To assess the student's use of blogging I would develop a rubric that focuses on the content of the communication and quality of the communication. I would verify that the student was technically accurate and that the communication was effectively written.
Hello
This depends on the reason the blog is assigned. If there is a specific question that students are anwering or topic they are asked to discuss I will use a rubric. If it is just for participation I will see how active they are and how appropriate their posts are.
Samantha
Jennifer
I forgot to mention that the rubric needs to be made available to students so they know how they are being assessed on the blog assignment. Thanks for the reminder.
Samantha
The assessment of blog entries is based on content or posts. For example, the blog content may be based on ideas, comprehension, data, intellectual engagement, analysis, and critique. Or, blog posts may be assessed on writing quality, relevance, post frequency, community, or other issues.
Prior to assessment, it is important to provide students with examples of good blog postings as a model representing what is expected from students. Blogs postings many times have the same qualities as discussion board postings. A simple statement of agreement or disagreement is not acceptable. Assessment criteria for blogs may include regular use, blog entries that stimulate additional blog postings, or a progress in discussion or reflection.
However, the assessment of blog postings is different from simple discussion board postings as they typically engage students with the course material and provide for a deeper discussion of ideas and problems that emerge from the material. Blogs may further immerse the students in the content by providing videos, ideas, and implications. Blogs may also be used to assess students’ work in a formative or summative format.
LE,
What a smart way to go. Students would then know what you expect when they use this medium.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Samantha,
You are right. It depends on what you want the students to learn or what the students to show what they learned through this medium. That is important.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
corinne,
Great post. You make so many great points. You have to determine what you think is average blogging versus good or excellent. You may want to evaluate the comments regarding did the students make their point. Just a thought. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I do use blogs in my online course and the students are provided with a rubric at the beginning of the semester. FYI - they are asked to write a final blog post to reflect on their blogging performance using the rubric criteria to guide their assessment.
I teach an online literature courses, and if I were to set up a blogging assignment for students as an outside learning addition, I would assess the blog entries similarly to how I assess discussion board posts. First, there would be evaluation of content and focus on topic. Secondly, I would also evaluate how students respond to the comments about their entries. In addition, I would evaluate the growth in critical thinking over the time period of the class. For example, do the blog entries reflect an increase in perceptions and analyses about authors or the literature? Are the students’ reflections about their learning experiences presented in a in-depth manner? As with most writing projects given to student, they have to be evaluated in a holistic manner over a specific time period.
Jaclyn,
How do student perceive the exercise? I think your strategy is great!!!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Phyllis,
You make a great point. I agree, you have to have some holistic assessment of the post.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
A rubric could be developed to asses their engagement, relevancy to the topic and quality of information shared, spelling and grammar, number of responses to peers and instructors comments. If these element are tracked and measured positive outcomes should be found from the experience.
Nathan,
I agree. A rubric would be the most effective way to assess the use of Blogs.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The best way to assess a student’s use of blogging is through a rubric. In developing the rubric I would need to consider both content and student posting. Some areas I might assess with regard to content include comprehension and analysis. With regard to posting, I would assess student writing skills as well as relevancy of any links used. I like the idea of a blog because it can show the ideas formed by the student as well as the student’s critical thinking on a particular subject. As an example, students could be asked to post weekly blog posts which could be evaluated as a significant part of their overall grade. The blog posts could be an evaluation or summarization of the current week’s chapter readings from the textbook.
Jeffrey,
A rubric is a great idea for grading a blog. you could look at a variety of things. You could also look at responses.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The discussion board assignments in my classroom are very similar to blogs.
I have a rubric I use to assess these already which includes points for content, engagement, critical thinking, language and presentation. Students also must meet a minimum number of posts.
I would use this same approach for a true blog.
Jane,
I think that is reasonable. Why would you use a blog rather than the discussion.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The quality of their communication would certainly be the first way I'd assess their usage of blogging.
As an online instructor, the major thing that I would use to assess students' use of blogging is relevance of content. In other words, did they thoroughly and appropriately address the topic of discussion. Also, I would look for factual information, and how well they researched their topic. If there was a requirement of at least three postings with information from more than one source, then this would also be taken into account, when assessing students' use of blogging.
When I grade using the rubric designated, I tend to use the same language that is contained in the rubric. I stress to my students to check their work against the rubric.
