Welcome to the 13th in this series of 16 TLO (teaching and learning online) blogs. Here in eastern Ontario, Canada, there’s been a period of record-breaking, severe winter weather with temperatures getting down to 40 degrees below zero, where Fahrenheit and Centigrade meet. So, you can imagine the disruption to daily life, including schools, colleges, and universities having to shut down due to dangerous driving conditions on the roads. It’s also been a good reminder of some of the benefits of TLO, saving students and teachers, who can work together online, from having to go to and from bricks-and-mortar institutions.

However, one of the challenges of TLO is assessment of student learning. In traditional, physical classrooms, teachers and students can see immediately and constantly who is paying attention, who is on-task, who is working together, etc. Likewise, who’s not paying attention, who’s off-task, and who’s not working is equally evident. But to a large extent, much of that kind of face-to-face interaction can be masked in TLO courses.
Continue reading →