Vol. 30 No. 2 (2015)
Research Articles

A Preliminary Evaluation of Using WebPA for Online Peer Assessment of Collaborative Performance by Groups of Online Distance Learners

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  • Jo-Anne Murray,
  • Sharon Boyd
Jo-Anne Murray
University of Glasgow
Bio
Sharon Boyd
University of Edinburgh

Published 2015-11-19

How to Cite

Murray, J.-A., & Boyd, S. (2015). A Preliminary Evaluation of Using WebPA for Online Peer Assessment of Collaborative Performance by Groups of Online Distance Learners. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education Revue Internationale Du E-Learning Et La Formation à Distance, 30(2). Retrieved from https://ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/920
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Abstract

Collaborative assessment has well-recognised benefits in higher education and, in online distance learning, this type of assessment may be integral to collaborative e-learning and may have a strong influence on the student’s relationship with learning.  While there are known benefits associated with collaborative assessment, the main drawback is that students perceive that their individual contribution to the assessment is not recognised.  Several methods can be used to overcome this; for example, something as simple as the teacher evaluating an individual’s contribution. However, teacher assessment can be deemed as unreliable by students, since the majority of group work is not usually done in the presence of the teacher (Loddington, Pond, Wilkinson, & Wilmot, 2009).  Therefore, students’ assessment of performance/contribution of themselves and their peer group in relation to the assessment task, also known as peer moderation, can be a more suitable alternative. There are a number of tools that can be used to facilitate peer moderation online, such as WebPA, which is a free, open source, online peer assessment tool developed by Loughborough University.  This paper is a preliminary evaluation of online peer assessment of collaborative work undertaken by groups of students studying online at a distance at a large UK university, where WebPA was used to facilitate this process.  Students’ feedback on the use of WebPA was mixed, although most of the students found the software easy to use, with few technical issues and the majority reported that they would be happy to use this again.  The authors reported WebPA as a beneficial peer assessment tool.

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