Electronic Assessment: An Inovative Method For School

Written by:

Endang Asrini Arifiati (1507042025)

There has been a recent trend that everything is associated with electronic, such as e-mail, e-banking, e-commerce, e-book and also e-learning. Nowadays, the schools pay attention more to the use of electronic in all educational aspect as part of the development of 21st century skills and competence. Teachers are now expected to provide their students with a variety of learning and assessment experiences. An assessment is essential for students to predict with any certainty what students will learn as the result of a particular sequence of classroom activities. Moreover, the teacher cannot teach well without finding out where the students are starting from, and how far they digest the material for certain time. 

Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development (Palomba and Banta, 1999). Ioannou-Georgiou (2003: 4) defined assessment as a general term which includes all methods used to gather information about childrens knowledge, ability, understanding, attitudes, and motivation. Meanwhile, Cameron (2001: 222) stated that assessment is concerned with pupils learning or performance, and thus provides one type of information that might be used in evaluation. Assessment involves the use of empirical data on student learning to refine programs and improve student learning (Allen, 2004).

As the term electronic is now being known in all areas, the idea of electronic assessment (e-assessment) comes into use in educational aspect. ICT technology that enable alternative assessment forms is called as e-assessment. E-assessment is an alternative method to assist students' learning and to determine the effectiveness of education system. In line with the previous definition, Stowell and Lamshed (2011: 3) e-assessment is the use of information technology for any assessment-related activity. It is the end-to-end electronic assessment processes where ICT is used for the presentation of assessment activity, and the recording of responses’(JISC, 2007). E-assessment, according to Crisp (2011: 5) involves the use of digital devices to assist in the construction, delivery, storage or reporting of student assessment tasks, responses, grades or feedback. 

E-assessment can be undertaken with many devices, such as traditional desktop computers or laptops, with portable communication devices such as smart mobile phones through the use of electronic gaming devices. E-assessment can use a multitude of formats, including text documents or portable document formats, multimedia formats such as sound, video or images; it can involve complex simulations or games; it can also be undertaken by students in groups or individually and it can occur with large numbers of students in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. 

E-assessment offers potential opportunities and advantages for teachers, students and institutions (Crisp, 2011: 7). This kind of assessment enables studets to monitor and correct their own learning. In term of efficiency, this assessment has timeliness, flexible delivery, automatic processing response, and effective storage results and grades. This is also effective as it provides immediate feedback, analysis of questions validity, and new question types. In relation to authenticity, e-assessment can access to people and resources, can be designed to stimulate real world and can set complex task. 

Unfortunately, many today's students have a higher level of technical skills than the teacher. They have access to do the assessment, they often misuse technology for cheating the teacher. Even though students are commonly have skills in the use of technology, the teachers should have the skill and knowledge to create an engaging and exciting learning opportunities and environment. Because plagiarism is prone to occur in this kind of assessment, the teacher needs to equip himself to technological skill and knowledge so that the assessment gains more benefits than weaknesses.

Bibliography

Cameron, Lynne. 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Ioannou-Georgiou, Sophie. 2003. Assessing Young Learners (Resource Books for Teachers). Oxford: OUP

JISC (2007). Effective practice of assessment. Retrieved on from http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/lid/lid_docs/Effective_Practice_in_Assessment.pdf. Accessed on January 10th, 2017

Crisp, Geoffrey. 2011. Teacher's Handbook on e-Assessment. Sydney NSW 2001. ISBN 978-0-642-78210-6 [PRINT] 978-0-642-78211-3 [PDF].

Rob Stowell and Reece Lamshed. 2011. E-assessment guidelines and case studies: Interim report. AEShareNet–FfE Licence. Retrieved from http://www.tda.edu.au/cb_pages/files/Interim%20report%20v12%20May%202011.pdf on on January 10th, 2017

Allan, M. 2004. Assessing academic programs in higher education. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc