Piloting Online Submission and Online Assessment with GradeMark

Abstract

Online technologies are becoming ubiquitous in higher education and present both challenges and opportunities for those involved in learning and teaching. This chapter reports on the research-enhanced implementation of Electronic Assessment Management (EAM) within one faculty of a university in Sydney, Australia. This research was conducted as a qualitative case study. Questionnaires were used to investigate staff and student experiences of EAM, and the researcher's reflective practice made it possible to capture important details of the implementation process mediated through the researchers as participants. The research found enormous potential in EAM implementation for cultural transformation in learning and teaching. The authors argue that the move to EAM is now a viable option for universities. The combination of a rapidly evolving higher education landscape, evidence from exploring both staff and student experiences of engaging with EAM, and the benefits which the transition offers for the professional development of academics make the use of EAM essential for reasons of both pedagogy and efficiency.

“It’s like fifty-fifty”: Using the Student Voice towards Enhancing Undergraduates’ Engagement with Online Feedback Provision

“…In relation to previous work that has similarly examined preferences of online submission and access a clear trend over time can be noted here. A decade ago only one in four students claimed a preference for online submission (Bridge & Appleyard, 2005) and this preference has since shown consistent increases to half of students (Bridge & Appleyard, 2008), just under two thirds (Ambler et al, 2014), and finally to over four fifths in our research. Accessing feedback does not show the same steep increases over time but has shifted from around half of students (Ambler et al, 2014;Bridge & Appleyard, 2008) to two thirds in the present study.…”

“…A decade ago this was noted in around a quarter of students (Bridge & Appleyard, 2005) but has since increased to half of students (Bridge & Appleyard, 2008) and more recently to two thirds (Ambler et al, 2014). On the other hand, preferences in terms of feedback provision do not seem to show the same kind of trendinstead, this seems to have remained stable at around half of students expressing such inclinations (Ambler et al, 2014;Bridge & Appleyard, 2008). The first observation is not overly surprising given the increase in net generation students, but the second notion does require further insight into why the same increases are not seen here.…”

“…However, a key aspect of the higher education experience is engagement with assessment, which is integral to student achievement of educational goals and motivation (Brown, Peterson, & Irving, 2009 Moffitt, 2016;Heinrich, Milne, & Granshaw, 2012). But here, too, attention has been turning towards how technology can be used to support student engagement (Ambler, Breyer, & Young, 2014;Hepplestone, Holden, Irwin, Parkin, & Thorpe, 2011;Pellegrino & Quellmalz, 2010;Säljö, 2010;Timmis, Broadfoot, Sutherland, & Oldfield, 2016). Provision of feedback in particular is crucial as it can promote self-regulated learning (Brown, Peterson, & Yao, 2016).…”

“…It is seen as easier to use, allows for faster marking and therefore reduces the overall workload (Buckley & Cowap, 2013). Staff also see benefits for students, indicating that the quality of feedback provided to students is more targeted and more effective (Ambler et al, 2014). However, "if feedback is meant to improve performance, raise self-efficacy, and trigger self-regulatory processes, it matters how students perceive it" (Brown et al, 2016, p. 609; also see Ferguson, 2011).…”

“…Students do recognize particular benefits of an online feedback provision approach. This includes the ease of access (Grieve et al, 2016), legibility of comments (Ambler et al, 2014;Bridge & Appleyard, 2005) and financial aspects such as travel and printing (Bridge & Appleyard, 2008). Time may also be a crucial feature since taking time to engage with feedback seems to be associated with higher levels of academic self-efficacy (Brown et al, 2016) and online feedback provision may allow for more self-paced engagement.…”