This is a presentation of mine for the module "Technology in Language Testing and Assessment" which I attended in the 1st semester of my MA in Technology and Language Education.

1. By Drakidou Christina

2.  MA student in Language Education and
Technology
 Bachelor’s degree in English Language and
Literature
 EFL teacher
 Camp Counselor, Activities Coordinator and
Administrative Assistant in a children’s camp
 Interests: English, technology, designing of
EFL interactive activities, music, puzzles,
acting

3. 1. Traditional vs. Alternative Assessment
Methods
2. Alternative Assessment Methods; an
Overview
3. Self-Assessment
4. Corpora and e-learning Platforms Analysis
5. Discussion
6. Reference List
7. Questions

4.  Traditional testing is fast and generally
accepted.
 It can provide information about students’
success in each of the competencies.
 However, it fails to account for the learners’
strategies, acquisition of knowledge and inner
thoughts and motivations. (Genesee and
Hamayan, as cited in Nasab, 2015, p.170)
 Alternative assessment provides a thorough
understanding of the learners’ accomplishments
 It assists in developing relevant material to the
students’ needs
 It helps render the learners autonomous

5. Conferences Games
Debates Observations
Demonstrations Portfolios
Journals Self-assessment
Dramatizations Peer-assessment
Exhibitions Think-alouds
Projects Story-retelling
Some of the most popular alternative assessment methods
(as cited in Tsagari, 2004)

6.  “Self-assessment involves the internalization of
standards so students can regulate their own
learning more effectively. (Paris & Paris 2001,
p.95)”.
 It helps in learner independence and
responsibility.
 Students reflect on their own learning.
 They develop their own strategies.
 It can lead to learner autonomy.
 In a technology-mediated environment, self-
assessment can be positively affected mainly
because of the immediate feedback and the
chance for formative assessment.

7.  This method was used in order to obtain original data from EFL
course books used in Greece and from e-learning platforms used
worldwide.
 Spark 2 (A1 level): self-assessment table at the end of
each unit, ranking from “Not very good” to “Excellent”,
but there is no indication of how the learners can assess
themselves.
 Full Blast 1 (A1 Level): list of learning goals at the
beginning of each unit and self-assessment checklist at the
end of it.
 Take off (B1+ Level): 1-20 marking in each of the 5
competencies. It also includes questions that aim to raise
awareness of the students’ own learning.
 Twice the Fun 3 (A2 Level): No indication of self-
assessment in the book, but a complementary i-book
provided immediate marking and tasks could be done
repeatedly until success was reached.

9.  Duolingo language learning platform:
 It is mainly asynchronous and used for self-study.
 Learners receive immediate feedback
and they are responsible for repeating or
skipping tasks and levels.
 Badges are used to reward or penalize, but this is
the only indication of one’s satisfying the
learning criteria.

10.  Moodle learning platform:
 It can be used either as a supplementary tool or
as the main source of learning.
 Self-assessment is based on rubrics, which
provide the criteria for learners to be based
upon.
 Chance of obtaining badges as validation of
proper self-assessment.

11.  Self-assessment is not widely used.
 If used, it is limited to checklists with no
indication of the criteria the learners have to
base their decisions on.
 Rubrics are one of the best ways to succeed
in assessing oneself.
 The criteria can be stated by the students in
collaboration with the teacher or the course
coordinator in the case of an open course, and
the tasks can be marked by the students once
they have consulted the rubric.

12.  Feedback upon successful completion of self-
assessment should be provided.
 It can be done with the use of badges as
gamification of learning. Badges, and especially
digital ones, can be “a means of validating
discrete skills and competencies acquired in any
number of learning environments” according to
Sandeen. (as cited in Hurst, 2015, p.185).

14.  Hurst, E. J. (2015). Digital badges: Beyond learning incentives. Journal of
Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 12(3), 182-189.
doi: 10.1080/15424065.2015.1065661
 Nasab, F.G. (2015). Alternative versus Traditional Assessment. Journal of
Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(6), 165-178. Retrieved from
http://www.jallr.com/index.php/JALLR/article/viewFile/136/pdf136
 Paris, S.G., & Paris, A.H. (2001). Classroom Applications of Research on
Self-Regulated Learning. Educational Psychologist, 36(2), 89–101.
Retrieved from
http://www.unco.edu/cebs/psychology/kevinpugh/motivation_project/r
esources/paris_paris01.pdf
 Rubric for rubrics. [online image]. (2014). Retrieved January 21, 2016
from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/05/terrific-rubric-to-
help-you-create.html
 Tsagari,D. (2004). Is there life beyond language testing?: An introduction
to alternative language assessment. CRILE Working Papers, 58, 1-23.
Retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/19ad/ddb4879992814f8ebbc323a8d6f2d
d491a4f.pdf