{"id":251,"date":"2020-08-25T14:34:53","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T14:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/?p=251"},"modified":"2020-08-25T14:34:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T14:34:53","slug":"learn-quizzes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/learn-quizzes\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn quizzes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Nikki Moran, Reid School of Music
12th August 2020
n.moran@ed.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn has a built-in \u2018Test\u2019 feature that can solve some of the problems of\nonline assessment <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

I started using Learn\u2019s integrated quiz feature about two years\nago.  It was a while before I could talk\nabout it without swearing.  But it has\nnow become a major asset to my teaching practice which I\u2019m really f**ing\ngrateful for in the face of the digital challenge which is Semester 1, 2020-21.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m writing this because I\u2019d be happy if my own voyage of\ndiscovery could spare a single colleague some misadventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use Learn quizzes for both formative and summative assessment,\nbut primarily as a feedback device. Knowledge checks which get students to\ncheck in with themselves<\/em>, as a step\ntowards understanding what it is that they need to ask us<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feature that I\u2019m talking about is called \u2018Tests, surveys and\npools\u2019. It\u2019s in Course Tools, from the left-hand menu bar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use weekly revision quizzes plus graded (summative) tests. The\nvery best part of this is that I NO LONGER HAVE TO DO THE MARKING because I\nalready did that when I built the questions in the first place: Learn now marks\nautomatically into Grade Centre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These quizzes \u2013 the \u2018tests\u2019 \u2013 are based on question \u2018pools\u2019. If\none is feeling smug and efficient, one can prepare these in batches, which is\nsatisfying in the same way as eating a really good pie you made for the\nfreezer. Or having someone else pour you a cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you create a test, you can put it together from scratch\nwith new questions specific to that test. Or, you can set a question which\ndraws down on a designated pool that you already created. To deploy a test, you\ncreate a particular instance of it through a link that becomes visible to your\nstudents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why use pools? To generate randomized but equivalent test\npapers. This is a Big Deal because it lets you support students with adjustment\nschedules, and accommodate all sorts of asynchronous assessment dilemmas. For\nexample, you can have a timed test which starts from the moment a student\npresses \u2018Begin\u2019.  This can be a different\nduration for each student if necessary, and they could either be sat next to\none another, or in different countries.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing questions involves writing feedback for both correct\nand incorrect answers. I once read a book about caring for my pet guinea pig\nwhich said: \u201cDo not feed your pet garlic, it makes them furious.\u201d Well, turns\nout that setting a quiz with insufficient feedback makes students furious. But\nonline learning feels less remote with instant feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with EVERYTHING about Learn, the quiz platform\u2019s strength is\nits weakness: seemingly infinite combinatorial possibilities for bespoke, personalised\n\u2018solutions\u2019. This means endless options, filters, adjustments, preferences…\nAnd this can cause something I\u2019d describe politely as fatigue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flexibility does mean, though, that it\u2019s possible to design\nmost assessment formats that you can imagine. Your questions or tasks can be\nposed as straightforward, plain text. Or they can include images, documents,\nwebsites, sound files, videos \u2013 any media.   \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question-types can include, e.g., sophisticated multiple choice,\nshort text, long essay, \u2018yes\/no\u2019, or answer via \u2018upload file\u2019 – which is VERY\nHELPFUL if you are teaching music notation and you need to see images of\nstudents\u2019 handwritten scores.  (I wonder\nwhether it could also be a useful device for other visual or practical ECA\ncourses?)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, I set a written final exam for this course to assess\nhandwritten work. There will be no timed exam for this year\u2019s students, it will\nbe coursework only. I\u2019ll use the Learn test platform to set tasks and see\nuploaded images of their work. I tried this out in the August resits and\nit worked fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone is considering using Learn quizzes I\u2019m happy to share\nwhat I\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nikki Moran, Reid School of Music12th August 2020n.moran@ed.ac.uk<\/a> Learn has a built-in \u2018Test\u2019 feature that can solve some of the problems of online assessment I started using Learn\u2019s integrated quiz feature about two years ago.  It was a while … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions\/252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digital.eca.ed.ac.uk\/hybridteaching\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}