Assessment In A Digital Age a rationale for technology enhanced academic study

Together we will consider: Assessment using Technology This session will cover the: Potential Challenges Risks Of Technology Enhanced Assessment (TEA)

Technology Enhanced Assessment (TEA) The use of any digital technology for the purpose of enhancing formal or informal educational assessment for formative or summative purposes. Timmis, et al (2016) Think of a time you have experienced TEA? Discuss for 5 minutes in your groups and be ready to feedback. Activity

Share your experiences Using your web browser: PollEv.com/karenmcerlea678 Or Text: KARENMCERLEA678 to 02033 225822

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You have just experienced technology enhanced assessment What did you think??

What is the purpose of assessment? Is it to support learning or….. …measure achievement?

According to Timmis et al(2016), assessment should be to support learning. In reality however, assessment often serves the purpose of reporting summative judgements of student performance. Increasingly across the whole education system assessment is used as a tool to influence policies. Encouraging greater competition.

Assessment Curriculum aspirations In highly competitive situations, assessment is often lacking in imagination in its approach. An example: According to Timmis et al (2016) curriculum design needs to foster: Creativity Problem solving Adaptability Resilience Resourcefulness As the above are competencies ‘essential for success in future society’ (p457)

Is assessment a fundamental part of the learning process? ‘Assessment sits at the heart of the learning process’ (Timmis et al, 2016,p454) ‘Assessment lies at the heart of the learning experience’ (Davies, 2010, online) What are your thoughts on this example of technology enhanced assessment practices?

Assessment in Higher Education According to Sally Brown (2011),’Most universities use three dominant assessment methods: unseen, time-constrained exams, reports and essays’(p131). Brown (2011) points out, adapting diverse approaches to assessment methods can benefit all students. An over-use of methods, such as the ones above results in the same students are and will be disadvantaged time and time again. Alternatively, offering a mix of assessment methods; for example oral presentations, essay writing, problem solving activities and group work, all students can have the opportunity to excel.

Increased participation in: - Online environments - Social networking Potentials Increased participation in: - Online environments - Social networking Offer new opportunities for: - Communicating - Experiential learning - Assessment

Potentials continued… Digitally mediated cultures are now taking part in learning outside the classroom. Formal education should be keen to incorporate these participatory and collaborative roles that young learners engage in (Facer, 2012) Informally, learners will choose to share creations. This leads to increased levels of authorship, autonomy, collaboration and choice. Could assessment methods encourage and utilise the new practices learners are engaged in using technology?

Challenges There appears to be a common conception, assessment methods widely used in education to be fair, transparent and efficient (James,2014). Timmis et al (2016) argue that this ‘uncritical acceptance’ (p457) of assessment in its current form is hindering the development of new assessment methods. Moreover, if we accept that learning habits have changed due to increased use of technology, should not assessment methods too. Although usually in Higher Education (HE) the methods of assessment are managed adequatly (Brown, 2011) the purposes and practices however, are less well thought-through. Too often HE relies on ‘tried and tested’ (p129) approaches, which in reality are neither. Three considerations when designing assessment methods: What constitutes effective feedback? How can the assessment processes within a curriculum align to the learning aspirations? How can/does technology enhance assessment? Timmis et al (2016)

Potential or Challenge? The rapid expansion of media available to use in recent years includes Video Audio Haptics (touch) Allows for assessment to document students achievements in various ways: E portfolios – individual creations using multi-modal artefacts Virtual worlds – using gaming to solve problems Simulations – learning through undertaking specific tasks

Potentials Crowd sourcing and decision making opportunities in assessment Social affordances of digital technology Social media Blogs Wikis Electronic voting systems Widely adopted in Higher Education as it provides immediate visual feedback. Crowd sourcing of grades This offers the potential for increased control over what is assessed for learners.

Potentials Personalised assessment. The time, location and length can be altered to suit particular groups of learners. For example: Work based learners Part time students Flexibility. Mobile devices can allow for assessment to take place in multiple locations. TEA can allow a link between formative and summative assessment. This makes the assessment process more ‘adaptive, incremental and sustained’ (Timmis et al, p461), linking assessment to the teaching and learning. Constructive Alignment (Biggs, ??)

Potential Collaborative assessment practices can be supported by the use of digital technology. For example: Co-evaluation Peer to peer assessment Peer to peer sharing of data This collaborative construction of knowledge can take place through social interactions. Using digital technology facilitates collaboration across different contexts. Problem solving can be enhanced and is more in line with what takes place in real life problem solving.

Simulation for problem solving – assess complex problem types Examples of TEA Role playing Simulation for problem solving – assess complex problem types Game based immersive learning environments The above use technology to create situations that may be dangerous and recreate hypothetical scenarios are almost impossible to create in the classroom. Moreover, evidence suggests that using the medium of a game for assessment purposes increases both student achievement and engagement. According to Timmis et al (2016) In reality these assessment techniques are rare and too often much simpler formats are used to assess factual retrieval. Could TEA be more powerful than this? https://www.google.co.uk/edu/expeditions/#how-it-works Discuss this example

Potential Peer to Peer Feedback – via online discussion tools, social media and blogs ‘Stealth Feedback’ – where feedback is integrated into learning activities. Incremental feedback allows for learning to be tracked. For example: PollEv as we have seen today. Blogging or discussions using social media These are all forms of formative assessment and ways of ‘tracking learning’(Timmis et al, 2016, p462)

Challenges Implementing TEA When designing digital enhanced assessment the role of assessment is often ignored or at best not enough of a focus (Timmis et al, 2016) this can inhibit the learning potential. In simulation often cost is an issue. Discuss.. The perception that collaborative or peer assessments may not always be ‘fair and equitable’(p464). This perception is according to Timmis et al, a significant barrier to the development of more creative forms of collaborative assessment. I would argue that in HE Individual performance is the common way to assess. However, If collaboration is a key skill then how can evidence of progress be recorded if the summative assessments methods are individually designed tasks.

Time to be assessed again… In your groups or individually, answer the following question….

https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/nNS8dfZZ6ZxkBvd

Risks with TEA Ethical Issues – Data protection, who owns the data and controls the information. How should the data be used, collected and stored? Making and producing media online. Social Issues – ‘the participation gap’. Discuss The Participation Gap in small groups (see Timmis et al, page 466)

To Conclude In the future universities will need to be less concerned about content delivery as a result of students ubiquitous access to diverse information (Brown, 2011). Higher Education will be forced to focus closely on recognising and valuing the learning that now takes place in a variety of spaces (Brown, 2011). Higher Education can support students to engage with learning through improving assessment methods. Perhaps one way to enhance assessment would be to link pedagogy to reflect the various ways students incorporate digital technology into learning practices and offering a variety of assessment tasks that allow students to express their own strengths in various ways.

References: Sally Brown. (2011) ‘First class: how assessment can enhance student learning’ P129-132. In: BLUE SKIES New thinking about the future of higher education (2014). UK edition. Pearson PLC London. Available at: http://pearsonblueskies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4136.BlueSkies_A5_Web.pdf Davies, S. (2010) ‘Jisc: Effective Assessment in a Digital Age’. Bristol. HEFCE Facer, K. (2011) ‘Learning futures: Education, technology and social change’. Oxon. Routledge James, D. (2014) Investigating the curriculum through assessment practice in higher education: The value of a ‘learning cultures’ approach, Higher Education, Vol.67, No 2, pp. 155–169. Timmis, Broadfield, Sutherland and Oldfield. (2016) ‘Rethinking Assessment in a Digital Age’ British Educational Research Journal. Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 454–476