The challenge of e-assessment in Moodle: Current situation in Madrilenian universities

Abstract

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has accelerated the digitization of education, revealing several deficiencies in the process. One of the main concerns is the lack of preparation of many teachers to develop a quality educational evaluation in online environments, which is essential to improve student learning. For this reason, this work aims to explore the importance that the teaching staff of the Madrid universities give to educational evaluation, and their knowledge and evaluative practice. A mixed descriptive cross-sectional study (n = 139) was carried out using an ad hoc online questionnaire (α = .70). Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques; for those of a qualitative nature, three categories were established: use, characteristics, and students. The findings of the study indicate that most of the teaching staff consider that university professors have little training on educational evaluation (79.1%), therefore specific instruction is required (93.6%) that affects how to carry out an adequate evaluation in online environments. (89.2%). This coincides with previous research that highlights the lack of training as one of the main difficulties faced by teachers, their updating and continuous training being vital to guarantee quality higher education.