Self- and Automated Assessment in Programming MOOCs

This paper addresses two MOOCs in Estonian about programming where different kinds of assessment were used. We have used two kinds of automated assessment: quizzes in Moodle and programming exercises with automated feedback provided by Moodle plug-in VPL. We also used two kinds of self-assessment: (1) self-assessment questions with feedback and explanations for every answer and (2) so-called “troubleshooters” for every programming exercise, which contain answers to the questions that can arise during the solution of a given exercise. This paper describes our experience in the creation of quizzes, programming exercises, and tests for automated feedback, self-assessment questions, and troubleshooters. The paper discusses the problems and questions that arose during this process and presents learners’ opinions about self- and automated assessment. The paper concludes with a discussion of the impact of self- and automated assessment in MOOCs, describes the work of MOOC organizers and the behaviour of learners in MOOCs.