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Tutorial
Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using Moodle
2/27/2008
This was a single answer, multiple-choice, question with four choices (one, two, three, and four).
2. When it comes to grading, please prioritize the following in terms of the weight they should carry for the course:
This was done as a matching question. The choices were: Exam(s), Quizzes, Presentations, Projects (experiential), Participation, and Attendance. The possibilities for matching ranged from "most weight" to "least weight".
3. In terms of percentage of time spent on activities for the class, please rank the following:
This was also done as a matching question. The choices were: Lecture, Projects (group and individual), Media Presentations (video in class, etc.), Open class discussions, and Online activities instead of class. The possibilities for matching ranged from "More time should be devoted to this than any other activity" to "This should be the least most common activity".
4. What are three things that you want to learn as a result of taking this class?
This was given as a short answer question.
5. The grading scale is open, and a number of schools use different scales. Which of the following should constitute an "A" (we can then work backward from there to fill out the rest of the grading scale)?
This was a single answer, multiple-choice, question with four choices (95-100%, 93-100%, 90-100%, 88-100%).After the students took the quiz, and it closed, the next step was to exam the Results, and particularly the Item Analysis. In this case, it showed the following results:
1.By an overwhelming margin, students preferred three exams.Step 3: Fine Tuning
2.The preferred priority was: Exams, Participation, Projects, Presentations, Quizzes, and Attendance.
3.The results on the percentage question were too diverse to be meaningful. This left me with using the results from the second question as a proxy during this phase.
4.Answers ranged from "I honestly have no idea what I want from this class" to specific issues involving Web site creation, moving from brick and mortar to eCommerce, and so on.
5.By a slim margin, students preferred the 93-100% range for an "A", and this could be attributable to it being the standard scale used at this university.
Given the student responses, the syllabus for the course was created. Before the fall semester ended, the syllabus for this spring course was posted online for the students to see. Not all that shockingly, many students chose not to access it before leaving for break.
The week that classes were scheduled to begin, the syllabus was sent as an attachment to the enrolled students with the following message:
Greetings!
Attached is the syllabus for the eCommerce course as it now stands. This syllabus was created using the input many of you provided in the survey (through Moodle) at the end of last semester. Please look it over and consider areas that you would like to tweak or fine tune. We will discuss - and finalize - this the first day of class.
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