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Written by: Mary Sheehy

Created: 12 February 2021

Last Updated: 28 April 2021

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This course complements the existing FESS/H2 Learning Reimaging your course – the move to blended learning course which focused primarily on blending the delivery of your course. The main aim of this new course is to get people thinking about their current formative and summative assessment plans and consider ways of conducting the assessment differently.  

The course will include some underpinning principles and theoretical perspectives, quality assurance considerations and a range of case studies from across the FET sector. It will also provide participants with the opportunity to engage with FET colleagues in discussions on a range of assessment related issues. 

This course will be available from the week of the 1 March and comprises a set of pre-recorded resources that participants can engage with in their own time (asynchronous). 

Bookings can be made at the following link - https://www.fess.ie/professional-development/cpd-calendar#reimagineAssessment

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Written by: Mary Sheehy

Created: 08 October 2020

Last Updated: 16 October 2020

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An Introductory Guide to Blending a Course: Strategies for Blended Delivery (handbook)

FESS have developed a handbook to support those delivering FET programmes who have been tasked with converting a fully face-to-face course to one with an online/remote element (i.e. the blended element) for learners. Blended learning is a mode of delivery allowing learners to complete their course of study by a combination of in centre face-to-face, work based and online learning. This handbook focuses primarily on the online element of the blended learning activity. 

This resource was developed by FESS working in conjunction with Liz Hogan who is a Blended Learning Expert. FESS would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution provided by Dr. Michael Hallissy, H2 Learning.

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Written by: Jenny Whelan

Created: 18 March 2020

Last Updated: 27 January 2021

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Here you will find a range of resources relating to

• Digital tools to support blended learning NEW Resource
• An Introductory Guide to Blending a Course: Strategies for Blended Delivery (handbook)
  
• Courses on teaching and learning online
• Programme delivery
• Assessment of Learners including Open Book Examinations
• Feedback to Learners
• Other useful Information and Resources

 If you require any support or advice about online delivery and/or assessment, please e-mail remoteteachingandlearning@fess.ie with your query. We will respond to your query as soon as possible.

 NEW An Introductory Guide to Blending a Course: Strategies for Blended Delivery (handbook)

FESS have developed a handbook to support those delivering FET programmes who have been tasked with converting a fully face-to-face course to one with an online/remote element (i.e. the blended element) for learners. Blended learning is a mode of delivery allowing learners to complete their course of study by a combination of in centre face-to-face, work based and online learning.

This handbook focuses primarily on the online element of the blended learning activity. We refer to those with online teaching and assessment roles as educators. This term refers to various roles that exist in the FET sector, including assessor, facilitator, instructor, lecturer, teacher, trainer, tutor, etc. The term course will be used to mean the programme or course that is being delivered based on the validated programme.

Programmes validated by QQI have a set of learning outcomes associated with them at programme and/or module level. It is vital to ensure that the delivery of the programme, whatever delivery mode is used, provides learners with a range of appropriate learning opportunities. Opportunities will also have to be provided to learners to allow them to demonstrate achievement of the relevant learning outcomes.

 This resource was developed by FESS working in conjunction with Liz Hogan who is a Blended Learning Expert. FESS would like to acknowledge the valuable contribution provided by Dr. Michael Hallissy, H2 Learning.

Teaching & Learning Online Courses

A suite of online courses is available to GMIT staff and higher education institute guests, to access anytime.

The courses aim to develop and support lecturers and learning facilitators and aid programme design and delivery.

Topics include:

• Online teaching and learning skills
• Peer learning
• First steps in teaching
• Designing assessment strategies
• Programme design

Register for access at www.cpdlearnonline.ie

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Programme Delivery 

Moving Teaching Online - Russell Stannard, from Teacher Training Videos provides a range of free videos to assist teachers in moving their teaching online, including useful videos on using Zoom, Padlet, Edmodo, Adobe Connect and Screencast-o-matic. It also includes useful information on assessing students using online quizzes for formative assessment, getting learners to create videos and the use of e-portfolios.

 This FESS resource identifes some useful TEL tools that may support online teaching and learning and also explains how the tools work, as well as suggesting contexts for which the tools may be appropriate.

 This FESS video has been developed using Screencast-O-Matic, to assist teachers/tutors/instructors in planning how to deliver programme content online, monitor learner progress and facilitate learner assessment.

