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As you develop new materials, you first need to evaluate what you have
and what else you need. Some materials are probably still useful: 1) They
are not outdated; the information is still accurate and the tone still timely.
2) They have been tested and still provide learners with activities for skill
development or thought-provoking ideas for discussion. 3) They allow
learners to interact with them independently as well as within a group, and
they permit myriad responses. 4) They are cost effective and available for
use with your online classes.
For example, if you are trying to determine whether a role-playing scenario
is still useful to your class, you might apply these guidelines in the following
ways:
1. The scenario is generic enough to fit current situations. The
language is modern, but not so trendy that it sounds
outdated. The scenario also involves issues that are timeless
(e.g., academic honesty, development of good interpersonal
relationships, group dynamics) and are still of current
interest.
2. Little skill development might be apparent in the roleplaying
exercise, but the way individual learners enact their
roles is different each time the scenario is run. Discussion
usually is lively with this activity, and it is a good mechanism
for getting learners to work together in a group.
3. Each person involved in the role-playing exercise has to act
out a character. The ways that character is played and he or
she communicates with other characters differ because new
learners bring their unique personalities to the role play. The
actor determines which key discussion points will be introduced
through the character’s words and actions. Each
learner works independently, but, because this is a group
role-playing exercise, with further reports on the exercise
to the class as a whole, group interaction also is important.
The exercise works well at both the individual and group
levels.
4. This activity is cost effective, because learners use e-mail, the
bulletin board, the chat room, the whiteboard, and/or other
tools available in the classroom to complete the assignment.
No extra costs are incurred, and although the technology
may change, the group interactions can always take place.
(For example, learners may use voicemail, voice e-mail,
phone conversations, or videoconferences in more technologically
advanced courses, but use print e-mail, the bulletin
board, and text conversations in the chat room for less
technologically sophisticated classrooms.)
The role-playing assignment seems like a keeper. It is effective and efficient,
and it still meets the pedagogical requirements established for that
assignment. The following example is one that may need to be modified.
In another assignment, learners answer questions in an online questionnaire
to help them determine their Internet IQ. The questionnaire has been
used for four years in all introductory classes before learners have to use
the Internet as a source of information for their assignments. This term,
however, the free Web site with the questionnaire is not an active link, but
a longer version of the questionnaire has taken its place.
Unfortunately, to use the longer version, learners (or the institution) must
pay a fee for processing the responses and interpreting the results. The
resulting feedback is of a higher quality than the data from the self-scored,
short version of the questionnaire. The information on the questionnaire
has been updated to reflect current Internet usage and concerns about
information security.
As you evaluate the assignment and whether it should remain a part of the
course requirements, you might consider the following:
1. Is the information still timely?
You might need to determine if learners need this selfassessment,
or if another questionnaire would be more
helpful. If the purpose of the assignment is to determine a
learner’s probable success in using the Internet, then the
longer questionnaire or another similar assessment may still
be valuable to people taking an online course for the first
time. If, however, your class consists of learners who have
taken online classes other places or who routinely work with
the Internet as part of their business, this type of assessment
may not be as valuable as it has been with groups of novice
online learners.
2. What is the questionnaire’s purpose? What does the questionnaire
do?
It definitely requires learners to complete an online survey,
which is a skill that may be useful. A self-assessment tool can
be helpful to individual learners as they find out more about
themselves and understand what is required of them for
success in online educational programs.
Individuals could follow up by writing an essay explaining
how they reacted to the results and how they might
integrate the findings into their academic planning or study
habits. The results of the individual or group responses could
be discussed during a chat session or through a series of
bulletin board posts.
You need to determine if the “bang” is worth the “buck” that
learners or the institution will have to pay for using this
assessment. If the activities associated with using the
questionnaire are still valuable, then the newer version of
the questionnaire should be used in class.
3. How are individual or group activities used to follow up using
the questionnaire’s data?
Results of the questionnaire are based on each learner’s
responses, which is an individual activity. Writing an essay,
for example, is another individual follow-up activity. If the
results are discussed within the group or used to develop
group activities, the assignment can be useful at both the
individual and group levels.
4. How cost effective is the use of the questionnaire for the skills
and knowledge that learners gain from using it?
Because a monetary cost is now associated with a longer
version of the questionnaire, you need to determine if the
cost is worth the benefit to individual learners and to the
class as a group. If learners are asked to pay an additional fee,
will they do it? Will the cost be prohibitive? If the institution
is asked to pay the fee, will costs for the course go up? Is the
additional cost important to the educational quality of the
class? Are similar fees charged in other courses within the
curriculum?
You should also research whether you have only two
alternatives: to use the longer, paid version of the questionnaire
or not to use the questionnaire. Are similar questionnaires
offered free at other sites? Is another short form
available through another vendor or Web site? Are other
questionnaires, measuring other variables, useful to the
class in place of this questionnaire? Can you develop a
reliable, valid questionnaire? Doing a cost-benefit analysis of
this item can help you decide how to modify the current
assignment, or to delete it from the syllabus.
These kinds of evaluations should take place for each assignment listed in
the syllabus. You need to decide which materials are still relevant, which
need to be revised, and which need to be replaced. Then you know how
many activities you have to keep and how many new activities need to be
developed. The overriding concern should be the continuing high quality
of the course and the way the materials and activities support and develop
learners’ skills and knowledge base.
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