Interactive Feedback
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Feedback as a form of instruction
Feedback as an element of dialogue, critical
to deep learning
Feedback as an element of retention
Waypoint Basics: Creating
Exceptional Feedback This
detailed walk through is
designed for instructors who
assess and respond to
subjective, authentic student
work.
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Measurement of learning objectives
Measurement of course objectives
Measurement of program objectives
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/support/cam/wpoverview/wp_overview.html
Consistency occurs when all faculty use the
same grading rubric
 Consistent expectations
 Consistent grading
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Online environment where technology
abounds
Improve ease of providing
◦ feedback,
◦ Measurement, and
◦ consistency
Creating Exceptional Feedback.
Faster This six minute overview
details Waypoint from an instructor's
point of view.
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Waypoint originated with two challenges shared by all educators: creating the
personalized, timely feedback that learners need, and measuring student
progress in subjective (and important) areas like written communication,
critical thinking, presentation skills, and information literacy.
We innovated around the basic idea of the rubric, the criteria-based
assessment tool used by educators around the world in primary, secondary,
tertiary, and post-tertiary education, and built a powerful platform that can
be easily integrated with leading Learning Management Systems. Over one
million evaluations of student work later, Waypoint has helped thousands of
educators create better feedback more efficiently, and helped numerous
institutions develop the data they need to understand their learners
acquisition of the 21st Century skills that matter most.
Waypoint Outcomes creates innovative tools to help deepen the dialog
amongst educators, learners, and stakeholders. Our assessment software is
used by diverse K12 and Higher Education institutions around the world.
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/about-us
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Lots and lots of little blue buttons
http://waypointoutcomes.com/aboutus/wayp-demo-center
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
4.25.08
Texas A&M University launches Waypoint institution-wide
via its Writing Across the Curriculum program. Read the
Texas A&M Writing Center newsletter here (pdf, 9mb).
6.05.07
Subjective Metrics releases a module for the opensource Moodle Course Management System.
8.26.06
Subjective Metrics announces new clients including The Wharton School of
Business, University of Pennsylvania, the Santa Clara County Office of
Education, The Victoria College, The Sellinger School of Business at Loyola
College in Maryland, and Seton Hall University.
6.16.06
Subjective Metrics releases a beta version of a Building
Block for the Blackboard Learning Management System™
that tightly integrates Waypoint with Blackboard.
8.15.05
The Villanova University School of Law selects
Waypoint for use in its legal writing program.
9.15.04
Drexel University announces site license agreement (2004-2005
academic year) in its Drexelink publication.
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11.4.10 Waypoint Outcomes CEO and Founder presents "Five Free Tools to Accelerate FacultyLed Assessment" at the 16th Annual Sloan-C Conference in Orlando, Florida. The session
includes the first peak at Waypoint 2.0, our next generation student engagement and
assessment solution. (This video requires audio, and the images are screen captures only - not
full video of Waypoint 2.0).
11.9.10 Syracuse University has contracted with Waypoint Outcomes, a provider of Web-based
academic assessment tools, to assist Dr. Megan Oakleaf, Assistant Professor in the School of
Information Studies at Syracuse, in her Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (RAILS)
project.
After receiving a prestigious research grant from the Institute of Library and Museum Services
(IMLS), Dr. Megan Oakleaf recognized the necessity for a powerful yet flexible assessment tool
to aid in the facilitation of the RAILS project. The objective of the project is to gauge
undergraduate students’ ability to recognize when information is required as well as their
ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information. Read More >>
10.20.10 Saint Joseph University's Haub School of Business contracts with Waypoint Outcomes
to support its Assurance of Learning initiatives.
8.15.10 Troy University and Westminster College contract with Waypoint to implement
interactive rubrics for teaching and learning.
7.22.10 Waypoint Outcomes Sales Consultant, Robert McCarthy, presents on student attitudes
towards high quality feedback at the Third Annual Sloan Emerging Technology Conference.
7.20.10 Waypoint Outcomes announces its Fellows Program and releases the results of a study
detailing student's strong feelings concerning high quality feedback.
