The new wave of online learning: AI-powered assessment
Assessment is key to creating truly effective learning experiences that are tailored to each learner’s needs. Quizzes and surveys can be used in a variety of ways and can be incorporated at different points in the learning process to stimulate growth. For example, you can insert short quizzes between sections of your eLearning course to keep your learners interested. Although these assessments are not exams and are not conducted under controlled conditions, they are absolutely essential. Encourage learners to actively compare what they hear or read in the course with what they actually understand. Each question includes explanations and insights to help learners understand concepts and refine their learning.
You can also conduct an assessment before the training course begins to gauge the initial knowledge level of the participants. Learners are assessed under controlled conditions at the end of the course. By comparing the results of these two assessments, educators can accurately measure the knowledge acquired during the course. This comparison provides valuable insight into the quality of your courses and reveals areas that may need improvement.
Digital assessment is also central to implementing truly effective adaptive learning approaches that focus on individual weaknesses and place each student at the center of the learning process.
Assessments can take many forms, from short interactive quizzes to administered exams that determine whether a learner earns a certification or diploma, potentially impacting their career. . Evaluations may also include surveys completed by learners, trainers, or managers to assess the quality and operational impact of the training course.
Online assessments are undoubtedly effective and essential, but they can also be difficult to implement. Creating questions and surveys is time-consuming and must be seamlessly integrated into each learning course to create a unique and engaging learning experience.
How AI can revolutionize assessment and transform learning
Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that offers many opportunities, including facilitating the use of online assessments.
1. Automate question and survey creation
Creating questions and surveys can take time. Each question requires at least one correct answer and several incorrect answer choices, depending on the question type. A quality survey should include a variety of question formats, including multiple-choice, open-ended, and matched questions, not just yes/no or true/false. .
For quizzes built into eLearning courses to support learning, the questions should also include explanations to help learners understand the underlying concepts. For exams and assessments aimed at confirming knowledge acquisition, a broader set of questions is needed to increase reliability. A good assessment should include at least 30 questions.
Generative AI significantly speeds up question creation.
Using prompts
By providing clear instructions on the desired topic, the AI can generate a list of questions with correct and incorrect answers. These questions can be incorporated directly into quizzes and assessments. This method is best suited for general knowledge topics that are well documented online. AI can also provide explanations with references to help learners understand answers. Use of specific documents
For specialized topics such as a company’s internal policies or health and safety guidelines, AI can generate precise questions based on the documents provided. This method is perfect for employee onboarding, customer training, and other niche areas. create a distraction
When questions and correct answers are predefined, creating plausible incorrect answers (distractors) can be tedious. AI helps by generating distractions, saving you valuable time.
As always, AI-generated content should be reviewed to ensure accuracy and eliminate redundant or inaccurate information.
2. Automate scoring of open-ended questions
Closed questions such as multiple choice, true/false, and combination questions can be easily graded automatically. However, open-ended questions pose an even greater challenge. Each answer must be reviewed, corrected, and scored individually, requiring manual scoring, which is a time-consuming process. Therefore, trainers may be hesitant to use this valuable question type.
Open-ended questions are very informative and encourage critical thinking and deeper understanding of the subject matter. They provide insight into learners’ thought processes, allowing educators to assess not only what students know, but also how they think, approach problems, and construct arguments. This is particularly useful for identifying areas where learners may need support or further development. Encourages learners to explore ideas, analyze concepts, and express their thoughts comprehensively, developing creativity, analytical skills, and independent thinking.
AI can simplify the scoring process for open-ended questions. When properly integrated into a digital learning platform, AI can analyze answers, provide feedback, and assign grades. Additionally, the AI can generate sample corrections for each response. Trainers can focus on poorly scored answers and AI-generated comments, significantly speeding up the grading process.
3. Analysis of survey responses
Evaluations can also take the form of surveys to collect feedback about the training course. These surveys often include open-ended questions that allow learners to freely share their opinions about the course.
Analyzing these responses manually is time-consuming, but essential for gaining a comprehensive understanding of learner satisfaction and identifying areas for improvement. AI helps by analyzing text responses and assigning sentiment scores. For example, a very unsatisfactory answer is given a score of 1, and a very positive answer is given a score of 10. This allows analysts to focus on answers with low scores, streamlining the feedback review process.
expert quiz
A fully featured LMS focuses on assessment to maximize learning and skills management.
