I have been using e-assessment in my work for 20 years and have chaired a number of Open University modules (starting with S151 Maths for Science) which use interactive computer-marked assignments. When the Open University’s Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) came along in 2005 I was lucky to have teaching fellowships from both COLMSCT (the Centre for Open Learning of Mathematics, Science, Computing and Technology) and piCETL (the Physics Innovations Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning), primarily for work in e-assessment. My first COLMSCT project investigated the use of short-answer free-text questions and my second was a more general investigation into the ways in which students use e-assessment. Nowadays we would call that learning analytics or assessment analytics…
The CETLs have ended now. They have achieved a great deal but, certainly in the area of e-assessment, there is so much more to do. I have written up some of my work into a PhD by published work (2014) but there is still lots more work to do and ideas buzzing around in my head. This blog is an attempt to disseminate new findings and share some of my ideas. Many of my ideas are not original, and I would like to thank anyone else whose ideas I am poaching (accidentally or otherwise).
I should emphasise that I am not a technical whizz kid. I use computers when they help me to do what I want to do, whether that is driving a car, writing a blog or helping my students to learn. But sometimes I just want to throw my computer out the window! My lack of technical expertise means that I rely heavily on others to support me in my work. In this regard I would particularly like to thank Tom Mitchell of Intelligent Assessment Technologies, my husband Richard Jordan and (from the OU) Tim Hunt and Phil Butcher (now retired).
For more information on some of the topics that I blog about, see my list of publications at Open Research Online.