Assessing Learning via Web 2.0 Technologies: A Dichotomy

Introduction

Before any learning can begin, instructors must determine what learners already know. Then, they can develop objectives, deliver instruction, and conclude if the objectives were met or not using assessment. This is true for all learning, both in andragogy and pedagogy. The fact educators claim that they know more about how children learn than about how adults learn is that pedagogy (the art and science of teaching children) preceded andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn, as defined by the father of adult education, Malcolm Knowles). There are many reasons why teachers need to know how learners, whether children or adults, learn. If teachers do not know how learners learn, how can we expect teachers to assess if learning is truly taking place? Black and William (1998) call this “the black box,” with most researchers studying inputs and outputs but not the process of learning. As most teachers know, assessment is no easy task. “Probably no other activity that takes place in education brings with it so many challenges,” stated Salvia and Ysseldyke (2001, p. 5) in their textbook on the topic. This is true in both andragogy and pedagogy.

Once learning is successfully assessed, teachers can identify the gap between learners’ present level of knowledge and the desired level. In other words, a gap is successfully identified so that teachers know exactly how to teach learners and what to help learners learn in order to close that gap. Without identifying that gap, instruction on the part of teachers will be aimless. Assessment is the foundation of all learning, whether formal or informal. In an informal context, learners may assess themselves and act accordingly; for example, a person who wants to fix a leaky faucet in his or her house might find a gap between the objective and his or her knowledge. The person would then seek to find ways to meet the objective, whether it is calling a plumber, going to a home improvement store to seek advice and necessary tools, or looking up the problem on a website. In the formal environment, assessment is often driven by the instructor, who often determines the time frame and type of assessment. However, all assessment has the same purpose.

In an online environment, designing effective assessments may be even more challenging for instructors. Learners may have different comfort and skill levels with the technology being utilized. For example, those learners with previous exposure to the course management platform or a particular software program may have an advantage over those who have never previously utilized it. In an assessment taking place in a face-to-face class, instructors may observe the physical environment where the assessment occurs and how long it takes the learners to complete. However, in an online class, the learner could be virtually anywhere in the world, if he or she has Internet access. Thus, the context in which the assessment takes place can be difficult to determine. All three of the previously mentioned factors must be considered in any type of assessment, whether online or face-to-face.