How to assess and evaluate students in online teaching ?

  

We are now towards the end of the academic year.  We have all struggled and somehow learnt and managed to teach online.  But it's time for assessment now.  Many would have already started with the online assessments.  But, here though this blog I would wish to mention a few useful tools and tips for conducting and evaluating the online assessment effectively.

Assessing student learning is an essential component of effective teaching and learning in the online environment. The following resource will provide you with information on how to effectively use online assessments.

First, Lets see the difference between Assessment and evaluation ?

Assessment is to track the students understanding the areas of weakness during the learning process.  It allows us to adjust the teaching accordingly and is basically improving the learner’s performance. 

Whereas, Evaluation focuses on grades and determines the merit value or quality of the programme, it helps us to identify if a course is effective and redesign it course or product accordingly. It is product-oriented. 

Objective of assessment : 

Online assessments allow you to learn more about your students, and help to learn more about ourselves as well – so that you can see which is the right way of teaching for the students. 

Types of assessment 

• Pre-assessment or diagnostic assessment, 
• Formative assessment, 
• Summative assessment, 

Methods of assessment 

1. Written Assignments:  Short essays, research papers, case study responses.
2. Online Discussion: Asynchronous discussion activities (i.e. discussion board, blog or wiki).
3. Concept Maps: Provide visual representation, info graphics, mind mapping
4. Game- type activities : 
5. Presentations: slide deck, poster, Blackboard Collaborate
6. Test/quiz/exam: Traditional multiple choice, short or long answer questions.

Advantages of online assessments

• Saves lot of time and money
• Can be completed in less time.
• Data can be easily collected and exported to excel file.
• Can be taken during class, or at home 
• Can get results and feedback instantly
• Many candidates can take the assessment at the same time.
• Helps you to know more about your students and their needs. 

Disadvantages of online assessments

• Need to be a computer literate to create or take an assessment 
• Technology is not reliable, internet and technical problems makes it complicated 
• High costs are involved in such software.

Online assessment tool

• Google forms

It can be used to assess the students. You can also use to get feedback from students and parents. Similarly, students can use Google forms to assess their own learning and set the learning goals as well as to collect data. I have made an explanation video on how to set questions in Google forms, send it to students and how to export the marks to excel sheet, click on to the link to view it.

• Kahoot 

It is a game-based classroom response system played in real time. You can project the Questions on a shared screen, while the students can answer the questions It allows you to design multiple-choice quizzes as well as polls and surveys that populate on-the-spot data; the quiz questions and polls stimulate quick instructional decisions as well as whole-class discussion.

• Answergarden

It is an easy-to-use online feedback app that can be used to get answers from your respondents. It adopts a minimalist design that allows users to create, share, answer, and manage topic questions without signing up for accounts. It can be used for brainstorming, polling, synchronous and asynchronous communication, and formative assessment.

• Classkick

It is a free formative assessment tool that allows you to create lessons and assignments that students work through on their devices at their own pace. You can observe student progress in real time and provide immediate feedback.

Evaluation process :

• The students must be aware of the expectation of the assessment in advance and have to keep them posted. 
• Teachers can use the auto-grading options available in the online assessment tools. For example, questions like multiple choice, true-false, or short answer can be set to assess automatically and provides feedback along with the results. 
• Students can submit the assignments into the LMS within the scheduled date and time, you can later cross check to give feedback.
• One of the basic requirements for evaluation is the rubrics. Its effectiveness is based on the level of detail included. 'Rubrics help to define the characteristics of a high-quality assignment and help the student understand assignment and assessment expectations. Rubrics also provide a range of performance by establishing categories that span the range of possible outcomes, from basic to exceptional performance on task. 

Conclusion 

Online assessments are a critical part of  online education and should be undertaken with the same level of care and rigor that you put into creating your learning content. The best part is that you need not be a genius to build online assessments. There are many software tools that allow you to generate engaging tasks. Choose your way to assess student learning and a related tool to align your needs and the results you want to achieve.

Google Sheet Calendar Template for Academic Year 2021-22.

 In the book  "8760 hours - How to get the most from the next year"  written by Alex Vermeer, explains the importance of creating a detailed plan and optimizing  it for success. 

He has explained  - 

• Why to plan ? 
• How to plan ? 
• What are the things to plan ? 
• Tools that are available for planning.
• You can know your present reality by answering a few questions.
• Identifying your major Goals.
• Determining possible uncertainties. 
• Planning and reviewing your goals.

Download the book in PDF format by clicking the given link - 8760 Hours- How to get the most from the next year.

The author has also given a compact single page year calendar from David Seah. Which holds a “big-picture” for the upcoming year. On which one can place things like:

• Major project milestones.
• Specific events and important dates.
• Monthly habits to focus on and develop.
• Anything else you want to see, such as metrics, quotes, or major goals.

After reading the book, I thought about how this compact calendar can be used as a teacher to plan the academic year. 

With schools reopening very soon for the next academic year many of you are already planning for next school year. So that all the tasks can be put together in one calendar for Teachers, Students parents and for Management heads.

Though we have Google calendar, it is for our personal use and we will not be able to share it with others. Many may prefer a one page document with all the information and events for the year. 

With help of the compact calendar, I have altered and incorporated a little more information that a teacher will require to plan their academic year. 

I have given the link below to download the academic calendar to get your copies in the editable form. 

[convertkit form=2287455]

Editing the Calendar 

Once you have your copy of the calendar, you can edit them as you do in any normal Google Sheets.

