E-assessment and e-portfolios

1. E-assessment and e-portfolios Bernie Zakary

2. What comes to mind? Coursework Driving test Key skills Folders Shading in boxes (OCR) Multiple choice NVQs amazon.co.uk First Direct

3. So what is happening, and why? Key skills (test component) Drivers: • External assessment to ‘give validity’ to the judgements based on the portfolio • Manageability: thousands of candidates Solution: • MCQs and OCR (optical character recognition) • “computer marked”

4. Moving on with the key skills tests Drivers: • When ready testing, in work based contexts • Near-immediate feedback • ICT as a Skill for Life • Growing pressure for e-assessment Solution: • On-screen pilots (3000+ candidates) • Use of ‘test paper banks’

5. E-Portfolios - NVQs Drivers: • Competence based assessment • Varied forms of evidence • Cross-referencing: the same piece of evidence meeting more than one need Solution: “OCR is committed to the use of e-portfolios and is keen to support their use across a variety of NVQs” (http://www.ocr.org.uk/OCR/WebSite/Data/Publication/E-Assessment%20Materials/Getting_st13989.pdf)

6. Guidance to NVQ centres on e-portfolios “We are happy for these users to continue in whatever format is appropriate and convenient for the centre and its candidates, providing they can be verified by our external verifier team.” • ACCESSIBILITY • CROSS REFERENCING • CANDIDATE PROGRESS • AUDIT TRAIL • SECURITY • USER FRIENDLY It is essential that the e-portfolio product is able to accommodate a range of file types. Audio and video evidence provide a 'real life' assessment opportunity. Digital pictures and scanned images as well as the standard Word or Excel files should also be accommodated giving candidates many more opportunities to provide and present evidence. The product must be 'fit for purpose'.

7. The amazon effect • Personalised web sites/services • Products for you • Recommendations • Prompts you to re-sell what you have bought • Text alerts • Email alerts • 24/7

8. E-portfolios: the policy framework • Towards a unified e-learning strategy (DfES 2004) • Individualised learning joined up across different sectors, organisations and learning environments, achieved through the universal provision of an e-portfolio which will allow both summative assessment and information about personal aspirations and interests to be owned by the learner • QCA’s Blueprint for e-assessment (QCA 2004) • Within 5 years all awarding bodies should be set up to accept and assess e-portfolios • 14-19 White Paper Education and Skills (DfES 2005) • “support and promote the Europass which provides a standardised portfolio of documents for learners to use to record their qualifications and competences…” • In vocational qualifications, to minimise pressure (assessment burden) • Higher Education in the Learning Society (NCIHE 1997) • “A transcript recording student achievement which follow a common format…” • Careers Wales • 5 MB e-portfolio available to every Welsh citizen to support learning and career development

9. E-assessment and policy • 14-19 White Paper education and Skills (DfES 2005) In vocational and occupational qualifications, QCA are already seeking ways to reduce the burden of assessment. In particular, they are exploring a range of different forms of moderation of practical assessments, including the use of e-portfolios, which should minimise pressure on students, teachers and trainers. And in the medium term: • Reduce assessment burden • When ready assessment • Faster, more accurate feedback • Aspirational: on line • E-strategy (DfES 2005) It is crucial that we fully examine the potential for technology to modernise the curriculum and its assessment. ICT supports assessment playing a more formative role – assessment for learning, not just for judging. And we want to see pilots of a wide range of applications of e-assessment: immediate feedback to learners and teachers, online tests, personalised diagnostics, online assessment and accreditation of e-skills, and inclusion of e-skills in the assessment of all curriculum topics.

10. Some motives for using e-assessment are: • avoiding meltdown of paper-based assessment • assessing valuable life skills • aligning the curriculum and assessment • providing on-demand testing • accommodating student progress at different rates • provision of adaptive testing • better immediate feedback • motivational gains • better exemplification for students and teachers • better ‘system’ feedback (performance of test items) • faster information for higher education • lower costs in some areas

11. E-portfolios: examples of content (from FD Learning) Coursework Ranging from brief notes to extensive assignments. May be in any medium, for example, text, images, sound, video. May be school homework examples, college assignments, for example. Assessment work May include diagnostic, formative and summative assessments. Other pieces of work or “artefacts” For example, presentations, job or course applications, CVs. Achievement of individual learning outcomes May be formally or informally recorded. Aggregated records of achievement, accreditation and credit towards awards. Qualifications, awards (and credits towards awards), certificates, completion of courses.

12. Evidence for assessment Including evidence for assessment of prior learning. Planning and reflection Journal entries, learning agreements, personal development plans, individual learning plans. Notes and annotations on other entries Formal or informal: made by the learner, or by teachers, mentors. Including verification of entries. Skills and competencies Taken from to a particular framework, for example, for a job, or informally recorded. Outcomes of appraisals, interviews, etc. With tutor, employer, for example. Self-assessments and appraisals. Peer-assessments and appraisals Links between entries Pieces of work contributing to an award: planning to achieve particular skills, etc. Entries shared with peers e-Portfolios can support peer group learning, with shared assignments, and commentary on each other’s

13. E-portfolios in other contexts-lifelong learning • Dr Helen Barrett, University of Alaska • Creative writing • Lifelong learning • Uses Adobe Acrobat • “My hard drive is really my working portfolio. Once a year I “mine” my hard drive for those “gems” that I want to include in my artifacts files” • Adding “reflections” • “Reflections turn artifacts into evidence of achievement”

14. Dr. Helen Barrett http://electronicportfolios.org

15. Creating your own e-portfolio system…(for an institution) • Can buy systems • www.envq.co.uk • www.paperfree.co.uk • www.profile.uk.com/professional.html/ • Go open source • www.theospi.org (University of Minnesota) • Requires a webserver (Apache, Microsoft IIS) • Requires a servlet engine (Tomcat) • Requires Java and a relational database (mysql) (Requires someone who knows what they are doing )

16. Creating your own e-assessment resources • Questionmark Perception is a standards based assessment development and administration tool and can be used to deliver assessment over the web • over 15 question authoring tools, including drag-and-drop, multiple choice and response, text response, numeric questions, support for Macromedia Flash based activities, matching and ranking exercises • Hot Potatoes™ • can be used to create six types of interactive assessments: multiple choices, short text answers, jumbled sentences, crosswords, matching and fill in the gaps • available free to non-profit educational organisations that are willing to publish their material on the internet for public access • E-assessment by Shakeel Suleman, www.ferl.becta.org.uk

17. Priority for Becta: • Working with the JISC to deliver the e-strategy • Advisory role • To strategic partners • To communities of practice • ‘Insight’ role • The use of ICT in formative assessment

18. Thank you. Bernie Zakary Head of pedagogical frameworks British Educational Communications and Technology Agency bernie.zakary@becta.org.uk