Meg’s EduPedia objectives

1. To formulate assessment rubrics for your classroom wiki assignments.
2. To write a plan for using wikis in the classroom.

Your objectives

What are you hoping to learn from this module? Your objectives can be the same as mine, but is there anything else you are expecting to learn? Write down your thoughts, discuss with a partner or small group in the class, or blog it!

Discuss in on the discussion thread for this topic

Introduction

It’s one thing to set up wikis in the classroom and even to put up a sound educational design behind them; it’s quite another to figure out how you’re going to assess your students’ wiki efforts. What makes for a good wiki page, for example? Do you need a marking rubric or will you allow students to self-assess? How will you measure student learning via wikis? This module will help you think about how you might use wikis for assessment.

Focus questions: Assessment basics

How do you currently assess students’ work? Will that change in the wiki environment or is what you’re looking for still the same? Will you have to assess new things, such as website design or quality of hyperlinks? Write down your thoughts, discuss with a partner or small group in the class, or wiki it!

Discuss in on the discussion thread for this topic

Wiki use

Thieme Hennis and Jolien Ubacht provide some process tips for using wikis:

• Choose a wiki for specific reasons within the course
• Set clear goals, especially in the beginning
  
• Provide students with reasons for using a Wiki; make them aware of the added value
• Formulate the role of information manager: one student or students taking turns, who is responsible for keeping structure on the wiki and translating users' wishes into structure;
• Start with simple assignment for students to get used to working with the wiki
• For coaches: be active in using the wiki yourself.
  
• Make use of a student assistants or class representatives to play a part in the management and setting up of the wiki.
  

And Susan Hyde lays out some general DOs and DON’Ts. Do, she says

• Keep curriculum objectives and specific standards of learning in mind
• Focus on skills that students have learned in past lessons as well as new areas of instruction
• Provide students with a copy of the rubric before a writing assignment is begun
• Encourage students to use the rubric during peer editing
• Include space for suggestions and words of encouragement
• Provide examples of writing that meet the standards of the rubric, and discuss these examples in class
• Use the rubric to keep your scoring and comments consistent to a standard

Susan also says that you shouldn’t:

• Include items on the rubric that have not yet been explained in class
• Expect a finished and polished project on early drafts
• Compare one student’s work with another’s
• Be afraid to have students help you design a rubric based on provided learning objectives
• Include subjective or irrelevant items on the rubric. Make the assessment specific to the learning goal

Assessment rubrics

You can develop your own assessment rubric for each course or class you teach. Possible assessment areas:

Content

• Ideas
• Comprehension
• Intellectual engagement with course
• Analysis
• Creativity
• Data gathering
• Information sharing
• Focus
• Development of content
  

Pages

• Writing quality
• Relevance of links or embedded media
• Frequency and quality of page edits
  
• Community
• Discussion topics
  

Design and admin

• Organisation
• Appearance
• Use of enhancements (if using widgets, etc.)
• Management and administration

Exercise: Your assessment rubric

Write up a class wikiing plan, taking into account the ‘dos and don’ts’ of class wikis. Write up an assessment rubric. What will you be measuring? Writing? Demonstrated collaboration? Technological competence? Appearance of the wiki? Write down your thoughts, discuss with a partner or small group in the class, or wiki it!

Discuss in on the discussion thread for this topic

Reflection

Write down your thoughts, discuss with a partner or small group in the class, or wiki it!

Links and resources

Assessment rubrics
Trenchwarfare

ITGS

Wiki grading rubric, Victoria Davis

Assessing wikis, University of Minnesota

Rubistar, rubrics online

Assessment discussion
Grading with Assessment Rubrics Guide to Evaluating Writing and Alternative Learning Projects, Susan Hyde

Making assessment personally relevant, Konrad Glogowoski

Assessing student technology assignments, UKGo TeachTech

Assessment tools, CLPD, Adelaide University

Demonstrating and assessing student learning with e-portfolios, EDUCAUSE