Toward better assessments in distance education

The popularity of distance learning systems has signalled the coming of a new era of learning technology. From the simple use of Web page-based lecture notes to multimedia course contents, there is a wide array of course contents that are transmitted over the Internet. Learning technology has become a heated research issue in both the educational research community and the infrastructure-building community. The main goal is to create effective learning tools and to explore new learning paradigms that are available through networked computers, no matter which pedagogical approach is adopted by the learning tools. One consensus is that learning effectiveness depends largely on the response time of replies when learners have questions. In this paper, the author proposes an approach that was used in the development of an coursework assignment system that has been used over many years to promote learning effectiveness. The basic idea is to provide interactive, individualized questions and answers that are facilitated by the use of computers and networks. Learners receive highly sophisticated questions that are constructed by the instructor, aimed at accessing a certain concept. The instant feedback stimulates the learner to think and respond to the question on his/her own behalf. This approach has the advantage that the questions asked by the instructor can be coordinated in a more individualized fashion and at the same time can be part of the use of more versatile student assessments in a distance education system.