Teaching Online at UTAS

Presentations, delivered by individuals or small groups, are a common form of assessment in face-to-face classes.

What am I really assessing?

Presentations can be used to assess students’ ability to explain, justify (e.g. a particular pitch or strategy), structure and argument, represent their findings (analysis and evaluation) and/or synthesise ideas.

The success of a student’s presentation hinges on how well they can communicate orally, using visual aides, gestures, body positioning and eye contact to enhance communication. To justify using a presentation as an assessment piece, your learning outcomes/objectives and criteria must assess at least one of the skills required to deliver a successful presentation. If you’re not assessing these skills formally, then another form of assessment, like a report, persuasive letter or essay, could be just as appropriate.

Assessing presentation skills online

Presentation skills are becoming just as essential online as they are offline. Many of the presentation skills you assess in face to face environments can be assessed during live online presentations, or by reviewing recordings created by students. These include:

• organisational structure of the presentation;
• language use;
• quality and use of supporting materials; and
• quality and use of a central message.

Whether or not you can obtain enough data to assess aspects of delivery method will depend on whether you can see the student during the presentation.

• Posture – student must be visible on-screen (e.g. using webcam)
• Gesture – student must be visible on-screen (e.g. using webcam)
• Eye contact – student must be visible on-screen (e.g. using webcam)
• Vocal expressiveness – students voice must be audible

In online presentations, the quality of the supporting materials (e.g. what is seen on screen) often takes precedence over some of the more traditional forms of delivery method. Judging the visuals in a digital presentation against Mayer’s Multimedia Principles could be useful here.

Adapting for blended learning and electronic submission

• Individual presentations: presented live
  • Get all students to submit their supporting materials (e.g. PowerPoint files or summaries) to an Assignment Submission Folder in MyLO. They can do this either shortly before or shortly after they are scheduled to present.
  • Students can present live in class, or during an online session (e.g. using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or Skype for Business/Lync) at an agreed time.
  • Record feedback and marks for all students using the Evaluate Submission tool.
• Individual presentations: recorded
  • All students should prepare their presentations in the same way. They could record in a Blackboard Collaborate room (they can record, then download the recording), using PowerPoint (all students have access to this software through Office 365), or using another form of recording software. Rather than the usual PowerPoint slide show, you may like to encourage students to record a digital story (examples here). It depends on the learning outcomes/objects.
  • All students should submit in one of two ways. If you’d like students to be able to view each others’ presentations, ask questions and/or provide feedback, get the students to attach or link to their presentations from a post in a Discussion. Alternatively, get them to submit their recording to a Assignment Submission Folder in MyLO.
  • Record feedback and marks for all students using the Evaluate Submission tool OR a Grade Item (if only Discussions are used).
• Group presentations: presented live
  • Get student groups to submit their supporting materials (e.g. PowerPoint files or summaries) to an Group Assignment Submission Folder in MyLO. NOTE: Peer review is best completed via a Survey or by submitting a form to an Individual Assignment Submission Folder. They can do this either shortly before or shortly after they are scheduled to present.
  • Students can present live in class, or during an online session (e.g. using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra or Skype for Business/Lync) at an agreed time.
  • Record feedback and marks for all students in a group using the Evaluate Submission tool.
• Group presentations: recorded
  • Student groups should prepare their presentations in the same way. They could record in a Blackboard Collaborate room (they can record, then download the recording), using PowerPoint (all students have access to this software through Office 365) and will need to share the file/have one member of the team stitch them all together, or use another form of recording software. Rather than the usual PowerPoint slide show, you may like to encourage students to record a digital story (examples here). It depends on the learning outcomes/objects.
  • Student groups should submit in one of two ways. If you’d like students to be able to view each others’ presentations, ask questions and/or provide feedback, get one member of each group to attach or link to their presentations from a post in aDiscussion. Alternatively, get them to submit their recording to a Group Assignment Submission Folder in MyLO.
  • Record feedback and marks for all students in a group using the Evaluate Submission tool OR a Grade Item (if only Discussions are used).