E-Assessment

In very simple terms, an online assessment may be defined as an evaluation of a person's abilities,behaviors and/or characteristics toward learning timeline. This process is conducted over the internet by using available web technologies.Online assessments are becoming quite popular and are being used extensively in various sectors including Education, Corporate companies and even Government. These online tests have some clear benefits over the traditional methods regarding time reducing, fast electronic checker and a real time feedback. Compared to pen and paper methods of assessment, online or E-assessment methods are less labor-intensive and more secure. An assessment may set out with clear objectives such as :

* To test the knowledge or learning of a learner/student.

A pre-test or needs assessment informs teachers what students know or do not know at the outset, setting the direction of the course. If done well, the information gathered will highlight the gap between existing knowledge and desired outcome. Accomplished teachers find out what students already know , and use the prior knowledge as a stepping off place to develop new understanding. The same is true for data obtained through assessment done during instruction. By checking in with students throughout instruction, outstanding teachers constantly revise and refine their teaching to meet the diverse needs of students.

* To identify the the strengths and weaknesses of the test keeper.

What and how students learn depends to a major extent on how they think they will be assessed. Assessment practices must send the right signals to students about what to study, how to study and the relative time to spend on concepts and skills in a course. Teachers communicate what students need to know and be able to do ,both through syllabus and by choosing assessments carefully in order to direct their energies. If done well, the feedback provided to students will indicate to them on how to improve their performance. Assessments must clearly match the content, the nature of thinking and the skills taught in the class. Through feedback from teachers, students become aware of their strengths and weaknesses and challenges with respect to course learning outcomes.

* To provide feedback to the learner/student regarding to specific topic/subject. 

Grades should be a reflection of what a student has learned as defined in the student learning outcomes. They should be based on direct evidence of student learning as measured  on tests, papers, projects, presentations, oral exams etc..

Types of  E- Assessment...

Through online assessment, teachers can assess a students' learning interactivity, collaborative learning and collective construction knowledge. An interesting information I found online and decided to share with you in blog is related to e-assessment considering the Bloom's Taxonomy measures of cognitive levels for educational objectives.This, highlight the way teachers conduct student's assessment online based on the 4 cognitive levels as below :

Placement and Diagnostic Assessment...

Includes day-to-day instruction and regular monitoring of students, teachers make sure that learning is taking place. Students must know the learning goals in order to achieve success. Teachers need to constantly make sure that students are learning what they need to know, learn,reflect,improve and to move on to next tasks. Knowing the students' abilities allows teachers to differentiate and instruct in order to relate to the needs of the students.

Challenges may include students feeling that they are not strong enough to be placed in the more advanced (might result in them feeling as though they're not good enough). On the other hand,students may feel over-confident if they are placed in a group with more advanced students and may not try hard to improve. There may also be outside factors that could be causing students to poorly perform. Teachers would definitely use placement and diagnostic assessment in the beginning of a course in order to identify student strengths and needs. Diagnostic assessment is important because it allows teachers to catch where students may be learning something the wrong way or falling behind in an area. This can help students from falling between the gaps. With this form of ongoing assessment, challenges may include students not remembering the learning goals and therefore not meeting the success criteria.

Formative Assessment...

Teachers use formative assessment throughout the learning in order to guide the next steps in their planning and help to modify lessons for students so that no one falls behind. Formative assessment takes time and requires constant observations and conferencing with students. They give students descriptive feedback in order for them to know what they need to work on and then improve on their skills includes auditions, challenges and seating assignments. Teachers also need to understand each student's abilities in order to properly place them within a program.

Discussion Post ( boards, blogs, chats ).

* Students in pair/group have conversation on various topics or summarize a discussion to promote interaction.

* Small groups can have a spokes-person who posts while other members respond to questions or comments to the rest of the class.

* Groups can chat or post discussion board with a goal of coming to a consensus for a problem or issue and present it to the rest of class through a blog, video and forum.

* Major topics need a separate  topic  area so students can post relevant to the topics while keeping learning objectives in mind when creating discussion topic.

* Teachers can create a new thread to post external sources to help students on their weaknesses/misunderstandings from previous assignment.

* Chats can be helpful when students need to avenue to ask and answer the questions to facilitate collaborative work. Teachers can also use chat as "office- hour" to interact in real time with the students.

Summative  Assessment...

Summative assessment is important so that students can display what they have learned throughout the course. They are necessary to determine what degree of the material students have learned. It also gives students a chance to demonstrate their knowledge on a particular unit. This type of assessment typically takes up a large portion of the student's mark in the class. If a student is having a difficult day or has some issues on the day that a summative assessment is taking place, it could negatively affect their final mark. Challenges may include the teacher not being able to have enough time to conference with each student in order to learn where they may be having difficulties.

I would consider using all four types of assessments mentioned above . I think that it is important for teachers to assess students throughout their learning in order to give them what they need to learn and improve.

Midterm/Final Exams.

* Teachers can use mechanism in learning system to increase academic integrity.

* Plan and reserve computer labs well in advance.

* Schedule the midterm or final exams time frame and timeline.

Projects.

* Stimulation, role playing, case studies, problem solving exercises group collaborative work, brainstorming, etc.. on various topics are included in the projects.

* For individual projects, participants in group projects receive peer feedback for a variety of view points. An online environment allows students and teachers to give and receive immediate feedback. 

* Students can pursue special interests,  write, create publish or present their findings and conclusions via websites, blogs, forums, discussion boards.

* Teachers need to provide evaluation forms for self-evaluation and peer - assessment.

Portofolios.

* Teachers can pre-determine what ought to be included in each portofolio.

* Teachers can also use rubrics to assess portofolios.

* Students can be creative in show-casting their learning and growth through combination of papers, audio/video or presentations.

* Peer reviews of portofolios can serve as an effective learning and assessment tool.

           Thank you !