PRAZE: Innovating teaching through online peer review

The benefits of formative peer assessment of student work are well-recognised, but the onerous nature of administrating peer review remains a disincentive to implementation, especially in large classes. We have developed an online system – PRAZE – that allows the distribution and anonymous exchange of work between students in an educational setting to be automated. In this paper, we describe the functionality of the software and report on an initial trial in which we administered peer review using PRAZE in three subjects taught at the University of Melbourne. Although the subjects involved different disciplines (Zoology and Multimedia & Communications respectively), different year levels (2 versus 3 year students), and varying numbers of reviewers, surveys indicated that the opportunity to participate and benefit from peer review was broadly appreciated by students. Students also found the software easy and convenient to use. We identify pedagogical and developmental issues with implementing online peer review, and outline anticipated future changes to the software.