Choosing a Digital Assessment Tool
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Digital Assessment Tools
Selecting the appropriate digital assessment tool is crucial for effectively evaluating student learning and enhancing the educational experience. At Newcastle University, a variety of tools are available, each tailored to specific assessment needs and learning outcomes. When choosing a tool, it is essential to apply a pedagogy-first approach: start with a clear understanding of your pedagogical objectives and then select the tool that best supports these goals. Understanding the functionalities and best use cases of these tools can help educators make informed decisions that align with their teaching objectives.
Have a look at the examples below.
Buddycheck for peer evaluation of group work contribution
Buddycheck is a Canvas integrated tool which allows students’ to peer evaluate group work contributions. . An adjustment factor (a comparison of the individual student's ratings with the average ratings of the group) is generated, you can use this to update the mark awarded individually.
Informal ‘check in’ evaluations can also be set up. This means that early on in a group project this information can be used to stage-appropriate interventions where they may be issues within groups.
Default questions include topics such as Team Conflict and Team Satisfaction, however it is possible to add open questions.
Quizzes in Canvas
A Canvas Quiz can be used for system marked and short written answer questions. The recommended quiz tool is Canvas New Quizzes.
Canvas quizzes should not be used for long written answer or essay exams, because they carry a risk of students accidentally overwriting their work and being unable to restore it. For written assessments a Canvas or Turnitin Assignment should be used. Please note that these assessment tools do not have a function to set a time limit.
There is further guidance on using quizzes available on the quiz guidance webpage. This includes the recommended settings for quizzes used in summative assessment.
Peer review assignments
Information and guidance on the range of options is available on the Peer Assessment webpage.
Peer review in Canvas can be set up for any Canvas Assignment type, and for Discussions. You can ask students to give written peer feedback, and attach a rubric to give a mark. Choose whether peer reviewers and reviewees can see one another’s names, or whether they are anonymous.
Inspera for Digital Exams
Inspera is a digital exam platform enabling locked down exams to take place on campus. Inspera allows for automatically marked questions such as Multiple Choice Questions, as well as manual marking such as essays. During the 2023-24 academic year, students take their in person Inspera exams in centrally supported PC Clusters.
Inspera also supports take home open book exams. Typically these are open for 24 hours but it is also possible for take home exams to be timed once a student starts the exam within the 24 hour period.
Information and guidance can be found on our Inspera webpage.
Choosing an assessment tool
Our Wayfinder: Choosing an assessment tool covers some of the key decisions when selecting an appropriate digital assessment tool.
Digital Assessment Tools Sway
Digital Assessment Tools Sway which summarises some common assessment types and identifies some of the tools that are centrally supported through training and guidance.