April 13, 2001

TLTR Home

Discussion 1
Fostering Interaction, Community, and  Participation in an Online Environment

Discussion 2
Evaluating Student Performance in an Online Environment

Discussion 3
Assessment in an Online Learning Environment

Discussion 4
Overview of Calibrated Peer Review: Online Writing and Evaluation Tool

Discussion 5
Improving Discussion-Oriented Online Instruction

Discussion 6
Creating a Comprehensive Web Site for Majors

Discussion 7
Creating and Using Interactive Learning Strategies in an Online Course

Discussion 8
Promoting Online Collaboration: Strategies and Risks

Discussion 9
Evaluating Writing in Online Environments

Discussion Board

Academic Technologies

Boise State

• alternatives to proctored exams
• security and privacy concerns
• evaluating portfolios and group projects
• innovative approaches to evaluation
• matching the right technology to a particular evaluation task

Join the conversation about evaluating student performance by logging in to the TLTR Web Discussion Board.

The following resources related to evaluation were compiled by Janet Strong, Albertson's Library.

Web Resources

Distance-Educator.com. A commercial site with useful information. 

"Why Distance Education will Fail and Harm Higher Education" by F. Saba (requires Adobe Acrobat reader, available for free from Adobe)

University of Wisconsin Extension Lists courses and evaluation publications that are for sale 

National Institute for Science Education Emphasis on science, mathematics, engineering, and technology

Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination

"Ten Keys to Quality Assurance and Assessment in Online Learning"
An article from a commercial consulting firm.
 
American Center for the Study of Distance Education, Penn State College of Education. A bibliography at this site includes a section on evaluation.

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Periodical Articles

Biner, Paul M. And Others. "The Impact of Remote-Site Group Size on Student Satisfaction and Relative Performance in Interactive Telecourses." American Journal of Distance Education v11 n1 p23-33 1997
A study of 288 undergraduates enrolled in 17 telecourses determined that students attending class sessions with fewer students reported being more satisfied with the courses and were more likely to perform at levels exceeding their previous academic performance than students attending larger sessions. 

Graham, Charles, Kursat Cagiltay, Byung-Ro Lim, Joni Craner and Thomas M. Duffy. "Seven Principles of Effective Teaching: A Practical Lens for Evaluating Online Courses". THE TECHNOLOGY SOURCE, March/April 2001 
"Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" (Chickering & Gamson, AAHE Bulletin, 1987) established a framework for evaluating teaching in traditional, face-to-face courses, based on fifty years of higher education research. A team of five evaluators from Indiana University's Center for Research on Learning and Technology (CRLT) recently used these principles to evaluate four online courses. From their study they developed a list of "lessons learned" for online instruction corresponding to the original seven principles. The article is available online.

Miller, John W. And Others. "An Evaluation of Student Content Learning and Affective Perceptions of a Two-Way Interactive Video Learning Experience." Educational Technology v33 n6 p51-55 Jun 1993
This discussion of distance learning focuses on a study of graduate education students that compared the content mastery and the attitudes of students in on- and off-campus courses that used interactive video. (14 references)

Naidu, Som ; Bernard, Robert M. "Enhancing Academic Performance in Distance Education with Concept Mapping and Inserted Questions." Distance Education v13 n2 p218-33 1992
Investigates the effectiveness of inserted questions and concept mapping for enhancing academic performance. The study sample was composed of 141 nursing students enrolled in a 20-week distance education course. Subjects who completed concept mapping exercises outperformed those using inserted questions or a combination of the two instructional strategies. (26 references) 

Schulman, Allan H., Sims, Randi L. "Learning in an online format versus an in-class format: an experimental study." T.H.E. Journal v. 26 no11 (June 1999) p. 54-6 
A study examined the pre- and post-test scores of students enrolled in online and in-class versions of the same class taught by the same instructors over a variety of disciplines. Results indicated no significant differences between the posttest scores of online and in-class students. However, the students who self-selected into the online courses scored higher on pretests than in-class students, which suggests that students who select for online courses may be better prepared for the course material than students who select in-class courses.

Thorpe, Mary. "Assessment and 'third generation' distance education." Distance Education v. 19 no2 (1998) p. 265-86 
A study examined the impact on students' study experience of the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) in association with continuous assessment. Results revealed that continuous assessment can be used to encourage participation in CMC and other computer-based activities and that effective opportunities can be created to enhance feedback on learning and to develop team working and information technology skills.

Wade, William. "Assessment in Distance Learning: What Do Students Know and How Do We Know They Know It?" T.H.E. Journal v27 n3 p94-96,98,100 Oct 1999
Suggests various methods to ensure quality assessment of distance learning. Discusses making student evaluation forms applicable to each course; surveys exposing weaknesses; assessing grades and grades as assessment factors; weighing in the attrition rate; inherent aspects of distance learning that provide means of assessment; and making virtual discussions count.

Wright, Vivian H., Marsh, George E., Miller, Michael T. "A critical comparison of graduate student satisfaction in asynchronous and synchronous course instruction." Planning & Changing v. 31 no1/2 (2000) p. 107-18
A study examined graduate student achievement and satisfaction in synchronous and asynchronous course instruction. Results revealed that the asynchronous group had higher means at both pre- and posttest levels than the synchronous group and that the asynchronous group appeared to be more active in its technology learning style than the synchronous group.

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Distance Education Journals

American Journal of Distance Education. BSU owns v.1- 1987- (LC5805 .A45)

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks.  

Canadian Journal of Educational Communication. BSU owns v.15- 1986- (LB1033.5 .C36).

Journal of Distance Education. BSU owns v.1-1986- (LC5800 .J68). Available online.

Distance Education. BSU owns v.4- 1983- (LC5808 .A8D57) 

First Monday: Peer Reviewed Journal on the Internet 

Journal of Interactive Learning Research. BSU owns v.8#2- 1997- (microfilm)

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Books

Lau, Linda. Distance learning technologies: issues, trends and opportunities, 2000 (on order)

Aggarwal, Anil. Web-based learning and teaching technologies: opportunities and challenges, 2000 (on order)

Belanger, France. Evaluation and implementation of distance learning: technologies, tools and Techniques, 2000 (on order)

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