Title: Evaluation and feedback
Course: Digivisio - DEMO course template > Section: Evaluation and feedback

Evaluation and feedback are important aspects of an online teacher’s work. Planning evaluation is very important, not just because of the amount of work the learners need to do, but also how much work the teacher needs to do within limited time resources. It is easy to build an evaluation trap for yourself, which keeps you busy long after the course is over.

In e-learning, feedback should be given swiftly – evaluation within a month of submitting a task are not in line with e.g. the principles of formative evaluation. The learners’ works should be evaluated quickly, so they can benefit from the evaluation in any future tasks, and that the teacher can see how the learner reacts to the feedback.

Some tips for the teacher for optimising the evaluation and feedback loads:

- Clarity of evaluation criteria and the use of rubrics – this decreases the time needed to analyse individual answers, as using the criteria is more systematic and focuses on clear, pre-defined elements in the learners’ works.
- Keep the feedback direct and concrete and focus on what the learner can improve.
- If possible, use automatization in ”simpler” tasks, for example multiple choices.
- Note the topics, competences, tasks, where it is important for you to give feedback. In some tasks, evaluation and feedback require experience of something, which cannot be expected the learners to have, but in other tasks it is good to notice where you could use group tasks, peer evaluation, self evaluation or online discussions, where the learners can share their competences and understanding. The teacher does not have to ”butt into” everything. The learners can also use well-designed rubrics to give focused and valuable peer feedback, both about successes and areas of development.
- Use resource calculators, or at least do the math in your head – this helps with evaluation of both the your time and the learners’. If you expect the learners’ to write three page essays and there are 40 learners – a simple multiplication points towards a significant evaluation load, especially if you must do it all during one week. Book time in your calendar in advance based on how much time you think you will need.
- Create a document of the feedback you have given and/or use the characteristics of the learning environment. You will notice similarities in the feedback you will need to give to the learners. With just small editing, you can utilise the feedback you have given before.
- Use weekly notifications, where you post reminders of upcoming tasks, things to notice, create a summary of the things mentioned in the assignments of the previous week/section etc. This can sometimes be used instead of personal feedback to every single learner, and here you can also utilise older messages from previous courses. Videos can also be an effective tool here.
- This may seem far-fetched, but make sure you are visible in the course – see below. Clear and timely presence of the teacher in a course can compensate for evaluation and feedback – the teacher being present makes the learners feel cared for and that what they do matters. The learners feel they are heard. You can also use e.g. course-level messages to focus the learners’ work, which helps them to study more effectively.

Note! Teacher’s presence, or at least the illusion of the teacher’s presence for the learners, is very important in an e-learning course. A learner may feel lonely in an online course, and the connection with the teacher may help in that. There are many good instructions online on how to make your presence in e-learning courses known and more effective. Here is a link worth checking out:

- Establish a Positive Teacher Presence in Your Virtual Classroom - AVID Open Access

Using e.g. the link above, the following could be highlighted for teachers to develop their positive presence

- In addition to texts, offer the learners the chance to see and hear you in a video shot at a location suitable for you. In addition to serious content, you can also show your personality in a way that suits you. Do not pretend to be someone you are not – the video may end up being pretentious and the learners will not buy it.
- ”Office hours” – in your calendar, book a weekly moment when you are available for the learners in a channel of your choosing. Preferably you should use video conferencing, but other tools can also be used. You can, for example, have a ”virtual office” in a discussion forum of the course. Make it clear how often you read the discussion forum, so the learners know how quickly you can, usually, be reached. Remember to also keep these promises.
- Building a community – create a discussion forum, where the learners introduce themselves and also answer a few questions about the topic of the up-coming course. Make sure you reply to each learner, and add a comment about their introduction. Demand that the learners also comment on each others’ introductions.
- Try to react as quickly as possible – within 24 h would be ideal. When waiting for a reply, even a few days may seem like an eternity.