Evaluation from a Distance
One of the articles I read this week reminded me of some basic instructional practices that are altered when teaching occurs online and/or from a distance, primarily that of student evaluation. The two forms of this to consider are formative and summative. When teaching face-to-face much of the summative evaluation can happen naturally and somewhat unconsciously, often in the form of observing student interaction, questions, comments, body language, etc. When teaching at a distance some of the nuances of evaluation are harder to achieve, especially in such a subtle way.
Summative evaluations seem a little bit easier to adapt to distance learning, often in the form of course surveys, feedback, and final exams. Still, both (formative and summative) have important roles to play in effective teaching… helping teachers customize a learning experience to students on the fly and for future students.
The trick or real question to me then is what methods to employ when teaching from a distance. How can you gauge what’s really going on in ways that are not always formal or static or slow? The methods most employed now seem to be email, audio/video chat rooms (Wimba, etc.) and instant messaging (which I like much more than antiquated approaches such as postcards, mailed-in surveys, or phone calls). It seems like there could or should be additional and innovative approaches. Any ideas?
I do appreciate teachers of mine (online) who make an effort to get midterm feedback in order to make changes dynamically for that specific classes’ needs (rather than just the final summative evaluation which may benefit future students, but doesn’t address the needs of those students whose comments are submitted).
