For Fall 2014, UMass Amherst is offering iPeer, a web-based tool that allows students to evaluate their peers as part of team-based work assignments.

About iPeer

Peer evaluation is particularly useful in courses where teams or groups are utilized for collaborative work. iPeer provides a number of different peer evaluation tools, including:

• Simple: students evaluate each other with a single numeric rating and an optional comment. Students are presented with a table with one row per group member and a slider to rate each member relative the others, as well as a mark field to directly enter a numeric rating.
• Rubric: students evaluate each other using an instructor- defined rubric that has multiple criteria and mastery levels.
• Mixed: students fill out a multi-part evaluation for each other; part one is a rubric, and part two is a series of short- answer essay questions.

iPeer  uses a daily auto-rostering process to update student enrollment data for your course from SPIRE. Instructors and students access iPeer through OIT’s “Web Login” single sign-on service. After logging in to iPeer with your OIT Account NetID and password, you will be able to go to other campus services that use the single sign-on service without re-entering your password.

For Fall 2014,  have have upgraded to iPeer version 3.1.2. In addition to user interface improvements and updates, iPeer now allows you to send email notifications and reminders to students from within iPeer.

We are currently working to update and expand our online iPeer documentation. Our current iPeer handout should still be accurate in most respects:

http://www.oit.umass.edu/classroom-technologies/ipeer-peer-evaluation-tool

(If you notice information in the handout that is outdated or incorrect, we welcome your feedback at instruct@oit.umass.edu as we work to update it.)

Request iPeer

To request iPeer, complete the form on this page:

http://www.oit.umass.edu/classroom-technologies/ipeer-peer-evaluation-tool

If you have questions about iPeer, or peer-evaluation in general, and you’d like to schedule an individual consultation, please contact the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@oit.umass.edu | 413-545-2823

Help With iPeer

If you have general questions about iPeer, or peer-evaluation, and you’d like to schedule an individual consultation, please contact the Instructional Media Lab (instruct@oit.umass.edu | 413-545-2823).

If you are using iPeer and have questions about student enrollment or technical issues, contact ipeer-help@cesd.umass.edu.