Remote Assessment Kit

Note: Students can present during a Collaborate session; however, students with limited internet access or in different time zones may not be able to present during the scheduled course time.

Live Presentations in Blackboard Collaborate

• Adjust the Session Settings so that everyone enters the session as a Presenter. Ask students to enter the session early in order to upload the presentation (encourage students to save PowerPoint files as PDFs).
  
  
• Alternately, promote students to Presenter when each is about to present. If you prefer this option, consider asking students to send you the PDF files before class. You will be able to upload the files in advance to save time during the class session.

YuJa is the university’s video streaming and storage provider. The tool is easy to install on a computer and is also available on smart phones as an app.

• Students working on a computer can record their screen, record video using a webcam and/or record what is visible on the screen (such as a PowerPoint presentation).
  
  
• Students using the app can record themselves, use a tripod or ask someone else to hold the phone.

• To share presentations among students, enable your YuJa Class Channel to allow students to submit videos to the channel. Both you and students will be able to watch the recording and make comments on the videos in the class channel.
  
  
• Ask students to copy the link to the video and post it to a discussion forum thread. Instruct students to watch presentations and provide comments in a response.
  
  
• Ask students to watch one another’s videos on the class channel and then discuss the presentations during a live Collaborate session.

• Assign one or more tutorials on effective presentation design to ensure students have basic knowledge about how to present well. Count the self-paced completion of the Hoonuit training as part of the 450 hours of independent study. CETL created a customized Hoonuit module that you can use as is or modify. Modules can be assigned through Blackboard.
  
  
• Provide clear instructions for assignment requirements using the guidelines of transparent assignment design. 

Authentic Assessment

Authentic, real-world, or performance assessment refers to assignments that replicate real-world activities – assessments that require students to apply knowledge beyond the confines of the classroom setting. These assessments require students to do things like transfer knowledge to new contexts, solve problems or simulate a workplace experience, and they tend to resonate with students because they seem purposeful and relevant.

• The University of Plymouth (UK) has put together an excellent overview of authentic assessment.
  
  
• Do a Google search for “authentic assessment” AND “[subject]” to find examples of authentic assessments in your area.
  
  
• Search for a repository of case studies for your field of study.

One way to organize authentic assessments is to think of them as “final projects” with checkpoints set up along the way. Students work on portions of the assignment each week, with the final product due near the end of the semester. The CETL staff would love to consult with you about possible projects.

In lieu of high-stakes assessments, consider replacing with a few lower-stakes assignments. Possibilities include:

• Reflective essays about their learning
• Infographics
• Concept maps
• Advertisements
• Brochure
• Current events journal in which students explain how course content relates to news
• Discussion forum contributions

Another alternative is to give students “repeating quizzes,” which derive from findings on the “testing effect.” Students can take a quiz multiple times, with the highest score being recorded. The benefit is that by reviewing questions repeatedly, students retain information for longer periods of time.

Download a summary of research findings and information about how to implement repeating quizzes in Blackboard.

Should you decide to administer a traditional, high-stakes exam, consider the following options:

• Create an honor pledge as the first question of the exam. Evidence from both behavioral economics and psychology suggest that requiring students to review or sign an honor pledge before answering any test questions decreases cheating.
  
  
• You can add an explicit statement to the exam instructions that says something like, “Working with others, looking up answers online, or referring to your textbooks or notes is not allowed on this exam.” (The research indicates you must do this in the instructions of each exam, not only in the syllabus or on the first exam.)
  
  
• You can create an honor pledge on a test by making question 1 a fill-in-the-blank statement, such as “I, _______, affirm that I will use only authorized resources on this assessment,” or “…will neither give nor receive aid on this assessment."
  
  
• Allow students to use the resources at hand (like an "open book" test), but place a time limit, word count limit, or both on the exercise. 
  
  
• Determine the exam time by allowing one minute per question, which is more than enough time for students to answer a standard multiple-choice question. Adjust the time up or down as necessary.
  
  
• Design an open book exam.
  
  
• Draw questions randomly from large question banks, preferably using questions that you have personally created. This may, however, be unrealistic on short notice. If you're drawing questions from a publisher's question bank, consider modifying the questions or responses in some quick but non-trivial way. For multiple-choice questions, also randomize the sequence in which choices are shown. 
  
  Edwards, Arthur Jr., and Bruce, 2012 explain the rationale for creating three-option multiple-choice questions for most exams:
  • The questions are easier to write (creating the fourth and fifth options is difficult).
  • Test takers typically eliminate the distractor(s), leaving three choices from which to choose.
  • Using three options instead of five has no impact on race- or sex-based differences among test takers.
  • Providing three options instead of five reduces the amount of time required to answer each question, leaving room for additional questions to be added to the test.

• Require students to provide narrative rationales for multiple-choice questions. 
  
  
• Read Practical Tips for Preventing Cheating on Online Exams