SQA’s digital ambitions CIT-eA Workshop One, City of Glasgow College, Friday 5 September 2014 Martyn Ware Head of Assessment Development and Delivery

SQA’s strategic commitment ‘We are continuing to develop progressive approaches to qualification development, assessment practice, and service delivery by using innovation and technology.’ From SQA Corporate Plan 2013 – 16

SQA’s ambitions for assessment  Stronger links between learning and assessment  Greater focus on skills  Greater flexibility: on-line, on-demand, at-a- distance  Importance of recognition of learning  Cost effectiveness and efficiency  Relevance for learners

E-assessment is…. ‘….the use of electronic media within the assessment process.’ focus in particular on those aspects experienced by learners e.g. on-screen assessments and e-portfolios

Contribution of e-assessment Engagement & motivation Flexibility Consistency with experience of learning Linking formative & summative assessment Learners’ taking more control of own learning Automatic marking & immediate feedback Enhanced quality assurance Opportunities to assess new things

Current e-assessment approaches

On-screen assessment - SOLAR  Formative and summative  Available at no extra cost  Growing range of qualifications supported  Further developments in response to demand 

Other e-assessment approaches  SQA requirements for e-portfolios SQA requirements for e-portfolios  Social software for assessment  Games-based assessment  Providing advice and guidance  Working collaboratively 

Social software for assessment - CLASS Piloted in 2007 and used every year since Based on Moodle environment Wiki - collaborative working,– show each candidate’s contribution & how group interacts Learner blogs - reflections on process & outputs of group as a whole Designed to be flexible, engaging & relevant to learners

CLASS – feedback from users Learner "I used to make entries on the wiki from home. This was great for me because I was able to do work on my project after I'd got my kids to bed. Sometimes I was putting stuff on the wiki after midnight but this suited me.“ Tutor "This is a great way of working and it is so easy to check what the students are doing and give them encouragement and feedback."

CLASS – Assessors’ views Assessors "I was very sceptical about the online project from the beginning. I was involved in marking the project in 2009 and I was completely won over. It was so simple to see what each candidate had done.” "It was so much quicker to mark the students' work using CLASS. Not only was it quicker, it was also much more accurate and I have total confidence in the marks awarded to individuals."

Colleges’ eAssessment Group -Aimed at co-ordinating activity and support for colleges -Two colleges and key agencies including Jisc RSC, CDN, Education Scotland, SDS, Stirling University and NUS and sparqs for learner voice -e-portfolio sub-group -Outputs to benefit all colleges -Project originated with and supported by CeAG

What’s next…..

Electronic evidence  Evidence increasingly captured electronically by centres  Includes but not restricted to e-portfolios  We need to be able to receive and QA also electronically  Can enhance validity of assessment and streamline processes  Move to electronic evidence as default  Potential for link with CIT-eA activity

Around the corner….  Hand held devices, wireless and the cloud  MOOCs  Open Badges  Open Educational Resources  Big data

Conclusion  SQA has strategic commitment to e- assessment  Our approach is based on working collaboratively with colleges  CIT-eA is a great opportunity to further develop our approaches and understanding

Thank you – and good luck!