Assessments aligned with objectives measure eLearning course efficiency. Read on to know their benefits and common assessment mistakes.
How do you know if your employees are on track with the training program? Are you being skeptical about the skipped parts (in the video) of the training courses that your employees had during training? Or are you thinking that they are merely guessing rather than applying the knowledge that they gained? Worry not! eLearning assessments are here to help you.
What are eLearning Assessments?
eLearning assessments are vital tools for training managers to keep track of their employees’ training. They can be designed in the forms of drag and drop sets, MCQs, gamification, Scenario-based questions, and match the following. Any type of training must include assessments since they determine whether the training was effective and whether the learning objectives were achieved.
In the case of online training, their significance increases as they can integrate and retain knowledge. And one of the few ways to confirm that the necessary learning is occurring in self-paced eLearning is through assessments. For a training manager, it is essential to ensure your eLearning assessments are valid and useful if you want to facilitate successful learning that boosts performance and competency. There are two types of assessments:
1. Formative Assessments
Formative assessments are done after completing each topic. It is usually seen at the end part of every topic. Here, feedback is given after the learner answer each question. Doing that ensures the reinforcement of learning happens.
2. Summative Assessments
Summative assessments, on the other hand, are done after completing the entire course. These are meant to evaluate the learner and it can be considered the final exam where the results are given at the end of the course, and one is not expected to get any feedback.
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Benefits of eLearning Assessments
Let’s now look at some of the ways how assessments are helpful in eLearning. They are great tools to:
1. Identify the Effectiveness of the Course
Assessments can be a measure to see if the course is working for the targeted audience or not. It can shed light on the course’s effectiveness, highlighting its strengths and potential areas for improvement.
2. Measure the Accomplishment of the Predetermined Learning Objectives
The assessment at the end of the course will show whether learners have met the predetermined goals. This type of assessment, known as summative, is evaluated and centered on performance (whatever the person should be able to achieve on the job).
3. Give you the Right Kind of Feedback
For the course to be successful, it is crucial for eLearning specialists to give corrective and insightful feedback. It ensures eLearning professionals with the constructive criticism they need to improve their deliverables and enables learners to get the most out of the eLearning courses and modules. Any online course could become a success for everyone connected with it if the feedback provided in the assessments for eLearning is effective.
4. Reinforce Learning
When properly designed, assessments aid in facilitating and reinforcing learning (via the use of rapid feedback), as well as motivating and boosting confidence in the learner.
eLearning assessments are bound to be ineffective if they did not meet the learning goals. Here are some common mistakes to avoid while designing eLearning assessments.
End Note
It can be challenging to say the least to develop efficient assessment tools and put a learner-centered approach into practice. However, you may substantially improve learning and retention with some preparation, thorough alignment with your learning objectives and material, as well as well-constructed questions and exercises. Additionally, quicker learning speeds up both performance and proficiency. Here is a webinar recording to give you insights on assessments and how to meet stake holder requirements on them. Dr Howard Lewis Ph.D., CPT (Chief Learning Architect) is addressing the questions in the webinar. Download the link below to the mini masterclass on taking the guesswork out of eLearning assessments.
