Topic 4 Explain and involve the learners in assessment as well as in feedback process
Involving adult learners in the assessment process is of critical importance for ensuring quality training/educational program delivery. In the beginning involvement in the assessment process is commonly understood as taking pre-tests to measure the initial knowledge of adult learners. Throughout the course of the training/educational program, adult learners should be encouraged to actively provide and give feedback in different forms and of different types.
Use of different digital learning platforms may increase motivation and engagement of adult learners, but mere use of these tools will not in itself motivate adult learners. Some of the prominent adult education digital tools that assisted their engagement in the learning process and assessment include and are not limited to:
Prezi www.prezi.com (free) Prezi is a zooming visual presentation software alternative to PowerPoint. Prezi allows for collaboration between authors, supports idea organization by topic, promotes presenting in a flexible (not necessarily linear) manner, and is graphically refreshing!
TurningPoint www.turningtechnologies.com ($) TurningPoint is an audience response system that functions as an add-on to PowerPoint presentations. It lets you poll and engage your audience with games, assess learning, and collect data (if you want).
Poll Everywhere www.polleverywhere.com (free) Poll Everywhere (free for groups of forty or fewer) allows you to poll audiences in real time. This tool works with PowerPoint, Twitter, and text messaging. Students without cell phones (or free texting) can also use computers. This is a great alternative to TurningPoint!
Polldaddy http://polldaddy.com/ (free) This is a good tool if you want to poll your students asynchronously and anonymously. You can embed a widget on your website and solicit up to 200 responses per month. We’ve used it for both serious and fun purposes—from finding out what our students preferred to see on our mobile website to naming our library mascot beta fish.
Meebo (chat) https://www.meebo.com/ (free) This is a customizable chat widget that can be embedded on web pages, in content management systems, and in databases. Meebo allows for multiple administrators to be logged in, making monitoring and quickly responding to chat reference easier. Also allows for text reference.
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html ($) Camtasia is one of many types of screencasting software. It allows you to record from PowerPoint presentations, the web, or webcam. You can also import audio tracks (or record your own), photos, and video clips. It is easy to edit audio and video tracks to create professional and effective video. Videos can be posted on your library website or uploaded to
YouTube
Which assessment method is found to best engage the learners? Why do you think this is the case?
Discuss the possibilities of engaging silent participants at your training.
The following material provides in depth analysis of design assessment processes and instruments:
https://www.clutejournals.com/index.php/TLC/article/view/6621/6697
https://www.ispringsolutions.com/blog/motivating-adult-learners-6-methods-for-improving-engagement
This topic is devoted to some key methods to think of when planning engagement in the learning process of your adult learners whose central part is assessment. Different common forms of assessment are outlined with its benefits and shortcomings. Some digital tools normally increasing the engagement level of adult learners are presented.