In my workshops on assessing digital projects, I’ve seen firsthand how many educators struggle to evaluate multimedia assignments. The reality is that as digital literacy and digital creativity continues to inflect the kind of work our students do (and need to be prepared to do), faculty often just need a place to start. I try to provide faculty with practical approaches that help them get things going.

Over the years, I’ve led numerous sessions walking faculty step-by-step through techniques like creating flexible (and robust) rubrics, giving meaningful feedback through audio/video formats, and even had discussions on token systems, specs grading, and badging possibilities. But the core starting concepts I tend to use (see here) offer a few ways in, which I think help educators feel more empowered.

While each project is unique and each workshop introduces new possibilities, I primarily come back to the following tip/touchpoints:

• Focus on process as much as product (with students documenting and reflecting on the process with regularity).
• Establish clear guidelines and goals upfront and revisit those elements frequently (making explicit what we often assuming students implicitly understand).
• Use rubrics or evaluative criteria to offer an operative frame, but leave room not only for the subjective elements of grading, but for student ideation, inspiration, and innovation: i.e., be flexible enough to allow the projects to grown in unexpected ways.
• Give feedback early, offer multiple checkpoints, and be willing to be collaborator and on-demand resources as much as final evaluator.
• Invite (if not require) students to self-assess with guided reflection.
• Involve students in developing assessment criteria.

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, it is gratifying to just be in conversation with faculty, to exchange ideas and approaches, and to share possibilities. It is a win for me if something I’m doing, no matter how small, can help spark inspiration for faculty looking to evaluate digital work in more nuanced ways.

Assessing Digital Projects – Adobe Express Page:
https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/6hK15sjPqvVRw