Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

Coping with online assessment 177 
you to see whether you have grasped particular facts, concepts, 
or ideas. Such quizzes are not marked and do not count towards 
your degree. Tey are tests that enable you to check your own 
progress. Another kind of formative assessment is a test that is 
“peer marked”. Tis is where you complete the test, and anoth-
er student will mark it. You then get the chance to also mark a 
diferent student’s work. Tis kind of test helps you to see where 
others go wrong, and helping them put it right strengthens your 
understanding of the topic. Sometimes, though, formative as-
sessments do count towards your module marks and your degree 
result. Tese assessments can include a mid-term essay, for exam-
ple. You are marked by your lecturer, and you are given feedback 
about what you did well and what you could improve to gain high-
er marks. You can then use this feedback in the fnal assessment 
for the module, such as in the exam, so that you can improve your 
overall marks. 
You are likely to see more online formative assessments than is 
commonplace for students on campus at traditional universities. 
Tis is because lecturers are realising the value of regular online 
tests for students learning at a distance. For example, research 
from Belgium shows that increasing the amount of testing for 
online students can help them avoid procrastination (Blondeel, 
Everaert and Opdecam, 2021). Other studies have found that stu-
dents like online testing as it helps them consolidate what they 
have been learning (Shraim, 2019). Tere are many other recent 
studies all showing the value of regular testing for online stu-
dents. Tis doesn’t happen so much with face-to-face studying 
because students can more easily check their progress in class by 
speaking with the lecturer and asking questions. Online students 
have fewer opportunities to do this, so regular formative testing 
is a suitable replacement. As a result, you could well face tests 
and assessments regularly. Rather than see this as some kind of 
hindrance, it is designed to support you and help you so that you 
can increase your knowledge and understanding. Having said 
this, many formative assessments are not compulsory. Tey are 
tests and quizzes to help you monitor your own learning prog-
ress. Tis can mean that students often miss out the online tests 

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