III.4 The types of assessments selected and the methods used for submitting assessments are appropriate for the distance-learning environment.

◎ Recommended Standard

Expectations

    1. Use of D2L generally satisfies this requirement (see Examples below).
    2. If possible, avoid having students mail/fax/scan assignments.
    3. Ensure that your exams/quizzes attempt to limit online cheating (see Examples below).
    4. Provide flexibility with regards to the timeframe in which students can complete assessments, especially exams.

Examples

Assignment Submission

Use the Dropbox in D2L, as it provides a number of advantages over having students email assignments:

    • same benefits as email
    • works in a similar fashion to the D2L quiz/survey tool (creating/scheduling/releasing)
    • additional benefits of built-in grade-assignment utilities and organization
    • can be automatically associated with the a grade item under Grades
    • provides tools for tracking submissions and emailing students who have not submitted their assignments
    • provides feedback mechanisms to students
    • provides mechanisms for group submissions
    • is integrated with Turnitin's plagiarism detection services
    • is integrated with Turnitin's GradeMark tool, which allows instructors to markup papers--highlight errors, write comments, leave voice feedback, etc.--all directly in the web browser, without having to download the paper
    • there is no need to worry about delivery problems via email--being marked as spam/junk, etc.

Limiting Cheating on Exams/Quizzes

NOTE: most of these can be accessed/changed in a quiz's settings in D2L

    • Limit the amount of time allowed to take the exam/quiz.
      • Take care when doing this if you have students with a limited internet connection, as they may require more time for quiz pages to load and submit.
    • Utilize the Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB)
    • IMPORTANT: the LDB is only a deterrent to cheating; without being used in a proctored environment, there are many ways to circumvent it
    • Randomize the questions/answers
    • Use question sets, which are pools of questions from which D2L can draw to make each student's exam unique
    • Only display one question at a time
      • this also has the benefit of making your quiz/exam quicker to load for students with a limited Internet connection
    • Limit the number of attempts a student has to take an exam/quiz
    • Use a secured testing environments / proctors
      • NOTE: this does remove one of the conveniences of taking an online course, as it requires students to be at a specific place at a specific time to complete an exam

If you do release quiz grades to your students, limit the amount of information they receive, once they have completed the quiz/exam. By default, D2L only displays the following information, if an instructor release quiz results to students:

      • Show the student's attempt score and overall attempt score; this will only show their individual, overall grade

If you enable other options be sure to only release the necessary amount of information. D2L allows you to release the following information:

      • Show questions answered incorrectly
      • Show questions answered correctly
      • Show all questions without user responses
      • Show all questions with user responses
      • Show question answers
      • Show question score and out of score
      • Show class average
      • Show score distribution

Other Tips

    • Only release quiz scores once all students have completed the quiz (see also above for suggestions on what information to release)
    • Only show questions students answered incorrectly; this makes it more difficult for them to create an answer key
    • Use additional assessment tools (papers, case studies, discussions, etc.) in addition to, or in replacement of, quizzes. This will help prevent proxy cheating--someone else taking the exam/quiz on behalf of your student--as you will become more familiar with the style and performance of your students

Flexibility

In the face-to-face setting, assessments like quizzes and exams are done within a short timeframe--one class meeting--but mirroring this in an online course can present a number of challenges. For example, working professionals, dual-credit students, etc., may have restrictions on their schedules and will need a larger timeframe in which to complete such an assessment. That said, consider an extended timeframe for the completion of such assessments (e.g. 48-72 hours for exams). Especially consider having this timeframe encompass evenings and weekends: times when such students are most likely to have free time to complete such assessments.

Students can still be restricted on the amount of actual time they have to complete an exam (e.g. twenty minutes from when they start) so academic integrity is preserved. Please refer to D2L training materials for details on how to achieve this. See also above regarding restrictions you can place on the type of immediate feedback students will receive when completing assessments, in order to ensure the integrity of assessments.

References

    • QM FIPSE rubric III.4