Develop & Build

Specifications Grading: A Method to Improve Student Performance

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February 7, 2025

 by 

Jennifer Parker

Overview

Are you looking to increase student motivation and the quality of their academic work? If yes, consider specifications grading.  According to Linda B. Nilson, Ph.D., the traditional higher education grading method is broken and specifications grading offers a solution with benefits for both students and faculty. Nilson published her seminal work, Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students and Saving Faculty Time, in 2015.  Since then, faculty have adopted her method, including some at UConn.

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An Overview of VoiceThread

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December 31, 2024

 by 

Simon Wang

Overview

VoiceThread is an interactive, multimedia discussion tool that enables dynamic conversations around multimedia content including images, videos, documents, and presentations. It allows users (instructors & students) to create, share, and comment on content using a variety of formats, including text, audio, and video. Online instructors can leverage VoiceThread to create asynchronous discussions, deliver interactive lectures, or facilitate group projects. Its flexibility supports diverse learning styles and encourages participation, making it an ideal tool for building community in online courses. VoiceThread integrates seamlessly with HuskyCT, ensuring a smooth experience for both instructors and students.

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An Overview of Perusall

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August 14, 2025

 by 

Timothy Stubbs

Overview

Logo with tagline: Perusall - Every student prepared for every class

Perusall is a free “social annotation” tool that helps students engage with course material in class groups. When integrated with HuskyCT, instructors can create reading or viewing assignments in which students create & share their own annotations and respond to each other’s comments and questions. Perusall informs instructors of the concepts that generate the most student questions & discussion, and Perusall can assist instructors score assignments quickly and efficiently. Perusall also reminds students of incomplete assignments, prompting higher rates of completion and preparedness.

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Syllabus Template for Online Courses

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September 29, 2025

 by 

Kelsey Keefe

Overview

eCampus offers a syllabus template for instructors teaching online, which meets accessibility requirements for online courses. This post describes how to download and use the template to create your syllabus.

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Writing Effective Multiple Choice Questions

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August 30, 2024

 by 

Betsy Guala

Overview

This post provides guidelines for constructing multiple choice assessment questions. While multiple choice questions can be used to measure a number of different learning outcomes, the validity of these assessments is greatly influenced by how well the questions are constructed. Use this guide to write multiple choice questions for both lower and higher level learning outcomes.

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