Assessments for online courses: how to do it

How to elaborate assessments for online courses is one of the main concerns of instructors who are starting in Distance Education.  

Test the student knowledge is as important in distance learning as it is in a classroom, but perhaps a little more complex, since students are not all in the same place so you can deliver a proof, but scattered in various places of the country and even the world.

Models of assessments for online courses

Apply  assessments for online courses is necessary both to test the student as the effectiveness of the lessons and teaching methods applied. No course it is complete until the learning outcomes are assessed.

The importance of creating assessments for online courses is reflected in its advantages not only for the teacher, but also for the student who manages to measure the level of knowledge and understanding and know if is necessary to study more.

Assessments  also work as a way of letting the curriculum of the course more attractive and challenging. Know that your knowledge will be tested encourages the student to become more involved with the classes and acts as an element motivating the study.

There are many types of assessments for online courses, among which we can highlight:

Formative assessments

This type of assessment is more short-term and happens at the end of each module of the course. The objective of this method is to support learning and provide a quick feedback to the student on how was his understanding of the lesson. The test is designed in a simple way, through some questions about what was taught. If the responses provided are wrong, the student receives a feedback of why the answer was wrong, while the feedback for right answers is also followed by an explanation and serves as an incentive to the student.

Summative assessments

Imposed after the end of the course, the summative assessment is the famous final proof. The questions asked in this proof will show if the student has achieved the goals of the course, because they are aligned with the learning objectives that were defined at the beginning. This test is important for the student to know whether he “passed” or “failed”, that is, if he can advance to a next or if your knowledge is still shallow and it is better to repeat the lessons or study more.

Both models of assessments for online courses may use some methods of formulating questions, such as:

• Single selection: one answer questions taken directly from the content that was taught.
• Multiple selection: this type of question may have more than one right answer and is quite useful to measure the degree of knowledge and associations.
• Combine the following: method in which the student must identify the relationship between two sets of data. Difficult to formulate, in this type of question students should differentiate between types of similar information.
• Puzzle: as the name says, pieces of information must be gathered to make sense. Especially helpful in learning specific content which, when pieced, makes sense as a whole. Helps in the development of reasoning.
• Games: fun method to test your knowledge. Through correct answers, the student moves in the game created by the instructor.

Ways to create assessments for online courses are not lacking, and nothing prevents you to create your own questionnaire, quiz or method you find most efficient to test your students.

By hosting your course at Coursify.me you have all necessary resources to create assessments in various formats and the ability to interact with students through chats. Send an e-mail to help@coursify.me and learn why we are the best option for those who want to create and sell online courses.