Section Five: Teaching Technologies
Other online assessment and feedback tools
Case study 8
Marking over one hundred Year One Induction assessments can be oppressively timeconsuming during an already busy period. Analysing hundreds of feedback forms can be even more daunting. By creating online quizzes and surveys that students can take either at the end of your session, or soon after, you don't have to mark a thing, and everyone gets immediate feedback. The only outlay is in the set-up time. Learning Central provides tools for both tests and surveys with a good choice of formats. Creating an assessment is fairly self-explanatory, though you may need some assistance in publishing the test to the relevant module. Questionmark Perception is slightly more complicated but is highly flexible, allowing you to host the assessment on Learning Central, or on any other webpage. As the questions are created separately from the assessments, you can mix and match questions to your heart‟s content. Charity Dove, Music Library
Audience Response Technology (ART) Audience response technology provides a popular and attractive option for incorporating interactivity into your teaching. It has been available for many years in the form of the wellknown handsets („clickers‟) systems. However, the latest ART innovations include online polling software.
1. ‘Clickers’ The two most widely used software packages at Cardiff are: InterWrite PRS and TurningPoint. The latter is now available on the network, accessible via the Start menu: Networked Applications – General Software – Trial Applications – Turning Point Installer. The standard setup involves the use of wireless keypads; audience members use these to select an answer from a given range of options shown on a PowerPoint slide. Each selection is sent to a receiver attached to the presenter‟s PC and results are displayed as percentages and/or graphic illustrations. „Clickers‟ can be used with large groups in lecture theatres or smaller groups in workshop settings. Benefits may include:
added variety and interest
ensuring engagement with content
enabling participants to contribute anonymously
improved knowledge retention
opportunity to gauge understanding of particular points, so you can recap on any parts of the lesson which have not been understood
an effective and time-efficient method of assessment
providing feedback on a session
Handbook for Information Literacy Teaching: August 2011 update
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