This case study describes a method of collecting data on students' experiences of developing digital literacy (information and communications technology) skills as part of their course at the United Kingdom's Open University. An online reflective quiz was integrated into three health and social care modules, offering students the opportunity both…

This mixed-methods study investigates writers' task representation and the factors affecting it in test-like and non-test-like conditions. Five advanced-level L2 writers wrote two argumentative essays each, one in test-like conditions and the other in non-test-like conditions where the participants were allowed to use all the time and online…

The issues influencing student engagement with high-stakes computer-based exams were investigated, drawing on feedback from two cohorts of international MA Education students encountering this assessment method for the first time. Qualitative data from surveys and focus groups on the students' examination experience were analysed, leading to the…

Computer-aided assessment (CAA) has been used at a university with one of the largest mathematics and engineering undergraduate cohorts in the UK for more than ten years. Lecturers teaching mathematics to first year students were asked about their current use of CAA in a questionnaire and in interviews. This article presents the issues that these…

This brief research report gives an overview of a visually based methodology that has recently been used to shed light on situated decision-making in a high stakes educational assessment environment. Looking carefully at the feedback interactions taking place between senior and less senior examiners, the project aim was to gain insight into the…

Self and peer assessment offers benefits for enhancing student learning. Peer moderation provides a convenient solution for awarding individual marks in group assignments. This paper provides a significant review of peer-mark moderation, and describes an award winning, web-based tool that was developed in the UK and is now spreading across the…

The uptake of CAA in UK higher education (HE) on a large scale lags behind the expectations of CAA specialists. A research project was undertaken with the aim of discovering and addressing the underlying reasons for this. The research was conducted according to Strauss and Corbin's (1998) prescription for grounded theory (GT) research. During…

Describes research conducted in the United Kingdom that asked Open University distance education students what type of assignment feedback they would like to receive. Interviews with 22 students are discussed that ascertained their views regarding feedback on tutor-marked assignments and computer-marked assignments. (Author/LRW)

Reports findings of a two-year study of undergraduates at a United Kingdom university concerning the development and implementation of a general-purpose computer-based assessment (CBA) system. Results of questionnaires, observations, interviews, and a comparative analysis of student scores in conventional examinations and computer-based…