Assessment approaches in massive open online courses: Possibilities, challenges and future directions
Xiong, Yao and Suen, Hoi K.

PublishedApril 2018
JournalInternational Review of Education
Volume 64, Issue 2, Pages 241-263
PublisherSpringer Netherlands
CountryUnited States, North America

ABSTRACT
The development of massive open online courses (MOOCs) has launched an era of large-scale interactive participation in education. While massive open enrolment and the advances of learning technology are creating exciting potentials for lifelong learning in formal and informal ways, the implementation of efficient and effective assessment is still problematic. To ensure that genuine learning occurs, both assessments for learning (formative assessments), which evaluate students' current progress, and assessments of learning (summative assessments), which record students' cumulative progress, are needed. Providers' more recent shift towards the granting of certificates and digital badges for course accomplishments also indicates the need for proper, secure and accurate assessment results to ensure accountability. This article examines possible assessment approaches that fit open online education from formative and summative assessment perspectives. The authors discuss the importance of, and challenges to, implementing assessments of MOOC learners' progress for both purposes. Various formative and summative assessment approaches are then identified. The authors examine and analyse their respective advantages and disadvantages. They conclude that peer assessment is quite possibly the only universally applicable approach in massive open online education. They discuss the promises, practical and technical challenges, current developments in and recommendations for implementing peer assessment. They also suggest some possible future research directions.

ABSTRACT
Méthodes d’évaluation dans les formations en ligne ouvertes à tous : possibilités, défis et futures orientations – L’essor des formations en ligne ouvertes à tous (FLOT) ouvre la voie à une ère de la participation interactive de masse à l’éducation. Tandis que l’inscription libre et massive ainsi que les avancées des technologies d’apprentissage créent des possibilités prometteuses pour l’apprentissage tant formel qu’informel tout au long de la vie, la réalisation d’une évaluation efficiente et efficace demeure un obstacle. Pour garantir un véritable apprentissage, il est nécessaire d’effectuer à la fois des évaluations pour l’apprentissage (évaluations formatives) qui mesurent les progrès actuels des apprenants, et les évaluations de l’apprentissage (évaluations sommatives) qui recensent les progrès cumulés des apprenants. La récente tendance des prestataires à attribuer des certificats et insignes numériques sanctionnant la réussite aux cours signale aussi la nécessité de résultats d’évaluation appropriés, sécurisés et précis qui garantissent la responsabilité. L’article examine les approches possibles d’évaluation qui correspondent à la formation en ligne ouverte à tous sous l’angle de l’évaluation formative et sommative. Les auteurs signalent l’importance et les défis d’évaluer les progrès des apprenants des FLOT dans ces deux buts. Ils identifient plusieurs approches d’évaluation formative et sommative en examinant et analysant leurs avantages et inconvénients respectifs. Ils concluent que l’évaluation entre pairs est fort probablement la seule approche universellement applicable dans la formation en ligne ouverte à tous. Ils en présentent les aspects prometteurs, les défis pratiques et techniques, l’évolution actuelle dans la réalisation de ce type d’évaluation ainsi que des recommandations. Ils proposent enfin plusieurs orientations possibles pour de futures études.

ABSTRACT
摘要
用于慕课的评估方法: 机会, 挑战及未来发展方向 – 慕课开启了大规模互动学习的新时代。 教育科技的进步为终身学习创造了很多机会, 但同时如何实现高效的学习评估也成为一个很大的挑战。 为了帮助学生学习, 形成性评估 (给学生提供阶段性反馈) 和总结性评估 (评估教学的最终效果) 都是必要的手段。 很多慕课开始向课程完成者颁发电子证书, 这一趋势也使得安全有效的评估变得尤为重要。 本文阐述了评估在慕课中的重要性和所面临的挑战, 并介绍了适用于慕课的形成性和总结性评估方法, 并对不同方法的优势和劣势进行了分析。 作者认为在慕课中, 学生互评是一个普遍适用的评估方法。 本文还对学生互评的优势、 挑战、 发展趋势以及实际应用中的问题进行了探讨, 最后提出了慕课评估方法未来的发展方向。

Keywords formative assessment · Lifelong Learning · massive open online course · peer assessment · summative assessment

Published atNetherlands
ISSN1573-0638
RefereedYes
Rights© Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature, and UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2018
DOI10.1007/s11159-018-9710-5
Export optionsBibTex · EndNote · Tagged XML · Google Scholar


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