by Isabella Dobler, Innovation in Learning Institute/FAU, Germany.
Online assessment at higher educational institutions have created many new possibilities to track students’ learning progress or to measure students’ learning success. A variety of digital assessment tools and formats enable, for example, innovative ways of assessing learner skills, flexibility in time and location both for learners and instructors and facilitate the provision of ongoing and immediate feedback to students. Moreover, online assessment is environmentally friendly and less costly for institutions. However, many instructors lack the knowledge, relevant skills, competences, and empirical values to design assessment scenarios well and implement them successfully. In addition, online assessments are often seen as an inferior emergency solution leftover from Covid19 compared to conventional assessment formats.
The Remote.EDU project aims to reduce this prejudice and to strengthen international competence and knowledge in higher educational institutions on the topic of online assessment. A freely accessible, English-language online course that aims to professionally train instructors on the topic of online assessment is currently being created in collaboration with four project partners from Turkey (METU), Belgium (KU Leuven), Spain (UdL), and Germany (FAU). Interested in joining the course? Find out how at the end of this article.
For whom is this course directed? Instructors at higher education institutions. Other interested parties (such as those from counselling, administration, students, or the interested public) are also welcome to join this online course. Both, beginners and people with prior knowledge of online assessment can benefit from the content.
What exactly is the open online course about?
The online course consists of four modules:
- Basics of assessment and assessment practices
- Online assessment and design choices
- Implementing an online assessment
- Assessing learner skills in an international environment (Virtual Mobility).
More specifically, the content covers:
– a general introduction to the basics of assessment and to the factors that influence the practice of online assessment
– an overview of various online assessment formats (incl. advantages and disadvantages)
useful tips, expert interviews and practice examples for the technical, organisational and didactic implementation of online assessment (incl. ethical considerations, technical tools)
– a decision-making aid for choosing suitable online assessment formats (incl. a downloadable checklist for implementation)
– an introduction and guidance of assessing learner skills in the context of virtual mobility and internationality
Do you want to be among the first to see the course content?
The piloting phase takes place from 1 to 29 March 2023 with a launch of the course expected at the end of April 2023. If you are interested in participating, please write to isabella.dobler@ili.fau.de. Either one selected module or the whole course (4 modules) can be piloted over a period of 4 weeks, depending on your individual demand and time capacity.
Stay up to date via our Facebook page #remote.EDU or homepage https://remote-edu.ili.eu
Author
Isabella Dobler, Research associate Erasmus+ projects, Innovation in Learning Institute/FAU, Germany.
Project number: 2020-1-DE01-KA226-HE-005782
