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What are the Basic Types of Online Assessment in E-learning

by Anand Tiwary December 30, 2020

There are many types of online assessments in E-Learning that helps to analyze the potential of any individual. With the recent growth in tech, the market for E-learning has grown by a massive amount where anyone can learn and grow themselves.

What Parts can we assess in an online manner?

The things we can assess online are :

 

  • Collaborative learning and Interactivity
  • Collective and constructive knowledge

Instructors use various assessments and various methods to determine the different extent to which the students have satisfied their learning objectives. All the offline assessment methods are available online, and there are even some more unique and new ways online that might not have been possible offline.

You can also conduct exams based on appropriate methods on the cognitive levels, as mentioned by Bloom’s taxonomy of the Educational Objectives.

  1. Knowledge : Knowledge is the first cognitive level of Bloom’s taxonomy, and to test it. You can use various types of assessments, like :
    1. Multiple Choice Questions
    2. True/False
    3. Matching the pair
    4. Fill in the blanks
    5. Short Answer
    6. Flashcards
    7. Games and Quizzes

These come under the Knowledge part, where the memory of the learner is tested, and you can rest assured that the knowledge they have gained is being appropriately gained by them.

2. Comprehension: Only remembering one-word answers or a short memory limit is not enough, and hence the person should also be able to turn the answers into comprehension and elaborate his understandings on the matter in a subjective format. The various types of assessment under these categories are :

    1. Simulations
    2. Animations
    3. Tutorials

These help to firmly embed the memory into the learner for a long term memory and which they understand completely. In this way, the assessments will help them recall better.

3. Application: The knowledge hold by any individual is of no proper use until and unless it is put to use properly. Hence the application of the knowledge gained is a very important part of the Learning scheme. The assessments which test your application skills are:

    1. Essay Tutorials
    2. Multiple Choice with comprehension
    3. Essay Tutorials
    4. Simulation
    5. Case Studies
    6. Games

These assessments help the learner put their newfound knowledge into the proper tests and increase their retentivity.

4. Analysis/Evaluation/Synthesis: The proper analysis of a problem to find the solution and evaluate it accordingly to find the optimal solution is known as the fourth part of Bloom’s taxonomy. Here the common assessments are:

    1. Presentations
    2. Case Studies
    3. Virtual Lab
    4. Projects
    5. Portfolio
    6. Simulation

These require proper effort into them for the perfect evaluation of the problem statement and then coming up with a solution with the knowledge you have gained. Here, individuality is tested, and the analytical skills of a learner to synthesize the big problem and solve it accordingly in a way they are most comfortable with.

Formative Assessment:

There is something known as Formative assessment, which is a wide topic and provides the instructors and the students with timely feedback on their control and mastery level of the course.

The instructors are sampling the various student learning and providing their feedback by analyzing the results to make the learning experience better. Students can use the feedback portion to make their learning skills better too. The examples are Online Quiz or Discussion forum in the form of Blogs or chat system.
Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are the ones where the students are assigned grades, and they make a comprehensive conclusion about the mastery of the various learning objectives in their course.

More assignments might mean putting more pressure on the learner. Instructors need to be aware that the students are not focusing only on the quantity of the learning but also the quality of the learning. The examples are Midterms or final online exams via an LMS, Online projects, portfolios, and presentations.

Formative and Summative Assessment

There are some methods of assessment that combine the best of both worlds and are preferred by many. They are:

  • Case Study – A team of 5 to 6 members are preferred who can discuss online and plan accordingly.
  • Experience-Based Learning – A mode where the learners can share their own experience, and the other students can learn from each other
  • Paper – You can specify the submission mode and the other details of the paper regarding learners’ choice. This helps them to learn deeply about a topic.
  • Self-Assessment – Non-Scoring or quiz for self-assessments can be crucial to practice for any learner without the fear of failure.
  • Simulation – Simulations and Virtual Labs help the students to improve their practical knowledge and understand the theory better.

The ways mentioned above are some of the most common online assessment methods, and they fall under various categories defined under Bloom’s taxonomy or being formative, summative, or even both. With the help of online technology, you can set your assessments as you see fit.

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