Thuraya Abdulla

The section was enlightening as I was not aware of many of the tools that are available to learners with special needs. One good point is that putting course documents on the LMS does not mean that these documents are accessible to all learners. This I think what many instructors who are not aware of the accessibility concept missed out.

It was a very informative section. I am not a US citizen so this section provided me the knowledge on the steps taken by the US government to ensure the accessibility of learning to all learners regardless of their physical characteristics. In my country and educational institute, we have similar regulations and rule to protect the right of disabled people. 

I learned from the "Blogging" section different ways to utilize blogging in learning. It is also important to inform the students about the purpose of the blog, provide them with the necessary support, and share the assignment rubric and criteria. Also, I learned that blogs could be private between two and not necessarily be public. 

The microblogging is a form of blogging using short text messages, Twitter is an example. Instructors can use it to disseminate knowledge to the students faster as they don't have to login to their LSM. As instructors, we need to make sure that adding microblogging tools will enhance learning. To use it effectively. We can utilize microblogging tools to assess students learning.

The "Media Hosting and Sharin" module is very informative.  I learned a lot from reading it such as:

1. use the media hosting site if it helps in learning and linked to the outcomes.
2. use the media effectively to enhance the learning process.
3. the different tools and techniques that we can utilize to assess an online assignment, for example, how to assess the active listing.
4. best practices in using these sites.
5. thigs that we should be aware of, for example, the copyright or if the sites contain ads.
6. we should review the course materials such as content, syllabus, learning outcomes, assignments,
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Hi David 

Here I think you meant we need to give formative assessments regularly and not summative assessment.

This was a rich module for me.  I learned about three types of assessments: value-added, alternative, and authentic assessment. These also were new terminologies for me. It was interesting reading about the criteria in using each one of them and the difference between them.

I have seen rubric before but I did not use it with my students as I teach mathematics. However, I am planning to use rubrics for the project assignment.

Reply to Karen Juchniewicz's post: I was not aware of this tool until I read it in the module. It is a very useful tool for us and for our students.  

The module covered 3 points we, as instructors, need to consider:

1)  Assessment reliability and validity to make the test free of bias.  However, validity is more important to ensure a test measures the intended learning outcomes.

2)  Objective and subjective assessments, the difference between the two types. It also looked at the strengths and weaknesses of each one.

3)  Norm- and Criterion-referenced assessments. When to use each one.

Regardless of the assessment type we choose, we must ensure it aligns the intended learning outcomes. In addition, we must inform the students about the grading method.  

Using rubrics allows… >>>

This module covered the three types of assessments, namely: diagnostic, formative, and summative. I realized that, as instructors, our focus mainly on the summative assessment and we don’t pay attention to the diagnostics assessment. Also, due to time constraints, we avoid giving enough formative assessments. Including the diagnostic assessment will help us to make the necessary changes in the course in order to achieve the learning outcomes and helping our students. In addition, to support students and see where they are standing in the course, it is very important to include formative assessment in the course.

I am planning to… >>>