The evaluation of virtual education: E-activities

Abstract

One of the phases of the instructional process that has undergone minor changes throughout history has been that of evaluation. In a virtual context, one of the concerns that teachers show regarding evaluation is related to the problems of its implementation and the design, organisation and eventually implementation of different e-activities. By e-activities we understand all the tasks developed by a student individually or collectively in a digital environment, and which are intended to obtain specific learning. They are, therefore, the link that unites teaching and learning in the so-called Knowledge Society. Along these lines, this article offers an overview of the phenomenon of e-activities within virtual learning environments. Accordingly, it goes through the main studies on e-activities in terms of definition, typology, selection and analysis. Results obtained show the relevance of such resources as authentic learning objects and highlight the importance of promoting specific teacher training competences on the selection, creation, modification and evaluation of e-activities. In this line, the present study proposes different criteria to be considered for the effective inclusion of such competences in teachers’ training programmes on digital teaching competence.