E-ASSESSMENT IN AN

ONLINE

ENVIRONMENT

E-merge seminar part I, June 2017

The macro environment

Affordances

International interest in online and blended forms

of learning and teaching

Increasing flexibility of provision

The Open Education movement

Growing offerings in the field of educational

technologies

Increased interest in and uptake of online

educational offerings – in both teaching and

learning

The macro environment

Affordances (continued)

HE policy and strategy increasingly supports online provision

The appetites for and affordances of MOOCs

International research on learning theory and in social learning

Huge universal opportunities for learning networks

Policy and strategy for e-assessment

International theory and research on assessment practice

The macro environment

Challenges

Massive inequalities in access and uptake of

resources and online practices

Dangers of uncritical engagement in online

learning environment

Unregulated competition for resources and ’the

market’

Technological determinism

Infrastructural and expertise challenges

Uncritical engagement in learning theory and

contexts

The macro environment

Challenges (continued)

Little understanding of the differences between

face-to-face and online learning

‘Open season’ on the offering of HE provision:

policy, learning analytics, curriculum, assessment,

student support, etc. (the ‘unbundling’ process:

http://unbundleduni.com)

The meso environment

Affordances

Institutional ‘buy-in’ and support through policy

and strategy

Well-developed assessment systems and policies

In some cases, well-developed educational

technology practices and processes

Increasingly blended forms of provision

Increasing engagement with online and blended

forms of assessment

The meso environment

Challenges

Poor infrastructure and policy/strategic support

Inequalities in provision/support

Poor understanding of learning and assessment

theory and practices

Poor understanding of different forms and

purposes of assessment (e.g. the formative-

summative continuum)

Poor understanding of students and student

agency

The perceived ‘value’ of assessment

The micro environment

Affordances

The ubiquitousness of online environments

Student familiarity with technology, networked and

social learning spaces, social media, mobile

technologies

Possibilities for recording of assessment practices

and processes

Peer-peer/student-lecturer/self-assessment

The micro environment

Challenges

Various inequalities in these micro environments

Uncritical adoption of online/blended provision

and assessment practices

The literacies challenges in Higher Education

Student agency and access issues

The ‘tips and tricks’ approach (compared with

reflective practice)

Problematic understandings of assessment

practices