Role of ICT in Education Sector

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Teachers and students communicate through email or other online media specifically, in relation to assessment, ICT are used to support assessment practice in various ways. Computers can be used as the medium for testing, to score students’ tests using automatic scoring software and as a tool for doing assessment tasks. This phenomenon is considered as a new way of measuring educational outcomes and is well known as technology-based assessment. John and Wheeler (2008) state that because of current advances in ICT, assessment of learning is now experiencing change in ways that have lead it to revision of the methods, rationale and process of testing. In addition, Jonassen et al (2009) point out that the use of technology to support assessment is not only done by converting traditional forms of assessment into a digital format, such as computer-based testing, quizzes or surveys, but it can also be used to assess higher-order learning outcomes.

This article investigates the notion of ICT-based assessment or e-assessment and its role in education. It is hoped that it would make assessment in education more beneficial and effective in the future.

1.2 ICT TO SUPPORT ASSESSMENT PRACTICE

 Education constitutes one of the important aspects in developing nations because it is through education that people will be able to develop their human capital. Quality education needs good assessment. Nitko and Brookhart (2011, p. 3) define assessment as ‘a process for obtaining information that is used for making decisions about students; curricula, programs, and schools; and educational policy’. Based on studies of classrooms, Stiggins et al (as cited in Nitko & Brookhart, 2011) state that teachers should use many sources of information to assess students’ achievement. Therefore, to gain complete and accurate information about students, it is better for teachers to use a wide range of assessments

In education, one aspect that raises much research and study is the importance of ICT use in assessment practice. In many ways, ICT can support assessment practice. ICT can also be used to support formative and summative assessment.

Meanwhile, ICT can also be used for students to do their assignment. ICT is not only

2.1 TESTING IN INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

 Testing is defined as ‘a method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain’ (Brown, 2004, p. 3). Brown further explains that the terms ‘testing’ and ‘assessment’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but actually have different meanings. Assessment is a much broader term, and testing is part of assessment. Assessment can be conducted in many forms and in an ongoing process, while testing has a more formal administrative procedure and occurs at certain times in a curriculum to provide measurement and evaluation. McDonald (2007) asserts that testing aims to obtain relevant and accurate data to make important decisions with a minimal amount of error.

Some examples of assessment tools that are used in the online setting given by

2.2 COMPUTER AS SCORING TOOL IN TESTING

Testing has been used to assess students for years, especially on large-scale assessments such as national examinations and the CPNS test (Indonesian civil service admission test), and various language proficiency tests such as the IELTS and TOEFL for English, Goethe Certificate for German, and many others. Tucker (2009) states that “fill-in-the-bubble” testing has dominated student assessment practices in local, state and national assessments since the invention of the IBM Type Test Scoring Machine in 1938. In testing that uses a computer as the scoring tool, the tests are administered by using a paper-pencil test, in which the questions are printed on paper and students are required to fill in the bubble score sheets, basing their answers on multiple-choice question types and, in some tests, filling in the gaps. Then, to obtain the score of the test, the computer scans the score sheets. Here, the computer acts as scoring tool to help test administrators in the scoring process, which is usually the time-consuming part of assessing multiple-choice tests.

2.2.1 COMPUTER–BASED TESTING (CBT)

In testing, the method of using a computer that acts as the test deliverer is called computer-based testing (CBT). According to Jonassen et al. (2009), computer-based testing has been used to make the testing process simpler for teachers and administrators and to facilitate faster scoring of students’ work by using scanned sheets and asking students to perform the test on a computer. In computer-based testing’s, the functions of the computer are as the test medium and as the scorer. The computer can also analyses the test results to check the test item’s performance. Mils et al. (2002) state that nowadays, many tests for licensure, certification and admission are done using CBT as a common form of test delivery. CBT has been an option or sole means of test delivery by many large-scale, high-stakes testing programs. In essence, the use of computers as the basis of assessment has spread widely.

