E-Marking & E-Feedback with iPads and Apps
- 1. Exploring ways on e-marking and e-feedback with iPads and apps for written essays Mercedes Coca, Language Coordinator (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Catalan) Rocío Díaz, Spanish Coordinator (UCL) Lourdes Hernandez-Martin, Language Coordinator (Arabic and Spanish Projects)
- 2. Aims of project • To explore the benefits and drawbacks for teachers (time involved, technology needed, management of the marking process, etc.) • To explore the benefits and drawbacks for students (time involved to submit documents in PDF or electronically, clarity of marking notes, perceptions vis-a-vis traditional marking, etc.)
- 3. Why iPads? • Portability of this device • To retain a degree of parity over traditional marking practice and electronic marking practices (i.e. being able to mark in a cafe, in the train) • To replicate their existent marking and feedback systems • To avoid the physical demands of on-screen marking (i.e. back, wrist and neck strain) experienced already by the participants
- 4. Apps to annotate PDF Apps Notability i-Annotate GoodNotes Turnitin PDF-NOTES within Moodle Cost Features Type of file Voice comment Others Storage Dropbox Google Drive Returning feedback Dropbox sync + Moodle Others
- 5. Average of hours to become familiar with iPad and application Open iTunes account 30 minutes Get familiar with iPad 2 hours Try more than one application to get familiar with annotating applications and choose the one which suits your marking system 4 hours Getting familiar with application and adapting application to marking system 10 hours (includes creation of stamps and naming stamps) Storing and file management issues 1 hour Returning work issues 1 hour
- 6. Samples with iPad and iAnnotate. Weekly essays
- 7. iPad and iAnnotate. Essay 2
- 8. Electronic Management Assessment for weekly essays (https://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/electronic-management-of-assessment) Student submission in Moodle: word/PDF Teachers’ download in Dropbox Marking/ Feedback with apps Open Moodle Upload from Dropbox to Moodle Open iPad, and app Open Dropbox PDF details, p.9
- 9. Teachers Shared advantages iPad • Portability • None or reduced physical strain wrists, arms and back • Paperless • The security of having the mark pieces backed up on an online system • Marking process speed for some participants App • Possibility to include comments not only in the margins or at the end but within text • Encourage creation of rubrics and therefore, reusing common comments • Marking offline • Different writing tools Process • The applications used are suitable and adaptable for participants’ marking style • Encourage reflection on marking and feedback • Improvements in feedback: clarity and more detailed • Essays always available • Extracting and analysing data held
- 10. Teachers Shared drawbacks iPad • Capacity of the device does not allow to keep all students´ files • Non acceptance of external input • Use of cloud needed • Cloud security issues • One of the three teachers needed a keyboard App • Lack of information on applications tools • Time needed to get familiar with application tools • Time needed to replicate the marking/feedback systems • Time needed to get familiar with storage and return of feedback Process • Increase administrative burden. Extra time spent on managing files • Chasing up students who do not submit files into the right format (double spaced, PDF) • Using personal storage space in the cloud
- 11. Students. 2015-2016 LN121: 10 out of 18 - LN122: 8 out of 9 - LN120: 18 out of 19 - Total: 36 students 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses Writing process By hand Typing Don't mind
- 12. Students 0 5 10 15 20 25 LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses Handing essays to teacher In class Via Moodle Don't mind
- 13. Students 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses Returning essays (please consider confidentiality) In class Via Moodle Don’t mind
- 14. Students 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 LN121-beginners LN122-intermediate LN120-advanced All courses Feedback comments on essays Written in class Written via Moodle Oral in office hour Oral in classroom Don't mind
- 15. Students 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 LN121 - beginners LN122 -intermediate LN120 -advanced All courses Archiving essays Hard copy Digitally Don't mind
- 16. Students. Focus group • Many students did not show any preference. • Some argued in favour of hand written submissions because “exams are hand written”. • Students who emphasised their support for EMA gave the following reasons: o Moodle submission due to the deadlines and improved clarity about turnaround times for marking. o Confidence of knowing work is backed up o Students report that feedback in electronic form is easier to use and therefore more likely they will revisit it at a later date. o Improved clarity and understanding of feedback (not least as a result of not having to decipher handwriting).