Worried About Learner Engagement? How Edovo Combats Certificate Chasers
Just like in any learning environment, engagement will vary. Some students jump right in, eager to learn, while others might prioritize certificates over genuine learning. Our focus is on rewarding those who actively engage with the Edovo platform and use it to empower their lives.
To ensure real learning takes root and combat certificate chasers, Edovo has implemented several measures.
1. Meaningful Certificates
On Edovo, there are two main types of content:
- Courses: This content type includes clear learning objectives and assessments throughout. These assessments, including multiple-choice and open-ended questions, measure a student's understanding of the material. Completing a course earns a learner a certificate of completion. However, certificates now notate whether a learner “passed” or “needs improvement” on the course. More on this below in #2.
- Resources: Content such as podcasts, videos, and articles are designed to supplement learning and do not offer certificates. Learner’s time and engagement is tracked, but not scored.
While courses are the only item in which a Learner can earn a certificate, a resource can include assessment and check points of learning as well, ensuring that time is well spent.
A note for those who have used Edovo for a long time: Historically, we provided certificates for the completion for all coursework, much of which has now been properly recategorized as resources to better ensure certificates are only provided for appropriate content. This reduced the quantity of certificates earned without merit and increased positive engagement with programming.
2. Robust Criteria for Passed Certificates
Upon completion of a course, a Learner will earn one of two types: either a “passed” certificate or a “needs improvement” certificate, which look like this:
Edovo's passing criteria ensure Learners put in the time and effort required to truly benefit from the course. To earn a passing certificate, students must:
Edovo's passing criteria ensure Learners put in the time and effort required to truly benefit from the course. To earn a passing certificate, students must:
- Achieve 70% or higher on multiple-choice quizzes.
- Score 80% or higher on open-ended questions.
- Dedicate sufficient time to the course (e.g., 4 hours for a 4-hour course).
3. Smart Open Response Question Scoring
Edovo's open-ended questions offer immediate feedback through automated checks. This feedback considers answer length, proper use of language, originality, and (optionally) an advanced machine-learning powered relevance check. Responses can receive full credit (100%), partial credit (25-75%), or no credit (0%) based on these evaluations.
(Note: The enhanced machine-learning scoring is an optional premium feature. Agencies can inquire with their tablet provider for more information.)
4. Second Chance Responses
To ensure a Learner receives guidance to better engage in the coursework, Learners can revise low-scoring answers on their short answer questions. They have three attempts per question.
Skipping a question results in a zero and answers cannot be submitted after being skipped. For low-effort responses, Edovo offers feedback suggesting improvement and the opportunity to edit.
Read more about this functionality here.
5. Timeout Functionality
In partnership with the various tablet providers we work with, we have set a time limit on a Learner’s engagement with the application. After 5 minutes of inactivity, a Learner will be logged out of the platform and be forced to click back in, thus ending or pausing time spent tracking within the content. This helps to reduce attempts to play lectures or long video content and walking away and reduces multi-tasking such as playing games while engaging in content.
The Edovo Approach: Rewarding Engagement and Empowering Learners
Edovo's commitment goes beyond certificates. We strive to create a platform that fosters genuine learning and empowers incarcerated individuals to improve their lives. By combining engaging courses with robust assessments and helpful feedback, Edovo helps Learners not just complete courses, but truly gain valuable knowledge and skills.