Assessing online learning and the digitalization of assessment

Abstract

Assessment and its digitalization are key elements of both online learning and emergency remote teaching. On its own, assessment is a complex subject, but add digital technology and this complexity increases tenfold. Far from a mechanical action, the assessment of online learning and the digitalization of this process involve more than just the incorporation of technological systems; as this special issue will show, they are concepts whose role in and impact on teaching must be understood at a pedagogical level. Based on empirical analysis and pedagogical reflection, the papers in this special issue seek to construct an irrefutably important line of work that poses the question, how does the digital environment transform sensitive processes such as ICT-mediated learning assessment and the assessment of online learning systems, and how do we in turn transform it? The issue tackles this question from four different angles: by highlighting the new digital demands placed on assessment in times of pandemic; the renewed role of educational feedback in the ICT-based self-regulated learning required; the need to move towards e-assessment as a guarantee of performance, and the evaluation of the quality of online learning as a watchdog mechanism. As the special issue on learning assessment shows, the topic is full of challenges, but that is the nature of the beast, so to speak, and how one must approach all things digital.