for higher order

thinking

• Description of levels• Examples of MCQs on different

levels

• Useful to plan how you will set up an assessment

• Useful for teaching teams• Explanation on how to complete

+ downloadable resource

• 4 Practical strategies to develop questions that test higher order thinking

• Examples of each

Feedback guidelines

• 7 guidelines for good feedback practice

• Online assessment examples for each

• General resources – free software

Basic calculations and interpretations of overall

results

Item analysis interpretation

Item analysis calculations

• Class average• Percentage of students who

passed/ failed• Identifying sections that require

extra attentions

• Interpreting p-values & what to do with items with poor values

• Interpreting item discrimination & what to do with items with poor values

• How to manually calculate p-values in Excel (step-by-step)

• How to calculate item discrimination (step-by-step)

Initial time investment

Students’ lack of computer skills

Cheating/ unwanted student collaboration

Dealing with student queries during and after an assessment

Lack of access to devices and/ or reliable internet

Practical advice on how to deal with each

challenge

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT?

ONE PIECE AT A TIME

Anneri MeintjesUniversity of the Free State

Centre for Teaching and LearningMeintjesA@ufs.ac.za

051 401 7851