Abstract
The chapter explains the basic definition and objective of e-assessment. Advantages and disadvantages of the e-assessment process are briefed. There are various techniques used for accessing online in an e-learning environment. Some of the techniques are explained with examples. To perform e-assessment using these techniques, there are tools available. Some of the tools are developed by individual organizations for their own purpose while others are public platforms which can be used by anyone. Most of the learning management systems (LMS) use e-assessment tools. This chapter focuses primarily on the e-assessment tools of various types used in education domain. Various techniques of e-assessment used by these tools are explained like MCQs, essay type questions, e-portfolios, discussion forums, blogs, wikis, etc. Tools specific to programming languages are explained in detail. Further, tools related to problems of mathematics are explained. There are various tools for peer-assessment. A detailed study of those tools is presented.
TopTypes Of Assessments
Formative assessment, summative assessment and diagnostic assessment or self-assessments are three types of assessment which are commonly used to evaluate one’s skills and abilities (Brown et al, 2003).
Diagnostic Assessment is the assessment of the student’s strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and skills beforehand, so as to prepare the teaching pattern and provides a base to keep track of the learning progress throughout the course. It helps the instructor to remediate candidates and transform the curriculum in order to meet each learner’s unique needs.
Formative Assessment is an assessment in which constructive feedbacks are provided to a student regarding his/her knowledge and skills. Students use this assessment voluntarily to test their knowledge and to improve their performance as it does not affect their final assessment.
Key Terms in this Chapter
E-Assessment: It refers to the use of information technology in innumerable ways to assess the performance and measure student learning. The notion of e-assessment was presented to overcome all the inadequacies of traditional pen and paper assessment modes.
E-Portfolios: An e-portfolio is a beneficial assessment tool to assess efforts of individuals, groups, or institutions. An e-portfolio can reflect the students' learning process and progress. Development, assessment, and showcase are the three types of e-portfolios readily used.
Collaborative Learning: It is an educational approach in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. It can occur peer-to-peer or in larger groups. Discussion forums, blogs, or wikis can be used for this.
Dynamic Analysis: Under this approach, a program is executed with many different test cases and then the output obtained is compared with the anticipated output. If they are same, then the program is considered to be correct.
Peer Assessment: Often used as a learning tool, peer assessment gives students feedback on the quality of their work, often with ideas and strategies for improvement. At the same time, evaluating peers work can enhance the evaluators’ own learning and self-confidence.
Learning/Content Management Systems: An LCMS is a system aimed to build and manage teaching materials for amalgamated learning (distance or classroom-based). It is first and foremost a space used to centralize learning content, rendering it easy to search, identify and reuse at any time, whatever the training needs. E-assessment is an integral part of every LCMS.
E-Assessment Tools: These refer to the tools using which a student can be assessed. They may vary from simple MCQs to complex programming assignments tools.
Static Analysis: It is examining the source code of the program without executing it. Programming style analysis, semantic errors detection, software metrics analysis, and keyword analysis are the various techniques which are used to implement it.