Introduction and story behind the emergence of this learning activity. What was the need, what issue/problem was the teacher facing and wanted to resolve? 

For this course, organizing the exam in QMP (or Ans) with SPSS/QGIS was not possible, especially with the Corona-measures. The teacher did not want to add on to the already high levels of stress and anxiety for students with a remotely proctored exam. Since the exam is not the only assessment form for the course and the questions asked were mainly application questions with randomized data sources, another form of assessment was found. The exam has been redesigned into a quiz in Brightspace and an individual Brightspace essay assignment.

• Brightspace Quiz
• Brightspace Assignment

What has been learned after this lesson/activity has been executed ?

In the exam and assignment, the following learning outcomes are assessed:  

• explain some important theories in the domain of mobility and network infrastructures;
• explain the notion and implications of sustainability for the planning of network infrastructures and how this influences the selection of technologies;
• discuss methods and practices of risk analysis, impact assessment and feasibility studies in the context of mobility and network infrastructures;
• discuss the socio-ethical implications of infrastructural developments from the perspective of spatial planning.

Specific description and demonstration of the lesson idea/learning activity.

The assessment modes used for the course are:

• A group assignment (40%)
• A presentation with peer review (15%)
• An individual assignment (15%)
• A Mid-term Digital test (30%) 

Students are to take the Mid-term Digital Test online in Brightspace. The test consists of two parts. Part A has 5 multiple choice questions in a Brightspace Quiz. The student has 30 minutes to answer this part. The questions and answers options are both displayed in a random order and there are new questions used each year. Part B consists of a Brightspace Assignment with 1 multi-part question and a dataset that students must download. They use the dataset to make the assignment in SPSS/QGIS. The dataset consists of a large variety (>120) variables and the assignment requires a specific combination of 1-2 variables which is randomly assigned, so in the end only 1 or 2 students are working on the same combination of data for Part B. Part B assesses whether the students individually mastered the skills that are used during the group assignment (another assessment form). In the individual assignment, the students collect information and reflect on their observations in a short essay submitted in Brightspace.

Mentions tips lecturer has for colleagues based on their experience.

• Make sure you consult your programme director and the examining board on the change you are implementing in your assessment strategy or exam.
• Since students can get stressed (for example: performing bad on Part A by making mistakes, not being able to find our download the data), it is very important to have a live session in Teams during the exam for assistance. The live session is offered 30 mins before the exam starts and continues until the exam ends. When a student enters that session, the teacher takes the student to a breakout room to help with the problem or question. The student assistant remains in the room to receive other students and puts them into a waiting queue
• Be aware that your instructions, no matter how clear you put it, can always be misinterpreted.
• Students are familiar with using Brightspace and find it easy to use. Above that, they like it that they can work on their own computer. So even if there are no Corona-measurements, it might stay the preferred way for administering the exam.
• The set-up of quizzes and rubrics in Brightspace is very easy. Also, the grades are directly available in Brightspace.
• The results on the exam have slightly improved in comparison with the QMP-exam, but not so much that there is reason to suspect any abuse of the home situation. The improvement is probably a result of the more suitable circumstances in which the students can make part B.
• The option of making the Digital Test purely formative was discussed with a panel of students from the previous year. Part of them liked the fact that they had more opportunities to show their skills, others indicated that they would not put enough effort in it if it did not produce a grade. So therefore, there is still grading applied to it.

• Demo how to use Brightspace quiz and assignment for a Mid-Term Exam : (video below)