In The RSC NewsFeed March Offcuts we highlighted ScreenToaster the free online application which allows you to record the activity on your computer screen with a single click. The concept of recording your screen is not new and there are various commercial (Camtasia) and free (CamStudio) applications to do this. The advantage of ScreenToaster is that it doesn’t require you to install any software and integrates into their hosting service so you have somewhere to put your video files.
Uses for this technology include recording tutorials, training materials or even lectures. Another area you could use it is to record feedback on student’s work. Russell Stannard recently won a Times Higher Education Award partly for his work in this particular area (click here for a short example of video feedback). Russell has also prepared a case study in Using Screen Capture Software in Student Feedback for the Higher Education Academy English Subject Centre.
Students are continually reporting dissatisfaction in the feedback they receive during their studies. Common complaints including timing, clarity and usefulness. An area being rediscovered by academics is the use of audio feedback. Audio feedback can be broadly defined as the use of digital media to record messages to individuals or groups of students to provide feedback on both ongoing and submitted work.
Not only do students appear more likely to engage with audio feedback but they also find it easier to understand. In the particular case of individual audio feedback students highlight the personal nature of being able to hear their tutors voice. If you are still not convinced by audio feedback you should listen to this clip of students from the University of Chester and Sheffield Hallam talking about their experiences of receiving audio feedback (this clip was captured at at the last Podcasting for Pedagogic Purposes SIG at Glasgow Caledonian University)
About 6,000 students in Norway are doing exams on their laptops in a trial that could soon be rolled out across the country.
Photo:www.dag.nl
A computer monitoring system originally designed for enterprises and government department use has made a new era of digital exams possible at schools in Norway. Click here for the details from BBC Technology News.
Norway has a reputation for innovative use of ICT in Education. So far, the exam monitoring system based on 3ami’s Monitoring and Audit System (MAS) is in use by up to 6000 students, at 11 high schools in pioneering Nord-Trøndelag. MAS Education Edition is designed to be rolled out easily by other Norwegian counties, and many are expected to follow Nord-Trøndelag’s lead as a way to meet government requirements.
JISC invites tenders for a study involving mixed methods to look at qualitative and quantitative measures of fitness for purpose in the content of a selection of e-assessments used in the JISC community today. The study aims to support educators in creating and procuring fit for purpose e-assessments, based on a sound understanding of quality measures and the issues around use of e-assessment. Up to £40,000 (including VAT and expenses) is available for the study over a five-month period starting as soon as possible and no later than 31st October 2008. Deadline for submission of tenders: 12:00 on Monday 22 September 2008.
JISC invites tenders for a scoping study of e-assessment techniques across the world and in all education sectors.The aim of this project is to provide JISC and its community with a review of state-of-the-art techniques in e-assessment which should be considered for application in UK HE and FE. Up to £40,000 (including VAT and expenses) is available for the study over a five month period starting no later than 31st October 2008 and completing by 31st March 2009. Deadline for submission of tenders:12:00, Monday 22 September 2008.
JISC invites tenders to survey and model current and ideal formative assessment processes.Formative assessment is an area in which both pedagogical theory and practice have recently seen significant development. However, the use of e-assessment for formative assessment is less well developed than for summative e-assessment, and it is expected that new e-assessment services and systems will be required to facilitate emerging proven practices.
The aim of this study is to provide a set of detailed requirements for formative assessment systems, components and processes based on explicitly described proven pedagogical practice, to enable future developments of formative e-assessment systems, services and content to be undertaken with confidence.
Up to £40,000 (including VAT and expenses) is available for the study over an eight month period starting as soon as possible and no later than 2 June 2008. Deadline for submission of tenders is 12:00 noon, 16 April 2008.
( Image ‘Reality Distortion Field’ from Flickr used under Creative Commons)
In a forthcoming experiment at Edinburgh University, students sitting an exam in the divinity faculty will be permitted to use laptops rather than pen and paper to supply their answers. Students can use their own machines or will be provided with a laptop on request, but either way special software will be set running for the duration of the examination which will lock out the rest of the facilities on the computer while allowing access only to software required to complete the assessment.
The ‘WebPA Project’ (opens in new window), led by Loughborough and Hull Universities, has been nominated as an international finalist in the IMS Learning Impact Awards for its work on online peer and self-assessment methods. Development of the application was considered particularly significant as it was designed as an institution-independent tool, allowing other universities to adopt the system and exploit its potential. The awards – delivered by international standards organisation IMS Global Learning Consortium – recognise educational organisations that have developed innovative learning technologies to support education and enrich the learning experience.
Evaluating students’ knowledge through online assessment provides insight into what they know and how they can develop their understanding. While students adapt to this new approach quickly, engaging often ‘time poor’ academic staff in unfamiliar practices is more challenging. Recent reports of staff views and the National Student Survey 2007, suggest that assessment and feedback is an area where staff value additional support in easily accessible forms. This new podcast explores the issue of assessment and introduces some examples of the wealth of available information on an area of increasing importance to the sector.
Examples of such guidance include JISC infoNet’s infoKit on Effective Use of Virtual Learning Environments (opens in new window) which introduces a variety of the techniques and types of system available. The infoKit guides the reader through selection of an appropriate system and good practice in construction and use of instruments for a variety of disciplines and assessment purposes. Access is provided to materials appropriate to those already familiar with assessment techniques and the relevant IT as well as those new to the field. Click here for full details of JISC expertise in this area. Click the appropriate area in the menu below to listen to the podcast.
To complement the podcast on the increasingly important topic of e-Assessment featured in this issue, you might want to take a look at this material which presents a succinct view of activity (opens in a new window) across the JISC family in this area.
Welcome to the RSC NewsFeed blog from the two Scottish Regional Support Centres. The blog is designed to keep the FE and HE community informed about the latest ICT-related news, events, resources and training. Please feel free to leave a comment.
Subscribe to the JISC Podcast via RSS
Subscribe to the JISC Podcast via iTunes
Download the podcast
