Using a blogging tool to assess online discussions

An integrated assessment approach

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of an experimental assessment design in a fully online undergraduate course. It details a task design relating to assessing discussion forum contributions and how lessons learnt from the original design have impacted on the current course design. From a task that often resulted in 2500 posts across a semester – impossible to read and assess in a fair and equitable manner to the combined design offered today. The task is equitable and manageable with the aim of building students’ capability as active learners.