ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how virtual instructors can create environments that engage learners and assess their learning in creative and alternative ways. The virtual instructor is a project planner and an assessor. The chapter discusses authentic assessments and provides ideas to implement these assessments in a virtual environment. It provides suggestions for using formative and summative assessments to engage and assess virtual learners in a virtual environment. Planning authentic assessments in a virtual environment takes time and thought. The chapter describes authentic assessments as assessments that provide learners with the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a real-world setting. Service learning is an excellent way to intentionally engage students in learning that is authentic, tied directly to their content area, and can be done even in a virtual environment.
