Electronic assessment can be defined as an assessment that is conducted via electronic platforms such as computers, tablets and alike. This form of assessment can also be refered to as digital assessment, e-assessment, online assessment. All of these forms of assessment are linked to the use of some form of information technology in order for the assessment to be administered and completed. The internet is an ever-evolving platform for sourcing valuable information and is used to create and explore different areas that are required for learning. In this way, it is a prominent component of our assessment tools and strategies in learning.
Cook & Jenkins (2010) gives us a clear understanding of the three types of assessment that is used in the e-online learning environment.
- Diagnostic assessment – These may be used at the start of a training / education course of study to determine if there is any pre-learning required before starting. These assessments provide a great deal of benefit to educators and students. In completing diagnostic assessments educators gain valuable information about the knowledge, skills, learning style, and level-of-understanding of each individual student before teaching begins. This should give students confidence in commencing and completing course.
- Formative assessment – Formative assessments provide an excellent learning opportunity for students. They indicate whether learning has been successful or not, and if there is any further teaching or learning required prior to progressing in the course of study. Both students and educators can benefit greatly from these assessments. For students, it will indicate that they understand the content being delivered and have the ability to complete assessments based on learned material. For educators, it provides an opportunity to ensure the learning materials are accurately reflecting what should be in their assessments.
- Summative assessment – We are all familiar with summative assessment. It is quite commonly referred to as the final assessment in any course of study. It will determine if students have achieved course competency. Technology can be useful for completing summative assessment for people who might be anxious about sitting pen-and-paper assessments.
Regardless of the type of assessment, they need to be designed with learning outcoms at the fore front and require some imagination of how the the educator and the learner will be engaged and stimulated when they approach and commence the assessment journey. Dr Melissa Kaulbach and Dr Jeei Nowakowski have a few suggestions that will assist us in the design of e-learning assessments in the below video (Kaulbach & Nowakowski, 2014).
Newton (2007) supports the argument of the purpose of the above assessments by challenging the distinction between the formative and summative assessment and what the results of those assessments are used for. All assessments should be used as learning tools as well as an indication of competence. Technology provides flexible learning to achieve competency but there still remains a large divide between online competency testing and face-to-face competency testing. In this way, skills acquired through digital learning are not always directly transferable to the workplace. This is the challenge we will continue to face in the electronic arena.
References
Cook, J., & Jenkins, V. (2010). Getting started with e-assessment. University of Bath, Bath.
Kaulbach, M., & Nowakowski, J. [Ed Tech Du Jour]. (2014, April 04). Effective assessments in online courses. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1eSbJ9wC2s&feature=emb_title
Newton, P. E. (2007). Clarifying the purposes of educational assessment. Assessment in education, 14(2), 149-170.