Background
Normally I don't like giving quizzes for readings--especially at the graduate level. Seems kind of busy workish. And yet, for in-class discussion, it's critical to make sure that folks are doing their reading. While I know that students need to be responsible for their reading and work, I also know that I have a responsibility to emphasis certain points. Having not given or used quizzes for some time, I have decided to give it another shot in the Moodle environment. This way, we don't burn up class time, students can use their texts to review and prepare, and the impact on the grade is somewhat limited.
Honestly, I'm not sure how well this will turn out--pedagogically speaking. One thing I have learned, though, is that I must question almost all of my practices and beliefs iteratively. By this, I do not mean questioning everything I believe and do all at once; doing that would implode gz and no one would win. Instead, I try to cycle through different practices, locate assumptions, and take a run at modifying, retrying, or changing an approach. So, I'm back at quizzes.
At core, I am a rhetorician, and I highly value context and kairos. Quizzes are not inherently bad--they are just deployed poorly. My goal is to see if I can deploy them well and in a way that supports student learning and engagement.
Using Kindle & Moodle
Tech used: Kindle Fire; University-hosted instance of Moodle 2.5
What I Do
1. Read material. Review content.
2. Read material again in Kindle. Highlight key passages/wording in a color not used for other purposes.
3. Open up desktop or laptop--be sure it has a Kindle reader.
4. Pull up Kindle window, go to book, and select "My Notes & Marks"; all of my highlighting is visible.
5. Open up text editor. Paste in all raw quiz material (including page numbers and/or locations).
6. Save. Formulate questions
7. Open up Moodle.
8. Enter relatively simple questions.
9. Learn Moodle.
We'll see how well it goes.
Image source: http://panopticon-stock.deviantart.com/