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/news
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4.28.10 Seton Hall University's Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) graduate
program is granted full national recognition by the National Council for Teacher Accreditation (NCATE). NCATE
request permission to publish the full report, as an exemplar of a successful accreditation cycle. The full report
is available here. Seton Hall University describes its use of Waypoint:
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Candidate data for all IDAT assessments is obtained using Waypoint software, making the grading of projects more manageable and
linking accreditation standards to candidate learning outcomes a reality. Additionally, faculty have come together to share ideas for
developing multiple aspects of rubrics. Faculty redeveloped multi-purpose Waypoint rubrics that allow for grading candidate
performance on multiple levels. The results are rich, authentic data that foster candidate learning. The education faculty link course
projects to INTASC standards, state standards, and other professional affiliations, especially important for reporting candidatelearning outcomes.
The use of Waypoint through Blackboard has allowed the IDAT program to synchronize their course roster to the rubrics, making the
process of reporting more efficient. There is tremendous benefit in sharing assignments and rubrics with other faculty and
candidates. Many faculty members are encouraged to revisit and expand upon their rubrics as well as to organize candidate/peer
evaluations and even teams of evaluators that share assignments and rubrics. We have just begun to grasp the full impact of
Waypoint on our teaching and learning environment; however, the evidence with regard to reporting is clear. Faculty now have the
needed tools to work toward improving the quality of assessment. There is no doubt that we will continue to utilize Waypoint as a
means of reflection for curriculum refinement, candidate feedback and improvement, and quality assessment for meeting
accreditation standards.
4.5.10 Waypoint's CEO and Director of Product Experience get their hands on an Apple iPad. Observational
assessment will never be the same. Watch the YouTube video.
3.11.10 The University of North Carolina - Pembroke contracts with Waypoint Outcomes® to help improve
writing instruction across the institution. As part of its SACS reaccreditation QEP process, UNCP is dramatically
redesigning courses in multiple disciplines to include more writing. Waypoint "will allow the university to assess
our progression, support classroom learning and ensure we achieve our milestones," said Dr. Elizabeth
Normandy, Director of UNCP's Center for Teaching and Learning. "Waypoint is an intricate part of our 5-year
plan," she continued.
2.22.10 Waypoint Outcomes Chief Executive Officer Andrew J. McCann will speak at the Society for Applied
Learning Technology Conference being held March 3-5 in Orlando, Fla. The New Learning Techniques
Conference, Knowledge Management Track, includes best practices for successfully implementing learning
management systems as well as factors in selecting technology.
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/news
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2.17.10 Waypoint Outcomes announces Michael Jones appointment to the newly
created position of Director of Product Experience. “I am honored to lead
Waypoint’s strategies and to be a part of the academic assessment industry in its
infancy.” Jones said. “Waypoint leads the way in defining institutional standards
and providing measurement tools to benefit universities and ensure student
success.” “Michael’s deep experience building user-focused software will help
fulfill Waypoint’s mission of uniting teaching and assessment,” Andrew McCann,
chief executive officer of Waypoint Outcomes, said.
1.14.10 Baker College Center for Graduate Studies contracts with Waypoint
Outcomes to assist the graduate school in improving student communication and
critical thinking in the classroom.
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Dr. Jill Langen, dean of the master of business administration program at Baker College,
said Waypoint helps the college better serve students. “This technology gives us the
capability to provide individual feedback to support students in their learning process,” she
said.
1.14.10 Waypoint Outcomes Chief Executive Officer Andrew J. McCann speaks at
the ninth annual Educause Mid–Atlantic Regional Conference.
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McCann and co-speaker Craig Bach, associate vice provost for curriculum and assessment
for Drexel University, will present a case history on how a Drexel faculty member
successfully addressed issues of online student communication and assessment. They will
demonstrate how rubric and self assessment technologies resulted in improved student
learning data; better, more efficient and higher quality feedback to students; and
development of course dashboards.
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/news
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12.14.09 South Carolina State University contracts with Waypoint Outcomes to assist the
university in improving student communication and critical thinking in the classroom.
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The College of Business and Applied Professional Sciences will implement Waypoint in an effort to achieve
one of its top goals of improving student student's writing. Ten courses in the college will begin using
Waypoint during the spring semester.
