March 13, 2010…

So the task this time was to create an assessment tool on my Moodle site.  I had to build a quiz or test that comprised several types of questions (ie: multiple choice, short answer, essay, etc.).  The parameters said that I had to have a minimum of 10 questions for a total of 15 marks.  At the time I am writing this I am still unclear (and have asked the question) on whether the 15 total marks is also a minimum.  The reason I am asking is because I, again, want to make this meaningful so I was in the midst of populating the quiz with questions that I would actually use in my teaching of this unit.  The criteria does say that the questions and answers need to be genuine but the quality won’t be critiqued.  I suspect that this is more on a “how to” exercise so I left it at the minimum 10 questions.  I have since realized that I misinterpreted the info… minimum of 10 questions worth 15 marks.  The 15 marks wasn’t what the test would be out of (for those taking the test), the 15 marks was what I was being graded on – duh!!!

My experiences…
What I discovered early was this was once again a relatively easy process (I think).  The process is fairly straight-forward and any time I was unsure of something I could always just “click” on the Yellow Question Mark.  Even if I forgot to edit my question properly I would get a warning message.  What could be easier?  I also liked the fact that when you create questions they don’t automatically go into the test that you are creating them for.  By having them load into a database from which you can choose from allows me (the user) to re-use these questions for several quizzes or tests without having to copy or re-create all of the info.  Some may laugh when they read what I am about to write (especially because some may think what I have done is rather simple) but I find if you spend a few extra minutes to go that “extra mile” at the beginning then it makes your life easier later.  I spent time creating explanations for each question so that when my students submit the test for scoring they will get instant feedback as to what was the correct response and why (whenever possible).

What I liked…
One feature that I especially liked was the ability, through a click of the mouse, to be able to apply a “randomness” to the questions.  I like this because in my school all of the computers are side-by-side.  I would fear that students would just watch their neighbours screen and copy answers.  By having this random feature students wouldn’t be able to just copy ‘B’ like their neighbour as ‘B’ would be the correct response for one but incorrect for another.

What I didn’t like…
This same feature was also something that I didn’t like because I noticed on the matching questions it would “randomize” not only the response but the choices too.  I used images in my questions.  These images were labeled 1 – 3.   They were presented in the correct order for the question but when choosing an answer it would mix them up.  I can see students quickly responding to what they thought was Image 1 but was actually Image 2 or 3.  I think this would be an area where I would definitely have to warn the students to pay particular attention to.  I don’t like trying to trick students and to me, this seems like a flaw.  I didn’t see how I could correct this without turning off the embedded random feature so I would either have to live with it or limit the number of matching questions to a single one with several choices (but doesn’t it then become a multiple choice question).

I did figure out a way to turn this “random” feature off for the matching questions but it does make “copying” a bit easier.  It would have been nice if I could insert image into the ‘response’ portion of the matching question which would have eliminated this need, but this is only a minor thing.

Another complaint I have is that the essay questions can’t get marked until I (the teacher) read each response.  Unfortunately, it gives the student a mark of zero until I do (mark them) which could give the students the impression that they did worse than they really did.  To compensate for this I had to outline this details in the quiz instructions so that students wouldn’t be alarmed.  Again, only a minor problem.

What I still need to research…
I noticed that there are several other assignment categories to choose from (including surveys) that could be used as assessment tools.  Now I just have to find the time to explore their merits to determine how I could best implement them.

Final thoughts….
I could be way off base but I think I am getting a hang of this “Moodle” thing.  Even if my colleagues in this program think that what I am creating is relatively basic, it is a start.  I know it will get better with time and experience.  What is more important I think is that it is so much better than what I have been using to date and I can see it as a beneficial tool that will make my future teaching days more organized.

To view my site (which is still under construction) and assessment tool please click on the following link Ryan Edgar’s ETEC 565A Moodle Site.

If the link doesn’t work copy and paste the following URL to get to my Moodle site      http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=138&edit=0&sesskey=99FAvpdeMS

Copy and paste the following URL to go directly to my quiz       http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/quiz/view.php?id=4116

~ Ryan