Use Our Services :: Skill Building

Online Assignments: Faster, Frequent Feedback

The assignment tool in Illinois Compass allows students to complete assignments online, turn in files and publish assignments for public viewing. The goal of this workshop is to illustrate the use of the tool to give students fast and frequent feedback. We will survey best practices and techniques for integrating the assignment tool into teaching.

By the completion of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Create and customize settings for class assignments
• Set selective release criteria for assignments
• Set grading, collaboration, and submission options for assignments
• View and grade submitted assignments and return to students for resubmission
• Create group assignments
• Link assignments to calendar entries
• Change assignment grades in the grade book

Are the Students Getting It? Using Surveys, Self-Tests, and Quizzes

Assessments in Illinois Compass (surveys, self-tests, and quizzes) have a lot of often overlooked potential for enhancing teaching and learning in the online environment. In this brief workshop, we'll be exploring and discussing how assessments can be used for a range of purposes from assessing student understanding to increasing opportunities for student learning. Rather than focusing on the basic button-pushing involved in creating assessments, this workshop emphasizes the higher-level issues of the interplay between assessment design and pedagogical purpose.

By the completion of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Explain when to use each type of assessment
• Describe each available question type
• Create questions using the HTML and Equation Editors
• Attach files to questions
• Discuss strategies for fostering academic integrity
• Customize selective release settings based on date/time and other criteria
• Manage quiz submissions and grades
• Use the question database

Before, During, and After the Lecture: Use of Online Discussions

We will explore ways in which selective, weekly use of online discussions can help students prepare for, engage with, and return to course lectures, content, and work. Examples of online discussion assignments that incorporate hyperlinks, images, and web pages will be introduced. In addition, we will cover important features of the Illinois Compass discussion tool that make managing online discussions easy by using powerful teaching tools such as: "gradable topics," navigation strategies, compiling messages, and reviewing "Discussion Activity Overview" information.

Quick Uses of Media Resources to Enhance Course Sites

We will demonstrate some of the straight forward ways course designers may enhance their Illinois Compass course site through the use of various forms of multimedia. Topics include:

• Borrowing images from the Internet and other places
• Creating and using audio and/or video files
• Using established resources like e-Reserves