Dr. Barbara Adams, the university’s chair of Accounting, Agribusiness and Economics, said Waypoint will
ensure academic proficiency and development. “By clearly defining the strength and weaknesses of students’
writing, this program will benefit them in all subject areas, not only business, and assist them in becoming
overall better communicators,” she said. By providing a platform to improve student/teacher interaction, the
university furthers its commitment to academic success, she added.
12.11.09 St. Thomas Aquinas College contracts with Waypoint Outcomes to support National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education requirements and improve communication and
critical thinking in the classroom. “Having a program that collects data decreases the possibility
of human error in manually transferring data,” Dr. Suzanne Reynolds, the college’s associate
professor of teacher education and NCATE coordinator, said. “We can dedicate more time to
analyzing data to make curriculum enhancements rather than feeling the pressure of collecting
it,” she said.
7.15.09 Bb World 09
The Bournemouth University presents a poster titled, "Enhancing student feedback on
assessments using Waypoint" at Blackboard World 2009. Dr. Barbara Newland described
Waypoint as, "truly enhancing student learning."
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Bournemouth also presented "SUE @ BU - Evaluating every course using Blackboard", detailing its use of
Waypoint to deliver surveys into hundreds of courses.
Kaye Shelton, from Dallas Baptist University, presented the session, "Assessing and Aggregating Learning
Outcomes: Easier Than Herding Cats?" Dean Shelton discussed her program's systematic data gathering and
analysis processes, but noted that the "best part to using Waypoint has been the faculty response." In
particular, DBU faculty like being able to quickly create feedback and appreciate how Waypoint helps mitigate
grade inflation.
http://www.waypointoutcomes.com/news
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4.9.09 Kaye Shelton, Dean of Online Education at Dallas Baptist
University, presents DBU's implementation of Waypoint in
"Measuring and Aggregating Learner Outcomes: Making
Technology Do the Work!" at the Texas Distance Learning
Association Conference, Corpus Christi TX
4.7.09 Dr. Barbara Newland, of Bournemouth University,
presents "Enhancing Student Feedback on Assessments Using
Waypoint" at Blackboard World Europe , Barcelona Spain.
4.7.09 Subjective Metrics welcomes MidAmerica Nazarene
University as a new client.
3.13.09 Dr. Scott Warnock, Subjective Metrics' co-founder,
presents " Assessments large and small with a Web-based rubric
and data-collection tool.” Conference on College Composition
and Communication Computer Connection
2.10.09 Waypoint Outcomes welcomes new clients, including
Edison State College, Baldwin-Wallace College, Lebanon High
School, and Cankdeska-Cikana Community College.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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1.01.09 The Drexel University College of Business features their use of Waypoint
in a paper recently published in The Journal of Business and Technical
Communication (abstract only).
11.15.08 Waypoint Outcomes welcomes new clients, including Fanny Lou Hamer
High School, Dallas-Baptist University, Mililani High School, Saint Mary's College of
California, and San Jose State University.
9.01.08 Waypoint Outcomes releases a customized solution for California's PACT
consortia (Performance Assessment for California Teachers)
7.25.08 Waypoint Outcomes welcomes Wingate University as a new client.
4.25.08 Texas A&M University launches Waypoint institution-wide via its Writing
Across the Curriculum program. Read the Texas A&M Writing Center newsletter
here (pdf, 9mb).
3.20.08 Waypoint Outcomes is profiled in two presentations at the Drexel
University e-Learning 2.0 Conference. Jason Slipp, an Instruction Technology
Consultant from Lehigh University, presented Lehigh's implementation of
Waypoint across four colleges (every college at Lehigh). Dr. Valarie Arms, from
Drexel University, discussed using Waypoint for peer review to help structure
student work in a hybrid learning environment. You can download the
presentations:
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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2.8.08 Subjective Metrics welcomes new clients to Waypoint Outcomes including
the University of Virginia, Wilkes University, and Lafayette College.
2.6.08 Waypoint Outcomes is profiled in the University of Pennsylvania's student
newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian. The article is called "Fighting for Feedback,"
and details the student experience receiving feedback from faculty along with the
Wharton School's successful two-year implementation of Waypoint.
1.16.08
Subjective Metrics announces support for the Windows Mobile PDA platform. Read
the press release here.
1.3.08 Subjective Metrics welcomes new clients to Waypoint Outcomes, including
Bloomsburg University and Lehigh University.
