Technology is rapidly changing the way we provide an education. Educators are increasingly transitioning to practical technological solutions mainly to accommodate for the current conditions where many students have to take their courses and evaluations online.

In fact, a survey indicated that 53% of students would prefer computer tests to paper exams. 77.5% of examinees also expressed more satisfaction with the ability to automatically receive results and feedback rather quickly after taking an online test. Is it possible that this will become a regular practice for measuring what a student has learned?

Providing Feedback to Students Online Versus “The Graded Paper”

The combination of online teaching and evaluation can be considered beneficial for various reasons. For example, the ability of students to get their results immediately, with the exception of essays, gives them greater peace of mind, whereas hard copy exams require a nominal amount of wait-time for their results. This situation has the potential to cause stress and anxiety which is counterproductive for the most part.

Likewise, this situation of receiving assessment scores quickly and easily gives teachers the advantage of being able to analyze data in a more efficient and timely manner. By immediately gaining a clear picture of the students’ strengths and areas of improvement, educators are better equipped to apply this data to drive the course of their instruction.

Assessment and Feedback via Google Classroom

In addition to receiving fast results, instructors can use an app like Google Classroom or the Pedagogue site to create and send the same assessment to multiple classes at once. It is not only simple to do, but it also saves a lot of time. As an illustration of how efficiently an online tool can work, here are some steps for utilizing Google Classroom to share an assignment or a test: 

1.     Click on the drop-down menu next to it and select the classes you want the assignment to post to. You are given the option of checking one or more classes.

2.     As soon as you post the assignment, it will appear in all classrooms that you selected, at the same time.  No need to recreate the same assignment for each class. One check, and it is all completed.

Pedagogue As An Assessment Tool

Another site that provides various resources, including a virtual classroom where assessments can be created and reused, is Pedagogue. This site is a social media network that promotes learning and growth in the online world. The aim of the network is to provide educators with a platform where they can share strategies, tools, hacks, advice, and resources toward improving their teaching skills and their student’s academic performance. All you have to do is register for a free account and start participating in the community. It only takes a few minutes to navigate the platform as features and functions are similar to other social media sites.

The process is simple.

1.     After signing up, make a status update.

2.     Connect with other users by searching for educators with similar interests and sending friend requests

3.     Invite colleagues to join the site

4.     Start a group or classroom that is devoted to an education-related topic or area

5.     Start your own visual classroom where you can live stream, record audio files, launch video conference calls and so much more.

6.     Create, share, and reuse interactive learning experiences for your students

By utilizing this site, you can provide immediate feedback and test scores with your classes. Furthermore, you can also create formative assessments that are shorter, yet effective in measuring one set of skills.