Online assessment

Considering the different approaches for taking assessments online
Online assessment
We all live and work in an ever-growing digital world, and using eAssessment aligns assessment practices with the increasing normality of life online and gives students important opportunities to widen their digital capabilities.
In an institution where sustainability is key, we should be trying to move away from printed assessments wherever possible. In addition, we all live and work in an ever-growing digital world, and using eAssessment aligns assessment practices with the increasing normality of life online and gives students important opportunities to widen their digital capabilities.

Online submission in Moodle


Most online submission at the University is occurring via Moodle using the assignment activity. This tool allows tutors to set up online submission areas that enable students to submit their coursework electronically. A digital copy of their work can then be reviewed and graded by academics in one central place.
Features include anonymous marking; group submissions; marking guides and rubrics; marker allocation; and Turnitin integration for originality checking.
Benefits include:
  • the master copy of the students work and feedback is permanently stored
  • ability to set and easily access media-based assignments
  • anonymity.

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Turnitin: Feedback Studio

Feedback Studio contains an array of grading and feedback options. This allows for online marking which can be created, shared and used across multiple assignments. In addition, you can use digital annotation tools directly on to the student submission. This can be done in multiple ways either bespoke comments, inline text annotation or through the use of QuickMarks. There are several sets of pre-defined QuickMarks that cover topics such as essay structure and punctuation, however bespoke subject-specific sets can be created and shared across School or Faculty. Any overall feedback can be left either as text or audio and once the awarded grade has been added this will automatically display on the DLE assignment page.

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Online exams

A pilot is currently underway to explore using Moodle Quizzes for summative online exams with colleagues in science and engineering and biomedical science. Currently Moodle can be used for in-class tests, but we are hoping to expand the use of Moodle Quizzes after the pilot.
If you are interested in learning more about online exams, please contact the Digital Education team at digi-ed@plymouth.ac.uk.

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PebblePad

There are various programmes that use PebblePad (the University’s ePortfolio system) for summative assessment. PebblePad’s assessment system, ATLAS (Active Teaching Learning and Assessment Space) can only be used when student submissions are created directly from activities within PebblePad, e.g. assessment ePortfolios and workbooks.
 
Benefits include:

  • generic and bespoke templates to scaffold reflection

  • online portfolios, no need for heavy paper portfolios that could get lost or damaged

  • easy access for tutors, placement tutors and external examiners.

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Form²

Form², also referred to as Form squared is a form authoring and distribution system that facilitates the completion of electronic forms online and can be used through PCs and mobile devices such as iPads and smartphones. Currently, Form² is being used to create, replicate and replace paper-based assessment forms within the medical and dental schools. 
The benefits of using Form² for online assessments include no paper, no printing, no filing and no scanning.

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PULSE

PULSE is an ambitious project which aims to combine all of the Peninsula Medical and Dental School's student support systems into a single, modern, and unified experience for all types of users. This will allow staff and students to gain a broad overview of an entire student journey as well as manage all aspects of their course. In addition, this has begun to set the groundwork for developing more innovative, personalised, and proactive features to enhance student learning.

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