12.5.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes new clients to Waypoint Outcomes,
including Somerset Community College in Kentucky, Manhattan College, and the
Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University.
11.19.07 Drexel University's English Alive program is featured in Inside Higher Ed
after a presentation at the 2007 NCTE conference in New York. Read the article
here. English Alive, and co-director Dr. Valarie Arms, were the subject of the
December 1st edition of the College Connection radio show. Drexel's English Alive
program was the first client for Waypoint Outcomes, and the program is codirected by Dr. Scott Warnock, VP Research and co-founder of Subjective Metrics,
the developers of Waypoint.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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11.8.07 Seton Hall University faculty present "Assessment with a
Difference: Waypoint Empowers Students, Faculty and Administrators" at
the 13th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning in
Orlando, Florida.
◦ Conference Abstract:
"This presentation will illustrate the various ways Waypoint is
used for: collecting data; evaluating student performance; and analyzing data for
multiple purposes. These include: individual assessments; course assessments;
program assessments; alignment to standards; accreditation evaluations. Suggestions
for modifying and implementing Waypoint, a cost-effective tool for assessment will
be presented."
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11.2.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes new clients to Waypoint Outcomes,
including the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Blended Schools.net, the
Association of Christian Public Schools in South-West Fryslân (The
Netherlands), and Los Angeles Mission College.
08.22.07 Subjective Metrics announces interoperability with Blackboard
Vista 4.0. Read more.
08.20.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes its latest client, Gallaudet
University in Washington DC.
08.16.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes its latest client, Edinburg
Consolidated Independent School District, Edinburg TX.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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08.06.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes its latest client,
Green Dot Public Schools, Los Angeles CA
08.01.07 Subjective Metrics President and Founder,
Andrew J. McCann, is a featured speaker at the Lehigh
Valley Technology in the Classroom Symposium. McCann
presented to over 80 faculty and administrators from the
six colleges and universities of the Lehigh Valley
Association of Independent Schools.
06.25.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes its latest client, the
William Paterson University of New Jersey.
06.05.07 Subjective Metrics releases a module for the
open-source Moodle Course Management System.
04.21.07 Subjective Metrics welcomes its latest client,
Valley City State University.
03.01.07 In collaboration with Grant Wiggins, Subjective
Metrics launches iPowerFeedback.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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02.14.07 Subjective Metrics releases a beta version of its groundbreaking
WpOutcomes analysis software to selected clients.
11.15.06 Subjective Metrics officially releases a Building Block for the Blackboard
Learning Management System™. Subjective Metrics founder and president
Andrew J. McCann is a featured speaker at Authentic Education's Making Grades
Meaningful: A Fresh Look at Grading and Reporting Conference.
09.12.06 Subjective Metrics integrates Waypoint with the Wharton School of
Business' proprietary webCafé e-learning platform. Subjective Metrics
announces new clients including the Drexel University College of Engineering and
Morgan State University.
08.22.06 Subjective Metrics announces new clients including The Wharton School
of Business, University of Pennsylvania, the Santa Clara County Office of Education,
The Victoria College, The Sellinger School of Business at Loyola College in
Maryland, and Seton Hall University.
07.22.06 Waypoint is featured in University Business magazine, the magazine for
college and university administrators. Read the article here.
06.16.06 Subjective Metrics releases a beta version of a Building Block for the
Blackboard Learning Management System™ that tightly integrates Waypoint with
Blackboard.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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05.22.06 Subjective Metrics partners with 4teacher.org to integrate the
award winning and highly popular web-based tool RubiStar with
Waypoint. Subjective Metrics is featured in a Philadelphia Business
Journal article entitled, "Subjective Metrics Scores High in How Student
Work is Graded."
03.22.06 Waypoint is selected by the Drexel University LeBow College of
Business as a key tool in its AACSB accreditation initiatives to document
student outcomes and continually improve instruction.
◦ Andrew McCann, Dr. Scott Warnock, and Estelita Young from WebCT present
"Teaching and Enforcing Proper Documentation: Turnitin.com and WebCT" at the
Fourth Annual Northeast US WebCT Conference. Dr. Scott Warnock presents at the
2006 Conference on College Composition and Communication on technology
solutions for responding to student writing. Dr. Heather McGovern, of the Richard
Stockton State College of New Jersey, presents "Teaching with Technology: Online
Rubric-Based Grading" at the 2006 Association of Teachers of Technical Writing
Conference.
