Evaluations: Projects using Grademark for feedback
Project:-Using a 24inch screen for marking using grademark. Dr Barbara Introwicz (School of Health and Rehabilitation, Keele University)
In this recording Dr Barbara Introwicz outlines how using a larger screen aided her use of marking online using the Grademark facility. She explains how the new Grademark interface compares to the old interface and what particular developments to the system would be of benefit. Dr Barbara Introwicz typically marks around 50, 5000 word assignments (per module) online. Barbara has asked that the fantastic support of their e-learning fellow Mr Tim Smale be acknowledged and would like to thank him for his support in using Turnitin and Grademark. Please see below for a link to the recording
http://tinyurl.com/projectstaf-eval-Barbara
Project: – Moving from paper marking and feedback to online marking and feedback using Grademark on a Sociology module. (Dr Mark Featherstone, School of Sociology and Criminology, Keele University).
In this project Dr Mark Featherstone moved from paper based assignment marking and feedback to electronic marking and feedback using Grademark. This was initially tried on a small piece of written work. It worked well so Mark decided to use Grademark on a larger piece of written work (circa 2500 words for 25 students). Outlined below are Marks findings, to summarise he found that using Grademark changed the way he marked and allowed him to provide richer more detailed feedback to students. Comments from the students included
“The electronic feedback was very helpful and made my research proposal have a better direction and conclusion”
“Electronic feedback was fantastic, best and most helpful way I’ve had work marked so far at uni”
“Electronic feedback was positive and encouraging. Provided new links to further improve quality of word project”
Responses to Questions
- In your project what technology and /or process did you use to provide feedback to the students?
GradeMark / KLE.
- Prior to the project how would you normally provide feedback to students?
Hand-written or word processed feedback.
- Did you find providing feedback was more or less efficient than the process normally used?
Yes, the new method of providing feedback was more efficient – it allowed me to respond to students more quickly and also improved the quality of my feedback to them.
- Did using the technology allow you to provide richer or more detailed feedback to students when compared with the ‘normal’ process used?
Yes, the use of technology improved the quality of my feedback – I found I wrote more detailed feedback directly onto the screen than I otherwise would have on a blank piece of paper.
- Do you think that the students benefited from the change in process? (Why? What is your data?)
Yes, I think students benefited from the new method of feedback. They commented on this in their module assessment responses.
- From your perspective, what were the main advantages of using this process?
The main advantages of this approach to providing feedback where (a) speed of response and (b) quality of feedback.
- From your perspective, were there any disadvantages to using this process ?
It would be difficult to mark large numbers of scripts using GradeMark without mobile technology – i.e., some kind of IPad or Kindle device.
- How do you think the process used could be improved to make it easier to use?
See above comment re: mobile device.
- Will you continue to use the intervention in your teaching practice? If not, what would need to change for you to adopt the intervention as current practice?
Yes, but only on modules with manageable student numbers – i.e., 20-30. On large modules where scripts need to be turned around quickly mid-term, I would rather work with paper copy. However, if mobile technology was available I would use GradeMark on all modules, as I would see no obvious disadvantage to using it.
Project: – Providing feedback on draft dissertations using Grademark and a tablet pc to third year students in Psychology, (Dr Nicky Edelstyn School of Psychology, Keele University)
In this recording Dr Nicky Edelstyn discusses her experiences of using grademark and a tablet pc to provide feedback to third year students on their draft dissertations. Dr Nicky Edelstyn finds that she is able to provide more directed feedback to students and that the students found the feedback using Grademark easier to use.
Please see below for links to the recordings
http://tinyurl.com/projectstaf-eval-NickyGradem
Project: Using turnitin and plagiarism detection for formative assessment and as a learning tool. (Dr Sotirios Santatzoglou , Law School Keele University and Dr Jenny Smith, Learning and Professional Development Center.
The aim of this study is to examine whether Turnitin can develop the effectiveness of formative assessment. The project will involve around 190 students
QUESTION 1: Whether the good use of Turnitin can support the student’s retrieval practice in relation to legal concepts and ideas, impacting therefore on a student’s summative exam results.
The paper of Henry Roediger iii and Andrew Butler, “The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention” (Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2011, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp 20-27) is a very useful source of ideas regarding the improvement of the retrieval practice.
QUESTION 2: Whether Turnitin can develop the communication process between tutor and tutee and enhance the formative feedback process.
Why Turnitin?
Turnitin offers useful online tools, which can point out the strengths and weaknesses of a student’s formative assessment and therefore improve the formative feedback process and support the communication process between Lecturer and student.
Research STAGE A
During the first stage (current semester) I am exploring the impact of the formative assessment on our criminal law students for the year 2010-11, semester 1 and 2.
I (Sotirios) am researching any relationship between formative and summative assessment results. Towards this purpose I am producing a statistical histograph for the academic year 2010-11.
We are conducting interviews with criminal law students to gain the student view on the use of Turnitin as a learning tool. In particular how the formative assessment process assisted them towards their summative exam results.
Project:-Using a 24inch screen for marking using Grademark. Dr Carole Watkins (School of Health and Rehabilitation, Keele University)
In this project Dr Carole Watkins outlines how using a larger screen aided her use of marking online using the Grademark facility and reports on how she finds using Grademark
Questions
1. In your project what technology and /or process did you use to provide feedback to the students?
A large screen to enable more effective viewing / marking of on-line essay submissions (UG & PG). The process of on-line marking was new to me & a small screen was hampering my ability to effectively read & mark the work via grademark
2. Prior to the project how would you normally provide feedback to students?
Typed written feedback which would then be printed off & given to the student as a hrad copy together with a copy of the essay / assignment
3. Did you find providing feedback was more or less efficient than the process normally used?
Initially it took longer as I was unfamiliar with marking on-line. However with time the process become more efficient. The larger screen made it much easier to view the work, particularly the marking rubric(which had been almost impossible to view clearly with the smaller screen)
4. Did using the technology allow you to provide richer or more detailed feedback to students when compared with the ‘normal’ process used?
Yes. The format of Grademark, with the ability to insert comments within the text as well as provide feedback via general comments & the marking rubric, made the marking process easier & the larger screen enabled more effective use of Grademark
5. Do you think that the students benefited from the change in process? (Why? What is your data?)
Students have always been given their general feedbackeven via hard copies, but annotating the scripts was discoraged within the programme due to problems with being able to ensure that students received the annotated script back. The facility to insert comments within the text meant that specific strengths & weaknesses in their essay could be highlighted, making the feedback more meaningful & specific. The students have been able to access this feedback on line and have already reported that they have found it valuable to be able to access this more specific feedback as it enables them to more clearly see where they have gone wrong.
6. From your perspective, what were the main advantages of using this process?
The larger screen made reading & marking the essays much easier & enabled more meaningful feedback to be given to the students
7. From your perspective, were there any disadvantages to using this process?
It was more time consuming until I was more familiar with marking via Grademark, but there were no disadvantages with using the larger screen
8. How do you think the process used could be improved to make it easier to use? No
9. Will you continue to use the intervention in your teaching practice? If not, what would need to change for you to adopt the intervention as current practice?
Yes
