Moodle Course Information

The Moodle course that I am creating is designed to supplement a f2f grade three class. This course will complement a science unit on space and also integrate the grade three reading and writing curriculum. In my current school our class has access to a computer lab twice a week for 40 minutes.  Additionally, we have access occasionally to a shared LCD projector to project content from my laptop.  On my Moodle course I have posted several activities that will integrate computer lab and class work.  At the end of the space unit, I have created a quiz that I feel has both summative and formative assessment qualities.  I will discuss this in more detail in my reflection.

Course Components

I have created a quiz that has 18 questions and equals 50 marks in total. The quiz employs a variety of question types including those outlined in Module 3 unit 3 and true/false questions. I created an auto assessment component, for quiz components that do not include essay questions. I have programmed the quiz to allow two attempts, however I anticipate that the majority of the class will need only one attempt.  An optional second attempt to complete the quiz will allow students an opportunity to further their learning. I have limited the quiz time to 60 minutes, although most students will not need the full time allotted, I chose this time limit for several reasons.  First, most of my students are currently slow typists and getting their ideas down will take some time. Second, I will need to circulate in the computer lab and assist students. This is time consuming and I think its very important not to rush the students particularly during a quiz.

Reflection

I found creating the test and using the Moodle interface fairly simple. I was able to watch YouTube videos that helped me understand how to create different types of questions. I found the feedback portion of the quiz most challenging. I wanted to create a quiz that not only serves as a summative assessment at the end of the unit but also as a formative assessment which allowed my students to use this quiz as a tool for continued learning. After each question, I created feedback that would provide the “students [to know] exactly where they have gone wrong and what they can do about it” Gibbs and Simpson (2005) p.18. To provide useful feedback, I tried to point my students in the direction they would need to look to find pertinent information. I also wanted to provide feedback at the end of the exam if they received a lower than expected mark. This allows them to rectify the situation and recover some self-esteem on a second attempt.

I currently have Moodle set to auto assess the short answer questions. However, I would not use this feature for these questions because the range of acceptable answers is too great; and because I am integrating Language Arts components into this unit, I want to see that full sentences are used to answer the questions. I performed a few test quizzes and found that several of my answers were marked wrong simply because I didn’t match exactly what was written in the answer box. I am concerned that frustration and confusion would ensue if I used an auto assessment system for short answer and essay questions that was too limiting and not comprehensive enough.

As I mentioned in the Assessment Challenges and Opportunities question forum, I believe that using online assessments levels the playing field for students with disabilities by using Kurzweil to assist with reading and writing.

Conclusion

As I am using my Moodle course in a f2f environment, I believe that my grade three students would really enjoy working through a quiz using the computer. One of the reasons that has prompted me to enroll in this Masters program is the increased level of engagement measured when incorporating technology into my teaching. Also, the use of the Moodle quiz will not only benefit myself by reduced marking time but also enhance the student’s engagement and interest in quizzes. I think it’s important to provide as many opportunities to use technology to give students a break from pencil and paper tasks.

Reference

Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2005).  “Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Accessed online 15 June 2009 http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf