here for a test of flexibility
Traditional exams may no longer be the best way to establish what a student has learnt. Online assessment not only evaluates what students know, it can develop their understanding, says Harriet Swain. Online assessment is: a) a chance for hopeless students to get a right answer; b) a way for lecturers to avoid any direct contact with students; or c) a valuable learning tool. The answer is “c”, argues Gilly Salmon, professor of e-learning and learning technologies at Leicester University. She says assessment should reflect the skills students have learnt, which nowadays have more to do with using online resources than sitting down for three hours with a pen and paper, as most exams still demand. But this means a radical rethink. The benefits of online assessment are the same as those of online learning – flexibility and re-usability, not concepts usually associated with exams.
