Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a more complete theoretical model of retail e-learning assessment module use. The location (i.e. onsite versus offsite) of assessment and prior experience is treated as moderators between motivation/intention, uses, and value; and differences between subjective and objective value are investigated..
Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory, semester-long, single-course experiment was conducted using students (n=37) from Mexico and the USA enrolled in a retail-focused marketing course at a university located near the border between the two countries..
Findings – Extrinsic and intrinsic motivations predict participants' use of e-learning assessment modules. The objective and subjective value of assessment is strongly impacted by the individual's prior performance. Location of assessment moderator is significant..
Research limitations/implications – In addition to focusing on intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, retailers should also consider the possibility that prior experience and location of assessment can affect use and value. Prior experience levels of the participants were found to affect use. Retailers are cautioned not to assume mistakenly that increased use of e-learning assessment modules results in lower performance. Rather, people that performed better in the past are less likely to use the modules. It is also found that when individuals can take the assessments offsite (e.g. at home, on the road), there is a positive impact on both objective and subjective performance. Retailers should examine the potential of permitting employees to take assessments from home (over the internet) or other remote locations..

Formal diplomas and certificates have been accepted as proof that students may receive exemption for parts of their educational programme. Nowadays, though, it is socially desirable that informal and non-formal learning experiences are also recognised. Assessment of prior learning (APL) addresses this issue. In APL, the candidate's knowledge, skills or competences required in informal and non-formal learning are measured against a standard to determine whether they match the learning objectives. Although APL is frequently used in workplaces and vocational education, it is practised less in universities, and research is lacking in this context. This study aims to evaluate the first APL procedure in an academic computer science programme, and an adjusted APL procedure in an educational science masters programme. This is done from the perspective of the APL candidates, tutors and assessors, using the theoretical framework by Baartman et al. (2006). The computer science participants comprised 23 candidates from a police software company, four tutors and four assessors. From educational science, nine candidates, two tutors and two assessors participated. The results show that the APL procedure in educational science is viewed significantly more positively than that in computer science; further, the computer science assessors differ considerably from the other participants in their perceptions relating to the quality criterion "cognitive complexity". Explanations for the difference between the two programmes are discussed in this article and assessor and tutor training highly recommended.

In this article, we argue that prior learning assessment (PLA) essays manifest a series of issues central to composition research and practice: they foreground the "contact zone" between the unauthorized writer, institutional power, and the articulation of knowledge claims; they reinforce the central role of a multifaceted approach to writing expertise in negotiating that zone; and they call attention to new and alternative spaces in which learning is gained and call for new forms in which it may be articulated. Ultimately, we claim that PLA as an emergent discourse compels compositionists to re-imagine not only the students we all teach, but also ways we might better-more explicitly, more reflectively, and more tactically-teach such students about writing as a mechanism for claiming and legitimating learning. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Formal diplomas and certificates have been accepted as proof that students may receive exemption for parts of their educational programme. Nowadays, though, it is socially desirable that informal and non-formal learning experiences are also recognised. Assessment of prior learning (APL) addresses this issue. In APL, the candidate's knowledge, skills or competences required in informal and non-formal learning are measured against a standard to determine whether they match the learning objectives. Although APL is frequently used in workplaces and vocational education, it is practised less in universities, and research is lacking in this context. This study aims to evaluate the first APL procedure in an academic computer science programme, and an adjusted APL procedure in an educational science masters programme. This is done from the perspective of the APL candidates, tutors and assessors, using the theoretical framework by Baartman et al. (2006). The computer science participants comprised 23 candidates from a police software company, four tutors and four assessors. From educational science, nine candidates, two tutors and two assessors participated. The results show that the APL procedure in educational science is viewed significantly more positively than that in computer science; further, the computer science assessors differ considerably from the other participants in their perceptions relating to the quality criterion 'cognitive complexity'. Explanations for the difference between the two programmes are discussed in this article and assessor and tutor training highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many reasons the use of computer-assisted assessment (CAA) is increasing.
Although computer-based examinations increase in use, research is lacking about
students’ perceptions of online assessment in general and of categorized fields of
online assessment systems. The aim of the study was to investigate students’
perceptions of the use of CAA and to investigate the potential for using student
feedback in the validation of assessment. To determine the students’ perceptions of
online assessment, an examination Web site was developed and implemented as
part of the assessment of Masaüstü Yayincilik (Desktop Publishing), a course given
by the Department of Computer Science at Kocaeli University, Turkey. The study
was descriptive, using a paper-based survey and interviews for data collection.
Participants were third-year students enrolled in the course. Descriptive analysis
of the questionnaire and interview data showed that the most prominent features
of the online assessment system were immediate feedback, randomized question
order, item analysis of the questions, and obtaining the scores immediately after
the exam. Participants reported the effectiveness of the online assessment system.
Although there is much room for improvement in online assessment systems in the
near future, such systems are accepted by computer-friendly youth. (Authors' abstract)

The author discusses the key factors necessary in driving learning. In line with this, he presented several articles. These articles, on the other hand, confirm the significance of making explicit the assessment criteria and learning aims for am educational course. They also render support for the idea that ICT can contain an important role in the enhancement of learning and support for both the staff and students when they are being used to best effect.

This paper reviews the role of assessment in student learning and its relationship with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). There is ample evidence of technology-led innovations failing to achieve the transformations expected by educators. We draw upon existing research to illustrate the links between aspects of student learning, assessment practices and the use of ICT. Assessment influences not only what parts of a course get studied, but also how those parts are studied. While the adoption of ICT does not, in itself, change student behaviours, appropriately designed assessment that exploits the potential of ICT can change students' approaches to learning. We argue that ICT can enable important learning outcomes to be achieved, but these must be underpinned by an assessment strategy that cues students to adopt a suitable approach to learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].

Upon graduation from University Without Walls (UWW), Robin said, "During first semester you told us that if we allowed it to, this experience [writing a prior learning portfolio] would change us. I was so angry with you for saying that because I liked who I was and didn't want to change. But you were right. And I'm glad." For the past 39 years the centerpiece of UWW, the adult education program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has been a prior experiential learning process. This process involves students' writing and critically reflecting on past professional and, in some instances, personal experiences and awards them academic credit for this learning. The outcomes can be transformative for the learner, facilitating the development of a new sense of confidence and ability to make new meanings of experience. This, in turn, spurs the learner to make changes inside as well as outside the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].

Assessing participant learning in online environments provides benefits and challenges. Fortunately, the available technology tools allow for a wide range of assessment techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].