Electronic Assignments: Cheers

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Electronic AssignmentsCheers Challenges
Dr. Diane GalambosSheridan Institute of Advanced
Learning Technology, Oakville Advancing
Learning This is IT! Mohawk College, May 2008
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I have slightly modified this PPT to following
the event to stress topics that interested the
group.
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Session Agenda

1. E-assignment submission and e-feedback how to
2. Practicalities pros and cons
3. Links to best practices

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E-assignments and e-feedback have the potential
to increase the quality and speed (and frequency)
of feedback and interactions.

• Seven Principles of Good Practice (AAHE)

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My choices, preferences, rights
Hard copy yes Hard copy no
E-copy yes ? ?
E-copy no ? (but, I may do e-feedback)
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Student choices, preferences rights?

• Is it a students right to e-submit?

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Why?

• In brief
• Easier and less time for me
• Improves the quality of feedback
• Improves the learning experience
• Helps with plagiarism issues

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Why (contd)

• might saves trees (I often ask for hard copy as
  well as e-copy)
• necessary if course is Distance
• advantages for PT faculty not often on campus
• helps with housekeeping
• missing / lost assignments
• extends a deadline
• (e.g. Sunday midnight vs. Friday _at_ 4)

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How Students Can Submit

• Student sends via email faculty uses email
  client (filter)
• Student uploads to LMS e.g. WebCT / Vista
  Assignment Tool features
• Publish

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What Students Submit

• Word
• Template cover page
• Add photo
• Add plagiarism pledge
• Can submit doc to a plagiarism scan tool
• (opening Office 2007 docx)

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How to Grade / Give Feedback?

• Do I download the students work? Depends
• WebCT/Vista Assignment Dropbox Tool
• text only Grader/Reviewer comment box
• Grading form (new in latest WebCT/Vista)
• Batch download / upload feedback
• Rubrics
• Peer rating scales or rubrics

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How to Grade / Give Feedback?

• Word document
• Highlighter, font changes
• MS Word Reviewing tool
• Voice comment see last page in this PPT
• Voice recognition (Dragon Naturally Speaking)
  sorry, forgot to demo this
• Rubric / feedback checklists
• Word count

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How to Grade / Give Feedback?

• Adobe Acrobat Professional
• Commenting toolbar
• Drawing Mark-ups toolbar

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Pros Incoming

• guarantees that work is typed (these days it
  almost always is)
• typed work is easier and faster to grade
• submission is time-stamped
• WebCT Assignment tool can flag or even block late
  work
• faculty can be notified of submission

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Pros Incoming

• Plagiarism
• Simple Google search
• WebCT / Vista
• SafeAssign and DirectSubmit
• Turnitin
• Document properties

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Cons Incoming

• Email model Lots of email if using that process
  (but specify and subject line and create a
  filter)
• WebCT/Vista may have to download but there is
  an easy process for this

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Outgoing (feedback)

• Pros
• students can read typed comments easily
• for instructor, may be easier to type
• Instructor could use voice recognition to type
  feedback
• Can use voice comments
• use a rubric highlight sections
• Cons
• Have to grade on the computer
• Rubrics sometimes disappoint students
• Hard to do squiggles, smilies etc. but

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Squiggles, smilies etc

• Wacom / Bamboo tablets
• Converting handwriting to text already possible
• Adoption of tablet laptops enables this
• MS OneNote, MS Journal
• Mac applications as well

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E-assignments and e-feedback have the potential
to increase the quality and speed (and frequency)
of feedback and interactions.

• Seven Principles of Good Practice (AAHE)

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• 1. Good Practice Encourages Contacts Between
  Students and Faculty
• Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of
  class is a most important factor in student
  motivation and involvement. Faculty concern helps
  students get through rough times and keep on
  working.

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• 4. Good Practice Gives Prompt FeedbackKnowing
  what you know and dont know focuses your
  learning.
• students need help in assessing their existing
  knowledge and competence need frequent
  opportunities to perform and receive feedback on
  their performance need chances to reflect on
  what they have learned, what they still need to
  know, and how they might assess themselves.

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What is most important?

• Julie Miller, professor of mathematics at Daytona
  Beach College video tapes her lectures then uses
  class time for activities like discussion, group
  work, and more one-on-one time with the
  instructor. She posts them in a Learning
  Management System. I've used the videos to
  supplement what I do in class, and I also use
  videos to replace my lecture." Julie asks
  students to watch the video lecture for homework.
  This frees up class time to assign a worksheet
  that students do in groups.Using this method
  reverses the tradition of worksheets or practice
  problems as homework and class time for lecture.
  One benefit is that students have the opportunity
  to ask questions of Julie or their peers while
  they are completing problems in class, instead of
  having to note the question at home and waiting
  until class meets again to ask.Another benefit
  of recording lectures is that students now have
  the ability to pause, rewind and review the
  material as much as they need to. "It's hard to
  rewind me in the classroom," says Julie.

TechSmith May14, 2008
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• Seven Principles of Good Practice
• http//www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html
• PDF Feedback
• http//www.facit.cmich.edu/teaching-central/issues
  /jan07/e-feedback.html

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MS Recorder

• Office 2003 - Access this by turning on the
  Reviewing menu bar in MS Word if you do not
  see the Insert Voice icon go to Tools,
  Customize, Commands, All commands (in the box on
  the left and then scroll down to Insert Voice or
  Insert Sound Comment drag the icon to your menu
  bar
• Office 2007 see next slide
• Site below offers good tips on best sound quality
  / file size ratio
• http//www.ccc.commnet.edu/dl/dl-help/help-SoundRe
  corder.htm
• (I have found that creating a format that is 3
  minutes long works well. Note that if you pause
  throughout the recording process, the one minute
  default format actually can be extended beyond
  one minutes, ditto with the 3 minute format.)

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MS Recorder

• Office 2007 the tool is also available Google
  office 2007 voice comment for tips re how to
  access this
• There are some known issues with this feature
  when using Office 2007 and Vista as the OS it
  certainly seems that MS has broken or at
  least bent out of shape - what was an effective
  tool in many earlier versions of Word I have
  found a fix for this feel free to contact me
  for details.