[caption id="attachment_475" align="alignright" width="300"] School Calendar[/caption]

• You can type the events and information on the right side of the months.
• You can change the color of the corresponding dates on the calendars by simply clicking on the date and change the background color. 
• You can also remove a color by choosing "Transparent" as the background color.

Sharing the Calendar

As the template is a Google Sheet you can share the calendar.

• You can share the sheet by clicking the "Share" button and sharing with specific people or as a link.
• You can download a PDF version of the calendar by clicking "File" then "Download" then "PDF document".
• Or you can print the document.

 

Click the link below for a video explaining how to use this calendar 

https://youtu.be/NmgPyahwjGM

This template an by useful for anyone who like to work in an organized manner and schedule their work.

The same template can be modified each year with out much difficulty and without missing any of the previous year's events.

Hope your found this content useful, let me know your comments below.

Online Education - An Overview

 

Meaning

Online education is a form of education that is delivered and administered using the internet.

The meaning of traditional education has changed in recent times. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option that is available to you anymore. Nowadays, with the rise of the Internet and new technologies, the access to a quality education has increased. As long as you have access to a computer and internet you have access to a quality education anywhere and everywhere.

Also read : elearning the future of education

Benefits

It's flexible :

As a teacher or student you have the choice to either teach and learn at your own pace.

It offers a wide selection of programs :

You have a wide range of skills and subjects are available to teach and learn.

It’s accessible :

Its enables you to study or teach from anywhere in the world.

It allows customized learning :

You have access to very diverse material such as videos, photos, and eBooks

It’s more cost-effective :

It is more affordable and the results can be better than other than traditional education.

Also read : Top 5 Benefits and challenges in online education

Scope

Learners to increase :

Online education in India has been on an upward swing in the recent years. And in this current scenario the online learners are expected to increase at a much accelerated pace.

Unexpected subjects :

Data science, ML, AI, Analytics are few subjects that are the most popular subjects being learnt online by Indians.

Supplementary education :

Students may turn towards online after-school coaching and tution centers for availing extra help and are expected to flourish.

Career skills :

The practical knowledge and skills that are needed for a job is focused rather than just providing just education.

Quality & delivery :

With increasing competition, the quality of content & delivery of online courses will definitely improve.

Also read : Soft Skills required for effective tutors

Top Digital Learning Platforms and companies :

Companies that provides courses for school-going kids and help them in exam preparation:

Byju's Classes :

India's leading online content that offers contents in the form of interesting and interactive videos to the students. It also provides courses which help in exam preparation for IAS, IIT, JEE, etc.Using modern technology Byju’s uses stories in the form of videos, images and gifs to enhance learning and revision.

Vedanthu :

Its features include free live classes and sessions with live doubt-clearing. It also has free study material, NCERT solutions, previous year papers, important questions, learning management tools, and performance reports among others.

Extramarks:

It uses interactive, rich-media based learning modules. Virtual reality-based 2D and 3D animation techniques make learning interesting and concepts clear for school students. Preparation material for tests like JEE Mains, SAT, PSAT, TOEFL and NEET is also available for candidates.

Toppr :

It presents comprehensive content in a very organized manner. It offers online classes, mock tests, live doubts and adaptive practice. Toppr uses artificial intelligence-based machine learning algorithms on top of this strong infrastructure, to create personalised learning for students.

Khan Academy:

It was initially created for tutoring high school and college students. It offers exceptional training modules for all types of educational coaches, and for students at various levels. Khan Academy is known for well-researched units of multiple levels of science, the arts, mathematics, and history.

Learning Platforms that offer courses for graduates, professionals and other persons who wish to learn, enhance or update their skills.

Skillshare:

Skillshare offers a varied collection of courses to enhance your creative side, as well as enrich your business goals. Few examples of course categories include leadership, marketing, productivity, graphic design, culinary arts, languages, and wellness. Every Skillshare class has a project that offers practical experience and the opportunity to receive feedback.

Upgrad :

Upgrad provides industry-relevant programs designed in collaboration with the faculty of reputable institutions across the country and with the world-class faculty and industry. Merging the latest technology, pedagogy, and services, upGrad is creating an immersive learning experience – anytime and anywhere.

Udemy :

It is taught by experts to help your workforce excel, its learning recommendations enhance skills and are customized to drive employee engagement. Its course selections include more than 3,500 on-trend subjects that will enrich learning and boost your skills in a host of areas including business, tech, design, and more. Udemy also offers a great mix of expert resources on the latest e-learning trends, including e-books, webinars, videos, infographics, and case studies that will benefit you.

Coursera :

The Coursera provides universal access,partnering with top universities and organizations to offer online courses. You can earn credentials from distinguished universities like Yale and Stanford as well as leading companies such as Google and IBM. The site offers hundreds of diverse courses, certificates, specializations, and degree programs. Many of the courses are free.

LinkedIn Learning :

If you are looking to improve your professional development skills, this is an excellent place to start. The range of courses covers business and technology as well as creative pursuits and is offered in seven languages. The platform is open to individuals and organizations, and most courses include quizzes, exercise files, templates, and other supporting documents to help you apply the material.

Conclusion

Though online education cannot 100% replace traditional education, these are few reasons for the students to choose this new form. And in recent days most of the students started to think that online education is the same or better than the traditional classroom experience. Still you must be able assess the situation and decide according to your needs and goals. And this alternative to traditional education is not for everyone, it's still a convenient option for students all over the world.