Newcourse Tips

Tips for Online Assessments and Preventing Plagiarism and Cheating

• Assessments are used to measure learning.  Usually grades in an online class are based less on formal tests, because students can easily have the book in their lap.

• If using objective tests such as multiple choice tests, have them timed so that students have a limited time to take the test and do not have the time to look up answers.  Also if the software program allows, have the questions randomly generated.  Set usernames and passwords to restrict access to tests.  Multiple choice self-assessment tests can be useful to give immediate feedback.  Many instructors allow students to keep re-taking tests until they get the answers correct.  These can be open-book.  If questions are randomly  generated from a large pool of questions, then they may have some new questions each time they take the test. Give the students points for doing the self-assessments.  The goal is to have the students learn. Assignments can be the major assessment tool to measure student performance. Assessments based on their contributions to the discussions are also encouraged.

• Short answer or short essay assessments are usually harder for students to cheat.  

• Use a software program such as Turnitin to check papers for plagiarism.  If a software program is not available, put phrases from a student’s paper in Google or other search engine to see if the student copied and pasted their work from the Internet. Tips for Meeting the Needs of the Online Learner

• Online learners are frequently working adults and it is important to post all the assignments at the beginning of class so students can work ahead if needed.

• Online learners want assignments that are linked to what they will do or see in the real world.

• Adult learners want immediate application of their assignments with relevant learning tasks.  Adult learners like to share life experiences.

• Online learners have reported that they want interaction with other students in the class through threaded discussions to help keep them motivated.

source: Tips from Handbook for Online Faculty - by J. Frese, Fresno City College