Electronic Assignments: Cheers & Challenges

1. Electronic Assignments:Cheers & Challenges Dr. Diane GalambosSheridan Institute of Advanced Learning & Technology, Oakville Advancing Learning: This is IT! Mohawk College, May 2008

2. I have slightly modified this PPT to following the event to stress topics that interested the group.

3. Session Agenda • E-assignment submission and e-feedback “how to” • Practicalities ~ pros and cons • Links to best practices

4. 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)

5. My choices, preferences, rights…

6. Student choices, preferences rights? Is it a student’s right to e-submit?

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

8. Why (cont’d) • 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 @ 4)

9. 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

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

11. How to Grade / Give Feedback? • Do I download the student’s 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

12. 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

13. How to Grade / Give Feedback? • Adobe Acrobat Professional • Commenting toolbar • Drawing Mark-ups toolbar

14. 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

15. Pros ~ Incoming • Plagiarism • Simple Google search • WebCT / Vista • SafeAssign and DirectSubmit • Turnitin • Document properties

16. 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

17. 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…

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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.

21. 4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback;Knowing what you know and don’t 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.

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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-SoundRecorder.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.)

25. 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.