Assessment in e-learning, while having many advantages, is not without its challenges for both teachers and learners. There are challenges for the learner writing the assignment/doing the activity, and the teacher who is designing and creating assessments for virtual environments.
According to Sluijsmans and Martens (2004; as cited in Jochems, Merriënboer and Koper, 2004) "assessment is the weak link in e-learning systems" (p.39). They state that appropriate performance assessment in e-learning is very difficult to design.
Mathur and Murray (2006, as cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006) state that sometimes the technology for online asyhcronous environments creates limitations when participants' are trying to communicate effectively with each other. A number of other elements need to be considered in order to do create effective communication (Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006, p.246):
social context cues (Sproull & Kessler, 1986; as cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006)
social presence and immediacy (Short, Williams, & Christie, 1976; as cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006)
ability to check perceptions
ability to clarify understanding
As well as limitation by technology, there are a number of other factors that may be challenging when regarding assessment in e-learning, such as:
issues of validity and realiability (Mathur and Murray, 2006; cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006; Cowan, 2006)
low participation levels (Thorpe, 1998)
providing high quality feedback to all students
time-management for students
designing assessment for e-learning/online environments
The issue of validity and reliability is very real in the context of e-learning; there are far more opportunities for learners in an online environment to get unauthorized outside help than in a traditional classroom. This creates a great challenge for educators in keeping track and ensuring that the work presented is the work of the student.
Another challenge for assessment in e-learning is, as Mason (1994; as cited in Thorpe 1998) points out, the problem of low participation levels amongst learners. Students usually fall into three groups, split almost equally: a group whose members are often online and dominate the discussion, the middle group who are online every now and then and use the system in moderation, and those who do not participate directly but may be lurking somewhere in the background (Thorpe 1998). When being assessed online, student's may also change their opinion if they know they are being graded. One great thing about online discussions are that students can write their opinions, and reply to their peers; the more minds that are thinking, discussing and collaborating together the better. But do assessed discussions encourage or discourage the participation among learners? Perhaps some learners are more shy than others, or intimidated by the 'academic' postings their peers made and end up over-thinking their responses; while others are completely comfortable and do not pay too much attention to the fact that what they are writing is being assessed. This is looked at briefly in Why focus on Assessment?.
Kirkwood (2009) discusses the challenge of designing e-learning to align with assessment requirements."If we want students to engage with a course to develop their knowledge and understanding rather than to memorize and reproduce facts, the manner in which the course is assessed must reflect that purpose" (Kirkwood, 2009, p.116). From this, Kirkwood (2009) puts forward two teaching approaches; one design focuses on determining content whereas the other focuses on the learning goals of the student. The two approaches are illustrated in Table 1 below and can be found on page 116 (Kirkwood, 2009).
Table 1. Two contrasting sequences of course design for e-learning.
Teaching Approach A
Teaching Approach B
Determine the content (knowledge skills, etc.)
and how it will be taught - including selection
of media
Produce teaching materials and
resources, exploiting the media
available
Construct assessment items to test/
sample students' understanding
Determine what learners are expected to achieve(knowledge, skills, etc.) from taking course and how that can be demonstrated
Design teaching with appropriate media to enable learners to achieve those outcomes
Assess that teaching and learning have been successful
Kirkwood (2009) emphasizes that e-learning activities should be centered around desired outcomes which links in with the idea of learning moving toward learner-centered rather than teacher-centered learning (to read about this refer back to Traditional Classroom vs Virtual Classroom).
Challenges for Assessment in e-Learning
Assessment in e-learning, while having many advantages, is not without its challenges for both teachers and learners. There are challenges for the learner writing the assignment/doing the activity, and the teacher who is designing and creating assessments for virtual environments.
According to Sluijsmans and Martens (2004; as cited in Jochems, Merriënboer and Koper, 2004) "assessment is the weak link in e-learning systems" (p.39). They state that appropriate performance assessment in e-learning is very difficult to design.
Mathur and Murray (2006, as cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006) state that sometimes the technology for online asyhcronous environments creates limitations when participants' are trying to communicate effectively with each other. A number of other elements need to be considered in order to do create effective communication (Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006, p.246):As well as limitation by technology, there are a number of other factors that may be challenging when regarding assessment in e-learning, such as:
- issues of validity and realiability (Mathur and Murray, 2006; cited in Williams, Howell & Hricko, 2006; Cowan, 2006)
- low participation levels (Thorpe, 1998)
- providing high quality feedback to all students
- time-management for students
- designing assessment for e-learning/online environments
The issue of validity and reliability is very real in the context of e-learning; there are far more opportunities for learners in an online environment to get unauthorized outside help than in a traditional classroom. This creates a great challenge for educators in keeping track and ensuring that the work presented is the work of the student.Another challenge for assessment in e-learning is, as Mason (1994; as cited in Thorpe 1998) points out, the problem of low participation levels amongst learners. Students usually fall into three groups, split almost equally: a group whose members are often online and dominate the discussion, the middle group who are online every now and then and use the system in moderation, and those who do not participate directly but may be lurking somewhere in the background (Thorpe 1998). When being assessed online, student's may also change their opinion if they know they are being graded. One great thing about online discussions are that students can write their opinions, and reply to their peers; the more minds that are thinking, discussing and collaborating together the better. But do assessed discussions encourage or discourage the participation among learners? Perhaps some learners are more shy than others, or intimidated by the 'academic' postings their peers made and end up over-thinking their responses; while others are completely comfortable and do not pay too much attention to the fact that what they are writing is being assessed. This is looked at briefly in Why focus on Assessment?.
Kirkwood (2009) discusses the challenge of designing e-learning to align with assessment requirements."If we want students to engage with a course to develop their knowledge and understanding rather than to memorize and reproduce facts, the manner in which the course is assessed must reflect that purpose" (Kirkwood, 2009, p.116). From this, Kirkwood (2009) puts forward two teaching approaches; one design focuses on determining content whereas the other focuses on the learning goals of the student.
The two approaches are illustrated in Table 1 below and can be found on page 116 (Kirkwood, 2009).
Table 1. Two contrasting sequences of course design for e-learning.
and how it will be taught - including selection
of media
Produce teaching materials and
resources, exploiting the media
available
Construct assessment items to test/
sample students' understanding
to achieve(knowledge, skills, etc.)
from taking course and how that can
be demonstrated
Design teaching with appropriate
media to enable learners to achieve
those outcomes
Assess that teaching and learning
have been successful
Kirkwood (2009) emphasizes that e-learning activities should be centered around desired outcomes which links in with the idea of learning moving toward learner-centered rather than teacher-centered learning (to read about this refer back to Traditional Classroom vs Virtual Classroom).