Test
questions that can be evaluated instantly like those in multiple choice questions
or true and false questions are often seen designed on the paper-based tests
or online tests. Test making programs such as Hot potatoes developed by University
of Victoria, Canada allows educators to make multiple-choice, short-answer,
jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises to be
posted on the World Wide Web. However, this is not the only way to assess learners'
academic performances. Educators have started to seek for alternative ways to
evaluate students such as through e-portfolio. On this website, you will see
the project in this area done by Dr. Clifford Hill of Teachers College, Columbia
University. Based on the principle of grounded constructivism, he designed an
alternative method to evaluate students' ability through using digital tools.
Watch the speech on video first to understand the background and the underlying
principles of the project, and then read the scholarly paper in which he presented
the sample assessment activities. Respond to the questions provided here while
you read through the paper. This will help you ponder on the design of the activities
and carry it into your own teaching context.
