Many eLearning course creators do not think about how to properly assess the students' progress, preferring to offer them learning content. But this is the wrong strategy. Without proper measurement of learning outcomes, you will not know how well your students have learned the online course material. And the effectiveness of their work in the future depends on this.
So how do you know that your knowledge is benefiting students? The most reliable option is to create online tests on an educational platform. They allow you to assess skills, identify weaknesses in the e-course, and quickly correct them. We have prepared five tips to help make your testing as effective as possible.
Why Do You Need To Create Tests for Students
But before starting to learn about the methods, let's look at the reasons for the high efficiency of tests in eLearning courses. Here they are:
Using the Test Effect
It is a well-studied psychological phenomenon. The testing effect tends to improve long-term memory through continuous learning and knowledge retention. Instead of constantly training and repeating skills, students gain valuable knowledge that needs to be tested once in a while. It is one of the reasons for including tests in the e-course curriculum.
Presentation of You as an Expert
Quizzes will help show your students how much new information they have learned and how valuable your online course is to them. Therefore, students will leave positive feedback on social networks, continue to attend classes, and invite friends.
If you choose the wrong testing strategy on the educational platform, you can get the opposite effect. Therefore, take this matter very seriously.
Finding Weaknesses in the Course
Online quizzes allow you to discover topics in your course that are the most difficult for students. It, in turn, will help improve the learning experience to make it more valuable. This approach to identifying problem areas is vital for creating a high-quality e-learning course.
Benefits of E-learning Tests
In addition to the facts mentioned above, there are other equally essential advantages of online tests. Let's consider the most significant of them.
Using Different Question Formats
Students can interact with different question formats while taking the online test:
- with the only correct answer;
- with multiple choice;
- matching tasks;
- placing elements in the right order.
This approach allows measuring knowledge and improving the assimilation of new information within the course.
Instant Results
It is another significant plus because you do not need to spend precious time on manual checking. Immediately after the testing, the participant sees his result on the screen. Everything happens automatically, which makes life easier for both students and teachers.
Saving time for students
Students do not need to change their plans and go to school to complete the task and wait for results. Questions can be answered 24/7 in any place with an internet connection. The result is known immediately, and this approach attracts students much more and increases the learning effectiveness.
Adaptation for Each Student
Qualitative testing will help to adapt the curriculum for each student. If he has got a bad mark on a test, the educational system automatically transfers him to the lesson with the most mistakes.
Advanced Analytics
The eLearning creator gets access to detailed learning data. It includes both standard testing metrics (number of correct tests, retries, average time to complete tasks) and more complex data (overall course value, student engagement rate, individual progress, etc.).
Setting Test Parameters
You can set your limits for passing the test (for example, the time to complete tasks or the maximum number of attempts). It also includes blocking the next lesson if the student has not passed the test for the current one. You can also define the minimum threshold for correct answers so that the system counts the test passage.
How To Improve Testing Efficiency
So, we talked about the benefits of online tests. Now let's look at the top 5 tips that will help improve the effectiveness of knowledge testing.
Learn More About Gaps and Challenges
Before developing online tests, it's worth learning more about your audience. Ask students about the problems they face most often. The reason is simple: if your eLearning course does not solve real problems, no one will be motivated to learn. Consequently, the knowledge test results will also be far from expected.
There are many ways to raise test scores. For example, create a survey on social networks or an educational platform. Then, you can use the results you get to show in similar surveys or new courses.
If you need to create a corporate training program, check with your manager about what points need to be addressed first. Then, it will allow the launching of online testing based on the most crucial knowledge students need to acquire.
Set a Time Limit
Not every student is motivated enough to complete all assignments on time. However, some people need the motivation to jump right into the test and answer questions as quickly as possible.
However, eLearning experts recommend maintaining flexibility in terms of time limits. For example, your students are likely to have busy schedules (work, family, household chores, etc.). Also, some of them may face technical problems (e.g., slow Internet speed) that prevent them from taking the test. Therefore, the best option is to give access to questions for a few days or a week.
Choose the Optimal Difficulty of the Questions
Questions should not be too easy or too difficult. If the test is simple, students will not spend time going through the entire course. On the other hand, if the questions are too complex, the students will feel that you are teaching very badly.
It is much better to combine simple and complex tasks in online testing. Another good idea is to run a mock test and collect feedback from your audience. The data obtained will help understand whether it is necessary to simplify or complicate testing.
Create a Database of Various Questions
There are three main types of training:
- visual;
- sound;
- tactile.
To create the most effective online course, you need to use all these methods. Therefore, the benefit should come not only from educational content but also from testing. Tasks should involve all the senses to remember the information qualitatively.
Here is a basic example: if you want to start a series of visual art video tutorials, don't forget to include paintings, exhibition videos, and architecture photos. It will emphasize your expertise and give the course more value. Another example is a course in psychotherapy. Here, fragments of reconstructions of sessions with a psychotherapist will already be appropriate. You can show them to students and then ask them to point out the mistakes of the specialist and suggest ways to correct them.
At the same time, you should not focus on one type of task. In addition to traditional multiple-choice questions, there are other formats. For example, sequencing, retelling, or filling in gaps in sentences also allows you to assess the level of students' knowledge. The more versatile you are in creating tests, the more essential your results will be.
In addition, it is worth setting a random order of questions. Then the students will receive new questions each time they pass the test again. It will allow you to check that the students learned the knowledge and did not remember the answers.
Provide Quality Feedback and Assistance
Most people like it when others recognize their achievements. Therefore, do not forget about this feature of human psychology when creating tests.
It may seem like an almost impossible task to provide a personalized approach to a large number of students. But there are simple ways to win over students. For example, display the phrase “great job” on the screen after passing the test or issue a certificate of completing an electronic course. It will show students that you are very attentive and responsive to them.
What Are the Difficulties of Online Testing and How To Avoid Them
Tests bring significant benefits during eLearning courses. But they have certain drawbacks. Fortunately, they can be fixed with the help of educational platform tools.
Issue
Solution
Cheating
You can block access to classes for the time of the test.
Completion of tasks by other people
Each student enters the educational platform with a personal password. You can also connect to the administration system when the moderator monitors the student's actions through a webcam.
Arranging results
Modern eLearning platforms use advanced protection during tests and particular algorithms to detect falsifications.
Random choice of answers
You can add open interaction question formats. For example, continue a sentence or enter an answer option on an empty line.
Transferring the correct answers to other students
You can set up a random selection of questions in the settings menu. In this case, each student will receive a random set of tasks from a database.
The educational platform has everything you need to provide an objective and efficient knowledge test. And the difficulties with passing online tests are explained quite simply: some people are still more accustomed to completing tasks manually. However, modern verification approaches bring benefits to both teachers and students.
Conclusion
Let's sum it all up. First, online courses allow everyone to gain valuable knowledge. This approach saves time and money. In addition, students acquire crucial skills and experience that can be applied in work or a new profession.
Therefore, do not forget the importance of qualitative knowledge testing during eLearning. Here is a summary of our tips for making your online tests more effective:
- Create assignments based on the interests and needs of your students.
- Make knowledge checks regular and set the time limit for answers.
- Pay due attention to the complexity and variety of tasks for testing.
- Finally, constantly give positive feedback and issue a document (certificate) on completing the course.
These guidelines will help you create a curriculum that contains valuable knowledge and benefits your students.
We hope that you found this article helpful. If you have any questions about creating tests on the educational platform, write them in the comments below. We will answer them and review the most interesting ones in the following articles.