Title: Assessment of the online forum

Authors: Carmen I. Reyes Garcia, F. Sosa Moreno

Addresses: Department of Education, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Juana de Arco S/numero, 35004 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. ' Department of Education, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, C/Juana de Arco S/numero, 35004 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

Abstract: In the last decade, not only the advances in educational investigation but also the reforms promoted in the European Space of Higher Education, have brought about a change in the concept of learning, and in consequence, in the evaluation. However, the evaluation is today a task which is still unfinished in the Spanish university, in which the greater part of the teachers evaluate practically exclusively through a final exam based on memorised questions (Zabalza, 2003; Bonson and Benito, 2005). This traditional model is more obvious in online teaching. In this study we propose the integration of this new model of evaluation in the e-learning Moodle Platform and we propose the online forum as a communication tool with wide possibilities for didactic innovation and for the assessment from an alternative approach. We also offer a proposal to assess the online forum via an instrument like the rubric.

Keywords: alternative assessments; authentic assessments; universities; online teaching; e-learning; electronic learning; rubrics; evaluation scales; seminars; online forums; internet; world wide web; educational investigation; European Space of Higher Education; Spain; final examinations; memorised questions; communication tools; didactic innovation; Moodle; course management systems; CMSs; learning management systems; LMSs; virtual learning environments; VLEs; challenges.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2011.039342

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2011 Vol.9 No.3, pp.260 - 272

Published online: 26 Nov 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article