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Effective Assessment in a Digital Age

Course Summary

To transform learning and teaching, we must start by transforming assessment, feedback and reporting. (Kathleen Donohoe)

Assessment is universally recognized as one of the most important and powerful elements of an educational experience. Assessment lies at the heart of the learning experience.

How learners are assessed shapes their understanding of the curriculum and determines their ability to progress. Current assessment methods, especially the heavy emphasis on summative assessment, are often described as outdated and ineffective.

Digital technology offers much potential in creating opportunities for innovation and for rethinking assessment purposes and they can help transform education and specific assessment. Digital tools and new teaching methods can offer more personalised, instantaneous and engaging assessment experiences.

This course is intended for teachers and professional associates of pre-primary, primary and secondary schools, principals and other school staff who want to learn and understand how to realize a new vision for assessment that includes the use and development of technology. 

Course Detailed Description

Technology-enhanced assessment (TEA) can play a key role in meeting the needs formed by digital society in the context of educational systems.

 

A technology-enhanced assessment often provides increased accommodations for students with different backgrounds using new technological aids. At the same time, technology-enhanced assessment incorporates far more than computer-based assessment, incorporating opportunities for summative and formative assessment, valuable, continuous feedback loops and immersive experiences, all integrated to create a deep learning experience.

 

Digital tools facilitate assessment in the context of innovative learning environments with new possibilities ranging from simple web-based tests for self-assessment to group work assessment.

 

The main goal is to understand how digital technologies can support educational changes in the area of assessment.

 

Other course goals are to:

  • find out what contribution technology can make to ensure that assessment and feedback processes are agile, streamlined and capable of promoting high-quality learning

  • use digital assessment tools and resources for summative and formative assessment

  • efficiently and easily choose and evaluate appropriate digital assessment tools following the guidelines

  • promote collaborative learning, for teachers and students

  • promote equity and accessibility through meeting accessibility compliance and universal design across the platform and assessment activities, for all users - including capabilities for text or image-based tasks and an array of options for providing feedback

  • reflect on how technology-enabled practice, grounded in principles of good assessment and feedback, might enhance the quality of assessment and feedback in your own institution

  • promote inclusion for learners with different learning needs

 

Topics:

assessment, digital tools, formative assessment, summative assessment, ICT, inclusion, technology-enhanced assessment (TEA)

COURSE SCHEDULE (Day by day):

Day 1​

  • Introduction to the course

  • Course outline

  • Ice-breaking activities

  • Presentation of participating organisations

  • Exchanging good practices in assessment

  • Identification of needs and goals for each participant

  • Guided city tour

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Day 2

  • Assessment in education – importance and purpose

  • Case Studies of assessment

  • Formative and summative assessment

  • Principles of effective formative assessment and qualitative feedback

  • Assessment for inclusion

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Day 3

  • Understanding different types of assessment

  • Assessment for Learning (AfL)

  • AfL activities

  • Assessment as Learning (AaL)

  • Designing and using efficient checklists or rubrics


Day 4

  • Effective use of technology in assessment

  • What technology offers in the area of assessment

  • Designing effective assessment and feedback in a digital age

  • Digital assessment tools

  • Preparation for the Course Project (steps for preparing lesson plan)


Day 5

  • Assessment wrap up

  • Course Project – designing lesson plans with different formative and summative assessments and AfL and AaL techniques

  • Final activities – presentation of the lesson plan

  • Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, discussion


Day 6 

  • Course evaluation

  • Certificate awarding 

  • Excursion and other external cultural activities

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Note: The program will be dynamic and interactive. The schedule may change based on the issues posed by the participants and the real resolution processes in which we engage. Excursion plans for any given course may also affect the agenda.

Course outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • improve assessment practices and assessment strategies

  • review some assessment basics – formative and summative assessment

  • deepen their understanding of key assessment concepts 

  • get to know about Assessment for Learning (AfL) and Assessment as Learning (AaL)

  • use effective digital tools to support assessment in a digital age

  • support inclusion in the assessment process

  • design lesson plans with different formative and summative assessment techniques

  • analyse and evaluate the lesson plans

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