Presentation at the University of New Mexico, as an invited professor, in Nov 2009

1. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
assessment as a strategy to
promote online interaction
Maria João Loureiro
Presented at the University of New Mexico in Nov.2009

2. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
objective
interaction
case 1
case 2
case 3
case 4
case 5
final thoughts
topics

3. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
share our experience in blearning, in particular the
assessment strategies we have been using to promote
interaction in online contexts
objective

4. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
creating, sustaining and managing interaction are
critical aspects of online teaching and learning
activities
quality interaction involves critical thinking and
reflection
types of interaction
1. learner – content
2. learner – teacher
3. learner – learner
in online contexts
4. learner – interface (technology)
interaction

5. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
should provide opportunities to learn and cultivate community
atmosphere
continuous participation (posting)
introductory biographical posts (personal pages – Web 2.0)
familiarization sessions with the technology (face to face)
! no posting doesn’t imply no learning (lurkers interact with content)
social presence/community sense (belonging, respect, …)
integration of stories (personal episodes)
use smiles, affective expressions, humor …
requires cognitive involvement
task should meet students needs, authentic learning -> flexibility,
negotiation
thread discussions
mix synchronous and asynchronous tech.
feedback
interaction

6. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
context – initial teachers
education (Educ Tech.)
tools – LMS – thread
discussions (teachers-
led)
advantages of ICT use in
education
obstacles to ICT
integration
Internet security
…
case 1

7. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
assessment criteria
quantity as well as quality
 relevance, correctness, deepness, critical thinking, reference to
peers posts, participation
teacher assessment
helped students to auto-assess their contributions
increase participation and the quality of the interaction
case 1

8. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
context – professional education
(1 month)
tools – social network
thread discussions (students-led) –
share problems/questions “I
had problems to install software X,
can you help me?”
blogs – personnel reflections
case 2

9. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
assessment categories
questions (closed/opened and
academics/ professional
relevant) information sharing,
others
teacher assessment
improved participation and
relevance of the questions
peer feedback
improved problems
specification: “… explain the
situation …”
some students felt
uncomfortable
Questions Open Closed
Prof.
relevant
9 16
Academic 1 5
case 2

10. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
context – MsD post-
graduation (EvalES)
b-Learning regime
5 weeks
2 face-to-face sessions
(12h each)
group work at a
distance
tools – blogs
http://ase07.blogspot.c
om/
auto, peer and teacher
assessment
case 3

11. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveirocase 3
students’ perceptions
students’ reflections 1
students’ reflections 2
auto + hetero - assessment
hetero - assessment

12. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
Activities and explored tools
0 4 8 12 16
Activities' framework
Organization of the face-to-face sessions
Suitability of the activities
Suitability of the theoretical framework
Intra-group interaction
Inter-group interaction
Relevance of the communication tools
Relevance of the discussions
Suitability of the assessment strategies
Duration of the module
Topics
Number of students
completely disagree disagree agree completely agree don't know
case 3
N=19

13. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveirocase 3
The relevance and dificulties of the tasks
0 4 8 12 16
Survey of perceptions
Reading of bibliography
Discussion and synthesis of reading
Self-assessment
Group work
Presentation and discussion of group work
Self- and hetero-assessment
Concept maps
Hetero-assessment of collaboration competences
Proposedtasks
Number of students
dificulty
relevance
N=19

14. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
context – post-
graduation (EAD)
tools – wiki
http://ead0809.wetpai
nt.com/
assessment strategies
similar to the previous
case
peer-assessment of
progress work (1th
version) compulsory
some students felt
uncomfortable
assessment activities
are not valued
case 4

15. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
context – post-graduation (Evaluation and quality in
education)
tools – LMS forums
assessment principles
authentic assessment (in context, relevant for practices)
assessment aligned with the learning aims
peer-assessment of progress work
continuous and formative
assessment activities valued
case 5

16. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
have we promoted quality online interactions?
teachers and/or peers assessment is essential
cases 1, 2, and 5
students perceptions about evaluation and assessment
cases 3 and 4
time consuming
compatibility with diversity of task both of students (part
time) and HE teachers
shouldn’t be explored in a single module/discipline
final thoughts

17. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro
thank you for your attention
mjoao@ua.pt

18. Maria João Loureiro
assessment as a strategy to promote online interaction
CIDTFF, DDTE, Universidade de Aveiro