The eLearning Guild: Community & Resources for eLearning Professionals Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions Multiple choice test questions, also known as items, can be an effective and efficient way to assess learning outcomes. Multiple choice test items have several potential advantages: Versatility: Multiple choice test items can be written to assess various levels of learning outcomes, from basic recall to application, analysis, and evaluation. Because students are choosing from a set of potential answers, however, there are obvious limits on what can be tested with multiple choice items. Reliability: Reliability is defined as the degree to which a test consistently measures a learning outcome. Validity: Validity is the degree to which a test measures the learning outcomes it purports to measure. The key to taking advantage of these strengths, however, is construction of good multiple choice items. A multiple choice item consists of a problem, known as the stem, and a list of suggested solutions, known as alternatives. Constructing an Effective Stem 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1. 2.
OER Commons Write a Syllabus for a New Course - Eberly Center Build your syllabus by first designing the main components of your course and ensuring that these components are aligned with each other. Then, write the syllabus to communicate your course design and expectations to your students. The steps below address the key aspects of course and syllabus design and, as such, cover Faculty Senate's syllabus recommendations. In thinking about what you want your students to learn and how you will assess this learning, it’s important to first consider who your students are. Is the course lower division, upper division, or graduate level? Learning Objectives, Assessments, & Course Description View more information about how to construct Learning Objectives.Review prompts to help you generate Assessments for your syllabus.Find recommendations of information to include in your Course Description. Course Policies and Statements Clearly explain your Course Policies & Statements by reviewing samples and considering key guiding questions. Course Materials
Home Faculty Google Guide - Information Technology Services - Brandeis Knowledge Base After following this guide, faculty members will be able to use Google products to make their classes more efficient. Integrate Drive into Group Projects Google Drive can help you streamline group projects in your classes. Google Drive is the future of Google Docs, providing features that allow for collaboration, cloud storage, and sharing. Attachments are painful: Require students to submit assignments by placing in a shared folder, which would automatically download it to a folder in your computer. Make students pull their weight: Collaboration is Google Drive's middle name. Create a Course or Personal Website You can use Google Sites as an additional course management tool. To create a Google Site: Usage scenarios: Creating a shared class calendar with important due dates and embedding it on the siteCreating a pseudo-news site for a journalism classAllow students to edit certain parts of the site to increase interaction Classes/Faculty already using sites: Hold office hours from anywhere
Active Learning strategies for online In this post I review key takeaways from the book “make it stick” and delve into its practical applications for educators—how instructors who teach face-to-face or online can help their students learn better, and for course and curriculum designers—how they can support learning through unique course design strategies. The book begins “…people generally go about learning in the wrong ways…” and authors describe how the methods we typically use to learn—reviewing material again and again to get that ‘A’ for instance, or practicing the same skill for hours on end until mastery, are essentially ineffective (pg. xi). They don’t work, and ‘make it stick’ explains why. Despite the title, “… Science of Successful Learning”, the book is more about the practical than the science though the authors do a fine job of referencing research to support their claims. Overview The book is a fairly easy read with enough challenge and complexity to make it a page-turner. Book Highlights Like this:
Instructional Design Resources | Instructional Design Central (IDC) Access a library of premium instructional design and training plan templates. The training plan template kit includes a training needs analysis, instructional design storyboards and more. These are aligned with the ADDIE instructional design process. Instructional Design Templates Instructional Designer Jobs Access the Instructional Design Central (IDC) Job Board. The Learning Circle Framework™ IDC has created a simple framework (and presentation template kit) that is founded upon agile product development and modern instructional design principles—we call this The Learning Circle Framework™. Needs Analysis Mobile App Our FREE needs analysis creator app allows you to create a learning needs analysis (aligned with industry standards) in 5-10 minutes.
Best Practices for Teaching Online | Brown University The Brown Online team worked with University faculty from the online Pre-College Program to establish a set of best practices for teaching online. Not surprisingly, they are consistent with those long established in the field of distance education. If you plan to teach an online course, adhering to these guidelines will help ensure both your and your students’ engagement, enjoyment, and success in the course. 1. You may wonder, what is the role of the Instructional Designer? 2. For many of your students, this may be the first time they’ve participated in an online course. 3. When the class begins, connect with each student as they begin the online course to establish “teacher presence.” 4. If your students see you put time and energy into discussions, they will too. 5. Written feedback is just one way to provide student feedback in the online environment. 6.
Accessibility Basics Accessibility focuses on how a disabled person accesses or benefits from a site, system or application. Accessibility is an important part of the designing your site and should be considered throughout the development process. Section 508 is the governing principle and it requires that all government information be accessible to disabled users. Implementing Accessibility Accessible sites present information through multiple sensory channels, such as sound and sight, and they allow for additional means of site navigation and interactivity beyond the typical point-and-click-interface: keyboard-based control and voice-based navigation. The combination of a multisensory approach and a multi-interactivity approach allows disabled users to access the same information as nondisabled users. Value of Making Accessibility a Priority W3C notes that, “accessibility overlaps with other best practices such as mobile web design , and search engine optimization (SEO). Best Practices for Accessible Content
Top Instructional Design Resources In a field that changes rapidly, it’s prudent to have solid resources to turn to for guidance. These resources can be contained in a blog, website, online course, or book format. Utilizing as many different kinds of resources as possible provides learners with the most well-rounded, comprehensive education possible. Some of these top instructional design resources can be found below. In a field that changes rapidly, it’s prudent to have solid resources to turn to for guidance. Utilizing as many different kinds of resources as possible provides learners with the most well-rounded, comprehensive education possible. Some of these top instructional design resources can be found below.
Rubrics: Every Teacher's Friend Infographic K12 Infographics Teacher Infographics Rubrics: Every Teacher’s Friend Infographic Rubrics: Every Teacher’s Friend Infographic This Rubrics: Every Teacher’s Friend Infographic aims at helping K12 teachers understand that rubrics are the most powerful tools a teacher is probably not using! More impactful than homework. Rubrics not only help teachers to organize their lessons, but they can be used as a teaching guide in addition to assessing the students’ skill mastery. See also: Why Teachers Should Use Rubrics Infographic Read also: The 5 Best Free Rubric Making Tools For Teachers Via: www.edcourage.com Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog!