Assessor vs. Activity Designer

**Two Different Approaches**
Thinking like an Assessor	Thinking like an Activity Designer
What would be sufficient and revealing evidence of understanding?	What would be interesting and engaging activities on this topic?
What performance tasks must anchor the unit and focus the instructional work?	What resources and materials are available on this topic?
How will I be able to distinguish between those who really understand and thoes who don't (though they may seem to)?	What will students be doing in and out of class? What assignments will be given?
Against what criteria will I distinguish work?	How will I give students a grade (and justify it to them).
What misunderstandings are likely to occur? How will I check for those?	Did the activites work? Why or why not?

The table above shows the thought behind two approaches to creating and designing an online course. You may be naturally more of an "assessor" or more of an "activity designer." Or perhaps your content dictates which direction you will choose. There's no reason why you can't take both into account!