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Tracy's Documents

Writing Assessments to Validate the Impact of Learning, Part 2

I found the ELearning Guild Research report to be very useful in providing guidance in writing assessments. The report confirmed our practice at Carl Vinson Institute of Government of ensuring that assessments we develop should directly relate to learning objectives.  However, it also emphasized that the number of assessment items will vary depending on the importance of the required knowledge. In addition, the research indicates you should not just test at the lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Rather you should build on the lower levels to achieve higher levels of understanding.  Dr. Clinton has advised our group this semester regarding this issue. Our project delivers primarily verbal information. Dr. Clinton has challenged us to include scenario-based assessments in our tutorial to move the learner up Bloom’s Taxonomy to demonstrate use of knowledge acquired.

 

The format of the assessment question is very important.  I thought Table 4 was particularly helpful as it provides direction regarding the structure of the stem question based on what you want the learner to be able to do and ties it to the Bloom’s Taxonomy levels. Multiple choice is often the best question type as they are easy to score and allow you to cover a lot of content. 

 

In tips for writing multiple choice questions, we should ask a peer to review and allow time for editing and revising.  Many times the assessments are the last items developed rather than the first and not a lot of time remains for review.  This step needs to be part of the development process.

 

Finally, I have been guilty of some of the bad habits in answer options.  At times my incorrect options are not plausible, and I tend to include a number of “all of the above” answers.  I am going to focus on reviewing our content during this next year and writing more effective questions.  I will also share this information with other faculty on my team to ensure we are all united in this effort.

Review of Xinnix Help Desk, Gagne Style, by Tracy Arner

 

Your module looks really clean.  Having the button color match the guide was a good idea. You focus more on the content.  Naming the guide immediately engages the learner. Voiceover sounds really good. Navigation is good with the Back and Next buttons clearly defined. I think it would be a good idea to use the player bar so the user can pause the video. Also, the module plays immediately when the link is selected. Giving the user control over when the module begins would be useful. 

 

I like the way you introduce the objectives at the beginning. 

 

Nice use of the magnify feature of Storyline. Good detailed feedback on the assessment responses.

 

How are you planning to meet the ADA requirements? I did not see a script or any notes.

Gagne Style -

Desk Crit 2

April 13, 2016

Review of Implementing Effective Video Projects at Galloway, MegaPowers, by Tracy Arner

 

Love the navigation guidance at the beginning of the presentation.  Very helpful to the learner. Nice use of the resources link.  I like the menu being on the right.  It is there if needed but is out of the way.  I also like the amount of detail in the menu.  It will make it easy to find content you want to revisit.  Graphic design on the objectives is creative—you don’t use bullets! I also like the customized use of previous and next navigation buttons.  Creativity is abundant in your module.  The light bulb “did you know” is inspired.  The photos throughout are very helpful for demonstration purposes.

 

I am wondering what the answer is to question 7.  I couldn’t get it right even though I seemed to try every combination of answers.  Also how do you plan to meet the ADA requirements?  I didn’t hear any sound.  Was I missing something (I had some sound challenges with my headset tonight)?

Mega Powers -

Desk Crit 2

April 13, 2016

Gagne Style -

Desk Crit 1

March 17, 2016

I really like the clean look of your slides. The graphic design is appealing with the buttons matching the guide's clothing.  I also like your use of the magnification feature in Storyline.  Great way to feature the various options of the module.  Your navigation seems clear as well.  This looks like it will be a helpful tool for users. 

 

Love your design. The colors are very appealing.  I like the muted images in the background as well.  Your navigation is clear and your instructions are easy to follow.  The assessments are creative as well.  Nicely done!

Mega Powers -

Desk Crit 1

March 17, 2016

1/27/16 Tin Can

 

This week’s videos and podcast brought out an important concept that I am currently dealing with in my job, how do you organize and deliver the e-learning content to the learner?  I found the session on Tin Can API from the Brightwave Group interesting.  The idea of having a method to capture all of the different articles, books, videos, and other resources, share, and curate them would be very helpful.  Right now I find that I have saved website favorites, have organized articles in my documents folder, and have YouTube favorites.  Having my own resource library would be beneficial.

I also made the connection between tagging postings on Linked In and the metadata discussion in the podcast interview with Brian Eldridge. In order to organize resources, there has to be a system for identifying related content. Brian talked about how the Library of Congress has organized knowledge using taxonomies to make it easier to find information. We as instructional designers need to create a similar system of organization.

 

Finally SCORM has been the standard for more than a decade in e-learning.  SCORM tracks module completion and scores.  However, it is limited in its ability because of its finite language. Experience API is a new learning language that can be used for devices to speak to each other and will probably eventually succeed SCORM. Experience API can allow self-reporting of achievements, build personal portfolio, and allow team members to record contributions.

I think these resources brought to light a key issue all of us will face when working in the instructional design field – how do we connect our learners with content and measure their progress?

 

SCORM and Tincan Reflection

Tips & Tricks for Recording Audio

Interesting article on audio equipment. I have struggled with this, especially during last summer’s video course.  I ended up buying a lapel microphone and attaching it to my cell phone (which I was using to record video). When attaching the microphone to my collar, I was able to get much better sound quality.  Ambient noise does cause the most trouble.  I found I really didn’t hear the background noise until I listened back on the recording.  I find that using my Logitech headset gives me the best sound quality.  I also agree having music or some other background sound helps to soften the effect of background noise.

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