Assessment in open education

This presentation was initially prepared for the Faculty of Health Sciences at La Trobe University. La Trobe's Centre for Teaching, Learning and Curriculum asked me to present in to their Scholars of Learning and Teaching (SoLT) seminar series on Tuesday 12 March 2013, which coincided with La Trobe's Open Education Week event.

Introduction

This session will look at examples of open and networked learning and discuss the practical opportunities to university teaching work, and the underlying principles of such practice – principles that seem to challenge, inspire and confront the practices typically found in today’s universities including community engagement, research, teaching and assessment. The related field of Open Educational Resources and Practices are having a growing influence in Australian universities, and this session presents an approach to OERP that has been piloted at the University of Canberra (2011) and Otago Polytechnic (2009), and now La Trobe University’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

I am interested in open and networked learning, including in academic practice. Here I will briefly talk about assessment methods I've been involved in, that seek to bring together community engagement, research, publication and peer assessment in an open and networked way. I hope to stimulate discussion with these ideas and projects, and challenge, inspire, and confront traditional university based practice.

Examples

Psychology student authored open textbook

James Neil explaining the project at its beginning. Copy on Youtube.

Formal textbook was inadequate and expensive
Essay assignment changed to textbook chapter
Finished textbook became basis for next semester, with eBook and printed option
Assessment was formative and included peers

Sport studies course

Simple Google search gains access to the course
Essay assignment into published papers in a student authored journal
Presentation assignment 'screen based'
Exam made 'open book' with wireless Internet and questions that were impossible to answer individually

Google search BPS2011

Journalism course with Wikinews assignment

Problem of quality in a troubled sector
Wikinews found to be a quality news outlet using innovative and contemporary methods
Assignment: get a story published on Wikinews to pass
Assessment assisted by Wikinews volunteers
Wikinews invited more faculty engagement

See notes on Wikiversity - http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Journalism_studies_and_Wikinews

Principles of practice

Situated and convivial

Community engaged, relevant and useful
Permeable boundaries, networked, participatory

Transferable/sustainable

The skills, instruments, methods and content can transfer across platforms, institutions, across a reasonable public skills base

Open and transparent

Accountable, verifiable, open data, responsibility

Work in progress - http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/User:Leighblackall/An_ethical_framework_for_ubiquitous_learning

Suggestions

Use Wikipedia etc as assignment, assessment and learning platforms
Use Wikiversity to document teaching and research work
Use Yahoo Answers as an assignment space
Use Blogger for journal based learning and professional portfolios
More ideas for activity, assignments and assessment - http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Activity,_assignments_and_assessment

Supporting initiatives