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Tracker in Action
Tracker was tested in an experimental setting. The purpose
was to validate the principle of alternative assessment and
to test the functionality of the prototype. A senior professor
and eight undergraduate students were invited to participate
in the testing. To prepare for the test, the professor was
equipped with Tracker installed on a Newton. He received a
short instruction on how to operate Newton. He then spent
a few days becoming comfortable with the pen-driven
interface and the Tracker application. For this purpose,
Newton has several built in tutorials.
The session took place in a regular lab where the
students were equipped with a personal computer. The
notion about product and process oriented assessment was
introduced to the students. Also the functionality of Tracker
was explained to the students. Screen shots of Tracker were
presented and they had opportunities to ask questions. A
short discussion followed. The students were then asked to
articulate their feelings and spontaneous comments about
Tracker during the actual testing.
To make the testing somewhat close to reality, two
scenarios of educational activities were developed. The first
scenario described an activity, divided into three phases.
The first phase involved discussions in smaller groups
where the students presented their idea of project. The
second phase was the guiding of the first outline of the
paper. And the third phase was the professor walking
around the poster session looking at the different posters.
The professor was asked to think out loud while listening
to the scenario and penning in the notes. After each phase,
the professor were asked to comment the phase using
Tracker and then connect and upload the feedback to the
Web. The students were asked to read, discuss and
comment on the feedback they received. This was repeated
for all phases in the scenario.
The second scenario involved a group project. The first
phase described a lecture where the assignment was handed
out. The second phase described the groups working during
the week and how they were facilitated by the teachers. And
the third phase described the group presentation at the end
of the week. The same procedure as in the first scenario was
repeated here.
From leading scenario and observing the session it is
obvious that Tracker is working. The evaluation
experienced no technical problems. The professor as well as
the students were impressed by this fact. The professor
concluded his testing by stating: "Contemporary
assessment system is based on the notion of negative
feedback. This tool is certainly a reaction to this." The
students agreed on the usefulness of Tracker. During the
discussion they stated that the open feedback is lacking
today and that it is welcomed. But, the students
participating in the evaluation also raised some concern
about the necessity of engagement among the students.
Discussion
In this paper I have discussed an alternative model to
traditional assessment and examination in higher education.
A mobile computing software, Tracker, was described and
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