3.1.+Perspectives+on+designing+and+preparing+Web+2.0+assessment

=**Student and staff perspectives on designing and preparing assignments that use the social web**=


 * Affordances and learning objectives**

Students and staff both felt it was important that the assignment was designed to make use of Web 2.0 affordances in a way that aligned with the learning objectives of the assessment task and the course.

In some of our case studies there was a clear match between the choice of technology used for this assignment and the content or aims of the course students were undertaking. The course content had clearly dictated the design of the assignment. For example, in one case study students wrote a weekly blog in a cultural studies subject focused on social media. The blogging assignment added an extra dimension to the course content: "It's one thing to talk about [social media], another thing to actually do it." (Academic 2)

Other comments from students and staff included:




 * Technology and professional skills**

Web 2.0 assessment tasks could be designed to develop students' professional skills and enhance their professional online presence:




 * Staff workload**

One of the key lessons from the case studies was the importance of considering staff workload when designing Web 2.0 assignments, particularly when formative feedback was a central component of the assessment:




 * Developing appropriate assessment criteria**

The assessment criteria need to be appropriate to the task, the learning objectives, and the choice of Web 2.0 technologies. When designing the assignment, lecturers need to consider what criteria will be used to guide and assess students' learning processes and learning outcomes, and communicate these adequately to students. The criteria may be quite different from assessment criteria in traditional assignments:



Page source: Gray, K., Waycott, J., Thompson, C., Clerehan, R., Sheard, J., Hamilton, M., & Richardson, J. (2011) //Using Social Web (Web 2.0) Activities for Student Assessment: Resources for University Learning and Teaching.// Retrieved from https://web2assessmentresources.wikispaces.com