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02.02.06 Subjective Metrics donates $2,500 to the Drexel University
Writing Program in recognition of its pioneering work in demonstrating
Waypoint's utility and broad applicability.
08.15.05 The Villanova
University School of Law selects Waypoint for use in its legal writing
program.
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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07.29.05 The Richard Stockton State College of New Jersey selects
Waypoint for application in its general studies program. Read about
Stockton's first impressions and applications for Waypoint in their
November Evidence Newsletter (pdf, 172k)
06.03.05 The University of Pennsylvania Law School selects Waypoint for
application in its legal writing curriculum.
05.05.05 Andrew McCann is the featured speaker in the Drexel
University's e-Learning speaker series (includes links to a screencast and
podcast of the event).
04.05.05 Archbishop Ryan High School, one of the largest Catholic high
schools in the country with over 2,800 students enrolled, selects
Waypoint to help improve feedback, PSAT scores, and advance writing
across the curriculum initiatives.
03.22.05 The Drexel University College of Business pilots Waypoint for
use in developing AACSB accreditation data, documenting student
outcomes, and improving the feedback process.
12.16.04 Waypoint and Subjective Metrics, Inc. are featured in The
Evening Bulletin article, "A Waypoint for Writing Instructors."
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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10.10.04 Waypoint is the lead article, "Structured, Online
Evaluations and the First Year Design Process", in IEEE Learning
Technology.
09.15.04 Drexel University announces site license agreement
(2004-2005 academic year) in its Drexelink publication. The
Lower Merion School District selects Waypoint to help teachers in
its two award winning high schools create more detailed
feedback more quickly and effectively. Waypoint is featured in
Innovation Philadelphia.
07.05.04 Waypoint is featured in the Writing Program
Administrators' Conference Presentation: Deconstructing
Boundaries Through Technologically Enhanced Response.
04.23.04 Waypoint is featured in the WebCT User Conference
Presentation: "Longitudinal Assessment, Accountability, and
Productivity: Facilitating the Writing Process."
03.10.04 Waypoint is featured in the College Composition and
Communication Convention Presentation: “A Web-Based Tool for
Writing Evaluation and Curricular Assessment.”
http://docs.subjectivemetrics.com/home/aboutus/press/press_details.htm
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Technology focused
◦ Eager faculty
◦ Instructional technology team (support)
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Feedback focused
◦ Faculty dedicated to adult learning best practices
◦ Faculty interested in engaging in a dialogue supportive
of deep learning
◦ Office of Student Success
 Associate Dean
 Advisors
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Measurement of strategic goals focused
◦ VP of Institutional Assessment and Planning
◦ Office of Academic Affairs
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Reticent faculty
◦ Traditional background
◦ Set in their own ways
◦ Unwilling to give up control of grading to a rubric
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Strategy for adoption
◦ Focus on relative advantage: As a cutting-edge,
state online school, Waypoint provides us relative
advantage over our peer institutions.
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In my organization, I believe the interactive rubric, Waypoint, meets the needs of our need for
relative advantage, compatibility, low complexity, and observability (Rogers, 2003).
As a cutting-edge, state online school, Waypoint provides us the ability to link learning
objectives to course objectives to program objectives as well as improve feedback and facilitate
dialogue between the faculty and students. This provides us relative advantage over our peer
institutions, which have no technology to support either of these important tasks.
Not only is Waypoint in alignment with our organization’s goal of consistent, rubric-based,
data driven institutional strategy, it’s also integrated with our Blackboard learning management
system. These elements make Waypoint compatible with institutional objectives and faculty
and student ease of use.
Although the Waypoint interface is fairly free of complexity, as with all new technologies, it
does require training and ongoing support. Once familiar with its use, the tool is easily
adoptable by end-users.
The use of Waypoint has an instant effect on the need for faculty to conduct consistent, rubricbased grading with detailed feedback. Faculty and students immediately see the feedback and
graded rubric in the Blackboard grade center. Being able to observe the benefits of this
innovation improves its ability for diffusion.