BY SAJAD AKBAR RATHER
Information and communication technology is a valuable tool that improves the learning process if used efficiently. In online learning, learners are freed from many constraints hindering them from fulfilling their will to achieve higher levels of knowledge. The education system has dramatically changed from physical to online due to COVID-19. Millions of learners around the world have been affected due to the pandemic caused by coronavirus. The emergence of COVID-19 has forced educational institutions to divert all strategies from physical to online platforms for the safety of the students, instructors, and all the other staff members. The processes of examining students and their assessment strategies are heavily affected due to the sudden adoption of online education than physical education at campus. Maintaining academic integrity is of the utmost importance to preserve the sanctity of any learning.
Being asset-light, online assessments like eLearning are easy to manage. Furthermore, Online Assessments provide real-time student status, personalized insights, and immediate results.
They cut out wastage in the form of loss of answer sheets or accidental overlooking of an evaluation. With the evolution of technology, online assessments will definitely make evaluations more efficient and personalized.
As part of efficient learning, one can engage your pupils through a variety of continuous assessment techniques. These techniques not only help deliver a better quality of education but also motivate learners to go that extra mile. Varying the formats of assessments keeps students on their toes and helps assessors gain a critical understanding of their learning style as well as the higher-order thinking. Assessments in the form of quizzes like Google Quiz , Kahoot etc can be a great way to increase audience participation.
Moreover, quizzes often help students master the basics well and thus prepare them for advanced stages of learning. The responses of students assist authorities in gaining critical insights about learning gaps within students. These shortcomings, in turn, can help teachers improve their subjects better.
I carried out the innovative practice along with the staff of BHSS Bomai, in which students of class 9th,10th ,11th and 12th appeared in the online assessment. The tool used for this assessment was Google quiz The Papers were designed by subject experts in accordance with the syllabus they have taught. Most of the students enjoyed this online assessment. This online assessment not only checked the learning outcome of the students but also helped in the teacher’s assessment by checking the level of concepts cleared to the students, getting the question wise critical analysis, using google quiz tool. The teachers who participated in this innovation also emphasised to use these tools to make the online teaching more effective, being very easy to use, instant evaluation, transparent and there is less chance of cheating. The result of these online tests was compared with the offline tests done during community classes and there was no major difference, thus showing the accuracy of these tests.
Evidently, assessment is a key success factor for any curriculum. No one may reasonably argue that learning in general and e-learning in particular can achieve its goals without assessment; and more precisely, without student learning assessment. The need of hour is to adopt these online tools in student online assessment, to keep the online teaching process more effective, interactive and goal oriented. The teachers also need to get trained for the creation of these online quizzes, creation of assessment links and generation of results using different online assessment tools.
The author is a (National Awardee) teacher and works as State IT Expert (NISHTHA & DIKSHA) SCERT, JK(UT)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.