Assessment is an inseparable part of the educational process so that there is a direct connection between teaching and examination of the results of the learning (Birenbaum, 1997; Wiggins & McTighe, 1998; Assessment Reform Group, 1999; Carr & Harris, 2001; Dochy, 2001).
The learner independently uses constructivist construction to structure the studied knowledge and reflects on the learning process (Berk, 1994; Bruner, 1996; Manus, 1996; Wood, 1998; Baxter-Magolda, 2000; King, 2000). Assessment is intended to improve the product and requires more mental investment and change in learning and memory (Campbell, 1988). Assessment is conducted according to criteria which set the standard that indicates success in achieving the goal. Rolheister, Bower & Stevahn (2000) distinguish two types of assessment: formative and summative; while Scriven (1967) and Khan (2004) distinguish between mid-process and post-process assessment.
Higher education assessment is a process which attempts to discover whether students succeeded in doing what the teacher/lecturer wanted them to do (Jordan, 1989). Arter (1995) claims that knowing the criteria for assessment in advance equips the learner with concepts that enable self-reflection, critical thinking, responsibility for learning and skills for processing information, whose acquisition is not automatic. This knowledge helps to develop a vocabulary for thinking and improvement of performance. Sweet & Zimmermann (1992) who relate to 'performance assessment', claim that it is important for the learner to know the criteria ahead of time, since the very fact of this knowledge influences and directs performance.
Shulman (2007) emphasises that assessment in higher education cannot rely on narrow assessment tools but must be founded on several narratives that supplement the assessment. The assessment of students in colleges and universities should not just serve external assessment systems, in addition lecturers should conduct continuous internal assessment regarding the achievement of the goals they wanted to achieve. No less important, the
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assessment method should be completely transparent for students in order to empower their progress. Formative assessment should be combined with research and development of new computer technologies, so that the experiences of colleges and universities using innovative assessment methods are important, in order to learn lessons from them, informing lecturers' own attempts to improve the assessment. True assessment in the universities should reflect in-depth relations between all types of learning narratives in order to reflect the students' type of thinking.
The basic assumption is that the practice of this new teaching necessitates a parallel change in methods of assessment. On-line teaching creates opportunities with different meaning and demands in comparison to traditional teaching. Technology enables efficient personal follow-up. It also enables formative assessment in real-time and correction of the teaching in accordance with this. Technology broadens the area of measurement and makes it richer, facilitating the teacher's assessment of the learning and enabling the teacher to conduct more systematic supervision (Thron, 2001; Lynch, 2002; Killion, 2002).
According to Corneaux (2005) every computer-mediated assessment method has its own guiding principles and theory. The integration of technology can support constructivist pedagogy, inter alia, by broadening the range of learning achievements and enriching the regular assessment methods for the class (Fouts, 2000; Quellmalz & Haertel, 2000).
Recently a consensus has formed concerning the important potential of technology in the application of contemporary concepts of formative assessment (McLoughlin & Reid, 2002). Using computer-mediated technology it is possible to develop a variety of interactive items that enable assessment of the learner's knowledge and high-order thinking skills. The character of products constructed by the learner can be varied and it is possible to track the learner's thinking processes (April & Stephen, 2002). Assessment in an on-line environment can represent phenomena and systems that are too large or too small, too dynamic and complex or too risky to integrate them within a paper
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and pencil test and to enable recording of problem-solving processes by the learner (Quellmalz & Haertel, 2000).
Computer-mediated assessment systems enable teachers to develop examinations by themselves according to their teaching goals by using existing items reservoirs, catalogued according to different characteristics. Another important use of Internet-based systems relates to reportage of assessment data and allows teachers to receive an analysis of the learner's marks close to the end of the examination in different segments according to request (Wang et al., 2004). These reports, accessible to teachers without any effort on their part, enable them to adapt the following stages of teaching. On-line systems of assessment tools can therefore serve as diagnostic tools that reinforce the teacher's assessment ability and also significantly help to improve learning processes and the learners' achievements (He & Tymms, 2005).
Computer technology enables teachers to respond to differences between the learners. Personal assessment tasks can be adapted to the learner's individual needs and pace. A learner can receive support or clues (for example using a dictionary, interactive maps, additional explanation) accommodations for special needs, such as: enlargement of fonts, reading aloud of texts or feedback (immediate or delayed) concerning performances. Also in such an environment the learner can be more involved in the learning and assessment processes. It is therefore possible to enable the learners to become the 'leaders' in the exams and to adapt exams to their needs with regard to level of difficulty, rate at which the questions are received, the desired language and the desired representation (Alderson, 2006).
Hazari (2004) distinguishes two types of assessment of the students' achievements in a holistic and analytical forum:
1. Holistic assessment performed by collecting all the student's messages/ and assigning a general grade,
2. Analytical assessment performed by assigning points for each message and calculating the total.
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Elliot (2008) drew a distinction between Assessment 1.0 based on class-based formal and controlled assessment, and Assessment 2.0 which is authentic, flexible and natural to the learner's environment and the authentic teleprocessed products of the learner today. Elliot (2008) believes that Assessment 2.0 will eventually be influenced by teleprocessing processes known today on the Internet as Web 2. Today, computerised assessment has taken on the characteristics of traditional assessment and from a perceptual viewpoint it belongs in practice to the generation of Assessment 1.0. It is formal, lacks flexibility, is detached from the learners' experiences and alienated from the learning methods and skills that they employ today in the Internet era. Assessment 2.0 will enable the learner to express knowledge, creativity and skills in a more authentic manner. It will enable the teacher to challenge the learner to understand investigative tasks and will be based more on challenging problem-based learning, case studies, peer assessment and a more varied choice of subjects for research, data-collection and data- processing. Roth, Ivanchecko & Record (2008) added an additional point, the need for teacher-training to assess the learner's responses within a computerised system on the basis of a student response model. In conclusion, Mateo & Sangrà (2008) claims that a new paradigm is needed to assess planning and activity in computerised learning; this perception is reflected in pedagogic thinking that believes that the development of on-line learning necessitates another paradigm for learning assessment. Further details concerning Learning Styles and the Characteristics of the Adult Learner can be found in Appendix IVA.
To summarise: teacher-educators teaching distance-teaching need to act in new and other areas. Nevertheless these areas rely on extant theories such as constructivism, teacher-focused teaching, and learner-focused teaching. The teacher presence is provided to a different extent and in a different strength. The teacher-educator has a new role as leader of the forum, in which he/she can adopt different models of guidance and activity and in addition assessment
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takes on a new and different appearance. All these options must be employed to provide responses to the different learning styles of the learners.