Assessment - as a catalyst for innovation Grainne Conole, University of Southampton University of Edinburgh, 16 th April 2004

Outline Focus on –the impact of technology on assessment Considering –the key characteristics of ICT –associated pros and cons –reflection on CAA specifically –key research questions and issues

Focusing on the technology Characteristics of using technology –There are two sides to every story –Constantly changing environment –Offers new collaborations and discourses –Importance of user focussed –Impact on practice –Wider impact

The pros and cons of e-learning… The search for the holy grail –New forms of learning –Adaptive, flexible and mobile technologies –Smart technology adapted to your needs –Rich multimedia representation –Better and more tailored learning –Models of e-learning –Learning objects, reusability and learning design –A globally connected society

On the negative side… Lack of widespread uptake –Patchy use of communication tools –Learning environments as administrative tools and content repositories –Stilted collaborative experiences –Use of ICT not pedagogically informed –Information overload –Complex relationship between human processes and technology

On the positive side… Rich range of technologies to support learning - critical mass of resources and mediating tools Shift from individual to social situated learning Learning in context, in the company of others, through problem-solving, through dialogue, importance of communities of practice

Pros and cons of CAA Pros –Potential time savings –New pedagogical models –Repurposing year on year –Reflection on practice –Shared questionbanks –‘More objective’ Cons –Considered restricting –Time and effort –Difficult to measure higher order thinking –Security issues –Stress! –Tools still rudimentary

Two sides to every story Access to wealth of resourcesInformation overload, quality issues New forms of dialogueLiteracy skills issues New forms of communityLearner identity and confusion Speed of access, immediacyLack of permanency, surface Virtual representationsLack of reality, real is fake

Changing environment Technology offers new opportunities and access to new CAA resources and tools –How can these be quality assured –These may require new approaches and skills –What are the training implications –What is the relationship to the underpinning standards –What new models of assessment might be possible

Changing environment New tools for information seeking and handling –Management and bibliographic tools –Online searching –Quantitative statistical packages –Qualitative software for managing large projects –Reference management How does it effect –What we are assessing –How we are assessing

New forms of collaborations and discourse New forms of communication and collaboration –Cross disciplinary – science and social science –Convergence of technology and research communities –New communities of practice –New discourses Online interactive journals like JIME New forms of refereeing and dialogue EPrints and the future role of traditional publishers? How can the collaborative and distributed nature of ICT be harnessed in assessment?

Changing practice Students –Changing skills base Support needs employer expectations –Expectations access to resources equality of experience student ownership –Associated issues plagiarism, copyright monitoring, surveillance Academics –Research vs teaching conflicting demands increasingly collaborative need to link them –Roles and structures increasing skills gap shifting roles and structures lack of senior management understanding

Impact Changing organisations –structures, roles and processes –teaching, research and administration Specifics –students: impact on learning experience –practitioners: exploring the potential –support staff: developing reliable services –senior management: integrating strategies

Questions for reflection What new forms of assessment might arise as a result of the impact of technologies? Can technologies enable new forms of pedagogy? What new forms of literacy are emerging? How can technologies be effectively integrated? How might the technologies support distributed- knowledge networks? In what ways might the new technologies offer new models of distributed cognition? What is the role of policy in all of this?