2.2.3 COMPUTERISED ADAPTIVE TESTING (CAT)

 The development of computer technology and psychometric theories have triggered a change in the way tests are administered from conventional paper-andpencil tests to Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) (Leung, Chang, & Hau, 2003). CAT is a specific type of computer-based test (CBT) that is assisted by a computer program which replaces a human administrator. The test taker performs this test on a computer. It begins by giving the test taker a moderately difficult question which is immediately scored. The difficulty level of the next question depends on the test taker’s ability to answer previous questions correctly or incorrectly (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010). Brown and Abeywickrama (2010) describe CAT as an instrument in which test takers receive a set of questions that meet test specifications and are generally appropriate for their performance level. In short, CAT is about a computer program calculating an estimate of a person’s proficiency to choose appropriate questions.

2.3 ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO

One form of assessment that can be utilized by teachers is the portfolio. Butler and McMunn (2006) define portfolios as being written and integrated collections of students’ work showing effort, progress or a degree of proficiency. The tendency to use ICT in assessment also influences portfolio assessment, in which electronic versions of portfolios are developed in many educational institutions. Therefore, an overview of e-portfolio applications in assessment will be elaborated. Things such as the organisation and benefits of e-portfolios are discussed. Electronic portfolios benefit students just like the hard copy portfolio does since an electronic portfolio is basically trying to replicate the traditional portfolio. Instead of using paper or manually collecting students’ works in bundles, the works are collected in an electronic or computer-based format and saved in computer data storage or online data storage. This is what Meyer and Latham (2008) state as the most evident advantage of the e-portfolio, which is eliminating the physical storage

2.4 PROJECT-BASED ASSESSMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

In assessment, the project is considered as an alternative assessment for a constructivist classroom that provides students opportunity to express what they have learned and help them to define their own view of the topic (Tiene & Ingram, 2001). Nitko and Brookhart (2011) recognise two types of project: the individual student project and the group project. The purpose of an individual student project is to show the student’s ability to apply and integrate a wide range of abilities and knowledge as well as using creativity, originality and aesthetics. The purpose of the group project is for students to demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively and appropriately to create a high-quality project. In view of the fact that a project is an interesting alternative assessment that supports students’ knowledge application into an authentic constructivist project, several uses of ICT in projects are reviewed.

2.5 ASSESSING TECHNOLOGY USE IN PORTFOLIO AND PROJECT

 Portfolios and projects are forms of performance assessments. According to Nitko and Brookhart (2011), performance assessment is any assessment technique that requires students to physically demonstrate their understanding of certain knowledge by carrying out a complex, extensive process (e.g. an oral argument presentation, a musical play or knotted rope climbing) or by producing an important product (e.g. a poem, an experiment report or a painting). The use of ICT in portfolios and projects will make a difference in the assessment process compared to traditional portfolios and projects. Not only will the contents of portfolios and projects be assessed, but also the ability of students’ to demonstrate their ICT skills in creating e-portfolios and projects. In other words, a rubric used to assess performance that involves ICT, has to assess both a student’s knowledge and mastery of technology.

 

CONCLUSION

The discussions of this paper suggest that ICT can be applied to support educational assessment practice in several ways. Computers can help in scoring students’ assignments, such as multiple-choice tests and marking reports, essays and projects. The use of an automatic scoring machine to score fill-in-the-bubble testing’s or a marking system for teachers to mark essays is some examples of using ICT as a marking tool. Computer can be used as the medium for testing, scoring tests and test score analysis. Computer-Based Testing (CBT) and Computerized-Adaptive Testing (CAT) are two examples of ICT application in assessment practice in which students perform the test in front of a computer. It also assists students to complete their assessment tasks such as the use of electronic portfolios and project-based assessment. Teachers will assess the e-portfolio and project by using a rubric that assesses not only the process and product, but also their students’ use of technology

 

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