Session 3.4a: E-assessment

Tools for e-assessment

Examples of short-answer exercises

These can be formative or summative. They can provide instant feedback in that the learner can see almost immediately whether he/she has answered ‘correctly’. Many of them can also provide feedback that indicates to the learner what s/he has answered ‘incorrectly’ and how to improve in future attempts.

They include:

  • drag and drop activities
  • either/or exercises
  • filling in blanks
  • hot spots
  • jumbled sentences
  • matching
  • multiple choice
  • numeric calculations
  • opinion scales (Likert);
  • true/false
  • word search.

Examples and links:

  • Turning Point® ( is available to you on this course to devise question sets.
  • Hot Potatoes™ ( is open-source software for devising a range of short-answer exercises.
  • There are multiple-choice questions, a gap-fill exercise, matching exercise and self-assessment quiz on the Learning Technologies ( website.
  • PowerPoint®: You can use a simple quiz in PowerPoint® to check learning (you can find the link in the ‘Supporting information’ section of this session)
  • Tools for crosswords and word searches (also, refer to the tools introduced in Session 2.2):

oInstant online crossword puzzle maker (

oWorksheet factory: (

Examples of open-ended exercises

Open-ended exercises can be used to check how a learner is responding to the learning experience as well as checking achievement of the learning outcomes.

They include:

  • wikis
  • blogs
  • WebQuests
  • digital/ e-portfolios
  • discussion forums
  • essays
  • reflective journals.

Examples and links:

  • Wikis

A wiki is a type of website that allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit and change some available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative authoring. The term wiki-wikimeans hurry quick in Hawaiian (definition from Wikipedia ( the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit)

oWikispaces: Allows you to create simple collaborative web pages. Requires (free) registration. (

oJane Hart – Directory of e-learning tools: wikis: This website offers you a directory of available, free Wiki tools. (

  • Blogs

Weblog. This is like an online diary noting activities, events and resources related to the author’s area of interest. Blogs can be used as an ongoing record by one or more learners. They can incorporate photographs, music, videos, links to other documents and websites and can provide a highly individualised space. They are effective for keeping a reflective journal, for example, or a personalised record of progress, like an e-portfolio.

  • Eduspaces – e-learning 2.0: Educational networking site, which allows you to set up a blog. Requires (free) registration.(
  • Blogger™: Website which hosts blogs and allows you to set up your own blog, or contribute to existing blogs. Requires (free) registration. (
  • Multiply: Website which allows you to create, share and discuss your blog, photos, videos and music. Requires (free) registration). (

oTypePad: Blogging service which allows you to create your own blog. Requires registration, free trial available.(

  • Jane Hart – Directory of e-learning tools: blogs: This website offers you a directory of available, free blogging products.
    (
  • WebQuests
  • Creating a WebQuest: An explanation of how they work, with follow-up links to see examples. (
  • What is a WebQuest?: There are good examples of methods of assessing what learners have achieved by the WebQuest when you scroll down the page at (
  • InstantWebQuest: Bernie Dodge's San Diego State University search engine for web quests. A very good browsable collection of web quests. (
  • WebQuest UK Library: A good UK collection of WebQuests for Key Stages 1-4. (
  • WebQuest templates
  • A simple Microsoft®Word template by the JISC Regional Support Centre Southwest (
  • InstantWebQuests: A simple template from the JISC Regional Support Centre (requires free registration) (
  • Quests2Teach: An easy to use web-based template (requires free registration). (
  • QuestGarden: Bernie Dodge's web-based template for creating web quests (requires free registration).(

E-Guides training programme 2007 - 2008