Ana Balula

Evaluation of Online Higher Education

Introduction.- E-teaching Evaluation in Higher Education.- SCAI: A Three-dimension Model for E-teaching Evaluation in Higher Education.- SCAI: Implementation.- Conclusion.- References.

Hows and whys in online assessment

In this work, the authors aim at presenting some conclusions regarding e-assessment strategies based on some of the research done on the way the curricular component of the Masters Course on Multimedia in Education, of the University of Aveiro, has been developed. The focus is on the description of strategies that were used to assess students in this particular online environment, i.e. the way they were put into practice (How?) and the advantages of using them (Why?). Some reflections are also made upon the constraints and potentialities of e-assessment, inherent to the environment where it occurs.

The use of DigComp in teaching and learning strategies: a roadmap towards inclusion

Nowadays, the development of digital competence is seen as crucial in the international scenario, especially in what concerns education, training, employment and lifelong learning. Thus, the main goal of this study is to identify research works that provide evidence of the use of DigComp Framework (put forward in 2013 and reviewed in 2016 by the European Commission Joint Research Center -- Institute for Prospective Technological Studies) as theoretical basis for the design of teaching/learning strategies to develop digital competence, in particular as to problem solving. Consequently, this paper puts forward the results of an exploratory literature review, focussed on the open access studies (published between 2013 and 2016), in which teaching and learning strategies, grounded on DigComp Framework, are outlined. In general, results of the content analysis suggest that DigComp is primarily used for digital competence assessment and evaluation, and none of the selected works conveys examples on how digital competence development can be enhanced in concrete teaching and learning scenarios.

e-Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education

The emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW) has led to profound changes in the way information is accessed, shared and discussed in a variety of contexts—personal, professional and educational (Alexander 2006; Carvalho 2008; Simoes and Gouveia 2008). Despite this, and as some authors suggest (Berners-Lee 2007; Simoes and Gouveia 2008), the WWW was initially designed as an information repository, allowing individuals to communicate from different locations. Furthermore, Carvalho (2008, p. 7) adds that “The Web began mainly as text with hyperlinks, to which images, sound and later video were associated.” Indeed, Web 1.0 can be defined by the association of the press model with the possibility of information distribution at high speed and quite controlled cost (Simoes and Gouveia 2008).

SCAI: A Three-Dimension Model for e-Teaching Evaluation in Higher Education

In the context of teaching evaluation, the analyzed literature tends to focus on how interaction takes place in educational contexts and how the several ICTs are used. In addition, some authors are concerned with how the selected technology enables group dynamics and how these contribute to the student learning; example of this is the work of Wang (2008), entitled A generic model for guiding the integration of ICT into teaching and learning, in which the author puts forward a model of instructional design converging on three key elements: pedagogy, social interaction and technology. In truth, the teaching activities serve the primary purpose of promoting the students’ learning and it may imply greater or lesser interaction within the teaching and learning process. However, the technology that will provide support to the implementation of these activities (e.g. e-learning platforms) should also be taken into account. Resulting from this, three dimensions of the evaluation object—e-learning activities—were defined, namely the Learning, the Interaction and the Technology Dimension, as described below.