Tech Tip: Fast Feedback

Saving time in keyboarding appeals for all tasks but I'll admit I am drawn to it primarily when staring at a stack of electronic submissions awaiting feedback. While every evaluator may aspire to giving only personalized feedback, a more pragmatic approach is to include the automated variety at least some of the time. When time or sheer numbers demand fast response, these two strategies can help.

Text substitution in any Windows application (including email): Using a small app called Texter available from lifehacker, you can devise your own set of codes for text substitution. Line 1 displays my shortcuts created in Texter; Line 2 displays the automatically substituted text:

1. T hed comy looks to schy js for comn abt ass. [45 characters]
   
   
2. The higher education community looks to scholarly journals for communication about assessment. [94 characters]
   

If you cannot install an app on your office computer, you can accomplish similar text substitution inside Microsoft Word. Access the option called AutoCorrect Options to enter your codes. This is the same feature that permits you to type a string of characters such as (c) and have Word transform it to the symbol ©.

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

Online Survey Software

No product endorsements implied...these are the online survey options that have popped up in listservs in recent months as well as some "old regulars" that have served schools well for years. I've kept my comments down to a few key words.

Inquisite - offers 30-day trial, price quotes via web form, names higher education as a leading market, founded 1997.

Limesurvey - free, open source software; currently accepting applications for beta version of limeservice (hosted version).

Psychdata - online sign-up for free account for a free survey and access to manual; does not require naming your institution for the trial; features IRB aspects of surveys; founded 2001.

SPSS Dimensions ASP - hosted online survey services, with tools such as mrinterview and different levels of consulting help; founded 1968.

StudentVoice - campus members can collect data via web-based surveys or handheld devices (PDAs to record responses to in-person polling); this About page includes a link to a list of member institutions; founded 1999.

Surveymonkey - transparent in terms of options and pricing (which includes a limited but free level of service); extremely user-friendly with short learning curve; founded 1999.

Vovici - (voh-VEE-see) - offers a free trial; based on WebSurveyor software tools.

Zoomerang - options and prices are similar to Surveymonkey's; founded 1999.

As noted, these survey services have all received high marks on forums. I have used only 3 of them: Psychdata, Surveymonkey, and Zoomerang. I have applied to the limeservice beta group. The prominent theme for my usage is clear: free or low-cost service. (My Psychdata account was "free" only in the sense that I did not pay for it personally; my university held a site license.) The free or very low cost Surveymonkey and Zoomerang are user-friendly hosted services. Survey writing procedures are pretty intuitive and the creation screens have embedded instructions.

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

Inducements: Heavy & Light

Inducements to learn about assessment. Higher education assessment is not a big-draw topic on most campuses. Unless your institution holds Assessment Days or similar high profile events, chances are that you have to work very hard to pull in a crowd for training or professional development. Rotating crowd-pleasers from the categories below will keep inducements fresh.

Leadership endorsement
President's or Provost's attendance as often as you can swing it
Either person's signature on an email invitation

Pay per day
Stipend or task payment for attendance or service
Token stipend of $25
Gift certificate of $10 (to just about anywhere)

Promotional product
USB drive with school logo
Tape measure with logo
Desk fan unless that's a bad joke in your buildings
Good quality highlighter set (affordable pens don't work, figuratively and literally)

Food
Outstanding treat like Chocolate Fondue (advertise it)
Box lunch that attendees can take away at end (advertise it)
Full meal in middle of day (advertise it)

Faculty and staff will also come for new information. When eportfolio software was new, I saw a crowd of 72 gather for a webinar. Following a SACS Institute one year, a panel discussion by 4 attendees drew a standing-room-only crowd. A gift is not always needed, obviously. The best strategy is to provide genuinely new information or service but to have a few rewards planned, too.

© 2008 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.