This Online Teaching: Do This, Not That resource, developed by Alison Yang is a useful and practical document. FESS has been thinking about the key points made in the resource, in the context of providers supported by FESS, and have added, in italics, some comments that might be of use to you here.
 A resource entitled 10 Points to Remember when Learning Online has been compiled by the Union of Students in Ireland, in partnership with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and is available to view here.

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Assessment of Learners (Summative Assessment) 

When considering online assessment of learners, providers and centres must ensure that the alternative processes and procedures put in place do not compromise the integrity of the QQI award. 

QQI Quality Assuring Assessment, Guidelines for Providers, Revised 2013 (Version 2 - revised 2018*). The purpose of these guidelines is to assist providers in the development and implementation of quality assured processes and procedures for the fair and consistent assessment of learners. They set out best practice with regard to assessment, authentication, results approval and processing appeals. Providers may find it useful to refer to these guidelines when considering alternative approaches to the assessment of learners, so as to ensure that continguency plans continue to adhere to best practice.

 A resource entitled Selecting Online Alternatives to Common Assessment Methods - Supporting those who Teach and Learn in the Context of Covid 19 Coronavirus has been published by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and is available to view here.

 This FESS video has been developed using Screencast-O-Matic, to assist teachers/tutors/instructors in planning how to deliver programme content online, monitor learner progress and facilitate learner assessment.

  This FESS resource explains the key points to remember when moving from using a theory examination to an alternative assessment technique to assess learners.

 A resource entitled 10 Points to Consider in Choosing Alternative Assessment Methods for the Online Environment has been compiled by Prof Geraldine O’Neill, UCD, who led the National Forum Enhancement Theme 2016-18, focused on Assessment Of/For/As Learning. The resource is adapted from UCD’s Guidance for Designing Alternative Assessment Methods and is available to view here. This resource is made available by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: www.teachingandlearning.ie.

 A resource entitled 10 Ways to Ensure Online Assessment is Accessible and Inclusive - Supporting those who Teach and Learn in the Context of Covid19 Coronavirus has been compiled by AHEAD, in partnership with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and is available to view here.

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Assessing learners using open book (take home) examinations 

Assessors are used to assessing learners by using an examination that is administered in an examination-centre controlled by the centre/college, at a scheduled time, and under examination conditions. An open-book (take home) examination is where the learner will be provided with the examination paper and asked to complete it away from the centre/college, most likely in the learner's home. When using an open book (take home) examination it is important to consider the questions posed in the examination paper so as to ensure that the learner will be able to demonstrate not just the recall and understanding of information but also the interpretation, application and/or evaluation of the information. The following resources may be useful for assessors who will now use an open book (take home) examination for the first time to assess the learner's achievement of the learning outcomes mapped to the examination:

The University of Newcastle, Australia, has a short guide for academics on devising open book examinations, which can be accessed here.

The Centre for Academic Practice (CAPSL) at Trinity College Dublin has an academic practice resource on open book examinations which can be accessed here. 

 A resource entitled Selecting Online Alternatives to Common Assessment Methods - Supporting those who Teach and Learn in the Context of Covid 19 Coronavirus has been published by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and is available here.

Feedback to Learners

To access information and resources relating to giving learners feedback on summative assessment tasks click here

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 Other useful information and resources

• The National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education has a number of very useful resources, some of which are referenced here on this page, on their website. 
  
  

• The CDETB Curriculum Development Unit has useful information to support remote teaching and learning activities here.

• Online teaching resources listed by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education can be accessed here.

• The DCU National Institute for Digital Learning has a resource bank entitled Swiftly Moving to Teaching Online that provides links to a number of useful resources that have been produced over the past few weeks to support institutions and individual educators to respond to the spread of the Coronavirus.

• The Data Protection Commission has uploaded some information regarding protecting personal data when working remotely and this can be accessed here.

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Written by: Jenny Whelan

Created: 18 March 2020

Last Updated: 18 March 2020

Hits: 4417

QQI updates are available here.

QQI has also created a dedicated page on LinkedIn. 

QQI’s advice to providers is that they now need to implement local contingency plans to cover programme delivery and assessment. While these plans may involve changes to approved programme schedules, providers must ensure that they maintain full academic governance and quality assurance principles; and remain within their approved scope of provision.

It is important that providers send QQI a document (to this email address qqiqa@qqi.ie) setting out the overarching contingency plans/arrangements that they are implementing. It is also important that the detail relating to these contingency plans is communicated to relevant staff.