So much of what has been written about assessment at a distance is unfortunate. The emphasis seems largely to be on cheating — as in, how do I know my student didn’t pay somebody to take the exam? — and plagarism — how do I keep them from just turning in somebody else’s work.
Here’s my problem. What’s cheating? Sure, paying Kurt Vonnegut to write a book report on Slaughterhouse Five the way Rodney Dangerfield did in Back to School is probably beyond the edge. What about looking up the answer online? Or asking Bob? If Connectivism is a valid construct than knowing who to ask becomes an important skill. For years, education has given a wink and a nod to the notion that it’s less important to know a fact than to know where to find the fact when you need it. What’s that do for cheating? How can you cheat? If your goal is to assess how much knowledge about a subject that a learner might be able to bring to bear on a problem, then ask him/her to solve a problem. Few people can cheat a “performance” task where most people might not even realize they were cheating a “knowledge” task.
Then there’s the issue of plagarism. If you’re assigning Yet Another Book Report on Tom Sawyer and you’re worried a student will buy last year’s reports, maybe it’s time to rethink that lesson plan. I’m thinking about what you are doing as a class. Yes, it’s possible that somebody is just copying their posts wholesale from somebody else, but I’m going to go on record as saying, “I don’t think so.” Each of you has a unique voice in your space — a signature style and outlook that’s as distinctive as your face. Some of you sound a bit alike, but by and large, I think I’d spot a ringer in there if one of you were to grab a poste and “make it your own.”
Moreover, I assess you every week. I make it easy for you to “do your own work.” Except for the final project, there are not any high stakes assessments that would make it worth your while to try to subvert them. Rephrased, I make it easier for you to just do the work than to try to cheat.
Oh, and if you do cheat, the extra work means you probably learned more.
So what are your ideas about assessment at a distance?
October 24th, 2007 at 8:13 am
[...] Keeping with the assessment theme, what about assessment at a distance? Assessment at a Distance o much of what has been written about assessment at a distance is unfortunate. The emphasis seems largely to be on cheating — as in, how do I know my student didn’t pay somebody to take the exam? — and plagarism — how do I keep them from just turning in somebody else’s work. [...]
October 24th, 2008 at 9:10 am
[...] One of the on-going discussions about online education is a chronic debate about cheating. What’s cheating? Sure, paying Kurt Vonnegut to write a book report on Slaughterhouse Five the way Rodney Dangerfield did in Back to School is probably beyond the edge. What about looking up the answer online? Or asking Bob? If Connectivism is a valid construct than knowing who to ask becomes an important skill. For years, education has given a wink and a nod to the notion that it’s less important to know a fact than to know where to find the fact when you need it. What’s that do for cheating? How can you cheat? If your goal is to assess how much knowledge about a subject that a learner might be able to bring to bear on a problem, then ask him/her to solve a problem. Few people can cheat a “performance” task where most people might not even realize they were cheating a “knowledge” task. phaedrus » Blog Archive » Assessment at a Distance. [...]