Using the computer for essay tests

Since I teach blended classes, some work is online, some face-to-face, and some in the computer lab.  This year, I experimented with having my final exam in the lab.  The multiple choice vocabulary went onto the scantron with the keyboards up on the CPUs (and yes I know you can give tests in Moodle, but I find setting up the quiz function excruciating, so don’t use it). 
photo © 2007 Mike Traboe | more info (via: Wylio)

The part of the test I wanted the computers for was the essay – I wanted them to type it.  Here’s what I saw:

Students were on task, focused.  They edited and even spell-checked their essays (something students sometimes seem to skip on written homework).  Some even printed out and revised their essays.  A few students chose to hand-write their essays, and that was OK, too.

Students are used to keyboarding their writing, which lets them focus on the writing, and not on keeping their writing neat.  Most can key rapidly, so their writing keeps up with their thinking.  And cut-and-paste revision is so much easier on a computer.

One result:  since they got to use a tool they usually use for writing, their writing was significantly better than I usually get on exams. It was organized, cohesive, thoughtful, and mostly spelled correctly.

Another huge benefit for me:  it was all legible.

Two things that worked particularly well:  1) assigned seating (to separate buddies, to isolate kids who need quiet, and to isolate kids who are noisy;  2) giving students the choice of typing or hand-writing, so they could use their preferred writing mode.

I will do this again.

Most memorable moment 2010

When I realized that I wasn’t coaxing students to work hard on their research paper by bribing them with donuts at the end, I knew something was up.  They were working hard without that carrot.  Hmmm.   They’ve always had a lot of latitude in picking their topic, so that wasn’t it. 

What was different this time?

First, I let students choose their tools.  For a long time, I’ve used this project as a chance for students to work on their web searching skills, and to practice using http://www.CitationMachine.net to help create their bibliography. 

This year, instead of making students use notecards for note-taking, I let them use the tool of their choice.  Many chose to use Word for notes, but a few used Zoho Notebook.  (We had to use a tool that either already existed on their computers, or a web-based tool that didn’t have to be installed on a school computer.)  I still made students print down copies of articles they found and highlight, because some kids won’t read anything until 8 PM on the night before the draft is due if you don’t give them regular milestones along the way.  How they took notes after that was up to them.

But letting students choose their tool made a difference.  Their outlines and reports were still well-organized (the reason I originally required notecards), but when I let them choose what worked best for them, students were a lot more invested in the work.

Second, I added reflection.  Each student had their own thread as part of a Moodle discussion forum; every week, students wrote about their experiences that week – the frustrations, the breakthroughs, the cool things they discovered about the person they were researching.  I responded with suggestions, encouragement, attaboys, and resources.


Giving students a chance to think about what they were learning added a depth to the project that it hasn’t had for them before.  It also gave them the chance to identify problems (such as finding the same information over and over due to a simplistic search strategy, or difficulty with a sibling hogging the home computer), and get help.

This may seem small, but kids don’t always respond when you ask the class face-to-face if they have questions or need help; some just won’t say that in front of the class.  The reflection-teacher response cycle also added a powerful teacher-student connection.  Each student got specific, personal, individual attention – and what kid doesn’t want that?  (I’ve written about this before: http://adventuresonlineteaching.blogspot.com/2010/11/feedback-improving-student-teacher.html)

Two different ways to support learners, both effective. 

We still had our traditional end-of-project donuts, because it’s worth celebrating a major accomplishment.  But for the first time, the papers reflected a stunning amount of effort. The strong students weren’t just going through the motions to get the work done; their work glittered.  Even the students who hate to write all worked mightily; when they turned in well-organized, interesting, virtually error-free papers, on time,  it was a major milestone. 

Looking back, I realized that this wasn’t a project that we suffer through any more.  Instead, we were all energized, enriched.  My students’ skill-base was expanded and strengthened.  We wrote research papers, and – I never thought I’d say this - we had fun. 

Sidebar- Why don’t I give students different options in presenting their work, not just formal written papers?  Because I teach in a Catholic school, and Catholic school students learn to write. :)   

  

Letting go

So I discovered it all over again: when I give my students more choice in the way they learn, they do better. Duh, Mrs. Lo, as they would say.

With vocabulary, in the past, I made students create flashcards. It had a grade attached so that they’d actually do it. And of course, students were frantically making flashcards at the last minute, just to get those points, rather than using flashcards to study with. Last year, I put all the words onto online flashcards – a few actually use them. But this year I tried two new things.

First, I put the words into context – yes, the textbook doesn’t do that. I wrote a story using the 20 words in the unit, made it a little silly. Here’s an example. I introduce the story in f2f class, so students can hear the words pronounced and tie in what they may already know about some of the words. Since this is turning into a “to be continued” story, we are all enjoying the story part, and I think it helps students understand the words better. (Thanks to Lisa Chamberlin and Kay Lehmann, my professors in Creating Collaborative Communities in E-learning, who suggested this).

Second, I created a discussion forum for students to post what they know about the words, which I wrote about in http://adventuresonlineteaching.blogspot.com/2010/11/vocabulary-in-discussion-forum.html. While some students don’t remember to do it, most do the work every time, and some still post more than they are required to do.

The upshot: students who used to do poorly on the vocabulary tests because they didn’t study are consistently starting to do better. Making them do flashcards didn’t work, but giving them lots of different tools does (online flashcards, publisher podcasts, rich and funny resource in the discussion forum, words in context, even the not-that-interesting textbook exercises). Some kids make flashcards on their own because they’ve found that works for them.

But now since they choose how they learn it, they often choose to learn it.