Assessing Online Collaboration

I believe rubrics, as well as peer reviews would be great ways in which to assess online collaboration. Rubrics allow students the opportunity to know exactly what is expected of them. If students know what is expected of them and how they will be graded, anxiety levels will decrease and students will certainly feel more confident. Peer reviews would be helpful also. If each group member knew they would be reviewed by their peers, they would ensure they "pulled their own weight". I realize that peer reviews have their disadvantages: students could review their peers poorly simply because they dislike each other on a personal basis, all students in a group could unanimously decide to review each other the same, etc. However, I do feel that a group should be cohesive and work together. If, by chance, a member does not do what is expected of him/her, they should not receive the same grade as the others.

If a member chooses to not participate, i believe there should be consequences. Students participating in a distance education need to be responsible and organized. Distance education students sacrifice flexibilty for face-to-face discussions. Therefore, in order to get class credit, they should be required to participate. If they choose not to, the instructor should be contacted and left to deal with the situation. I believe the rest of the group should go on without them, only after attempting to contact them to make them feel as they are a vital part of the group. I have been in situations where I was paired with a member that did not participate at all. The rest of the group and I informed the professor and carried on without the member.

Reference:

Siemens, George. WingedWordsTranscription. "Assessment of Collaborative Learning."