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Category: Activities and Processes
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8239-9.ch010
Using Mobile Phones for
Educational Assessment
INTRODUCTION
Educational assessment is defined as collecting
information about the content and depth of stu-
dent knowledge to help teachers, administrators,
policy makers, and the public presumably for the
purpose of enhancing future outcomes (Pellegrino,
2002). Mobile assessment (m-assessment) stands
for assessing learners via mobile devices. For the
purpose of this study, m-assessment refers to as-
sessing learners via mobile phones, i.e., tools that
have calling and texting functions. Mobile phone
applications (applications or apps) stand for small
software programs that can be installed to smart
phones to enhance capabilities of smart phones.
Computerized Adaptive Testing (or computer
adaptive tests) is using computers in administer-
ing tests to tailor the test to the examinee’s trait
or ability level (Chang & Ying, 2007).
OVERVIEW
M-assessment is rooted in incorporating technol-
ogy into educational assessment. The National
Research Council (2001) stated that technological
advances had enormous potential for advancing the
science, design, and use of educational assessment,
especially in classroom assessment context. It was
suggested that influence of technology would
spread beyond classroom tests and high stakes tests
were seemed as influenced. For example, Bennett
(1999) claimed that test design, item generation,
task presentation, scoring, and testing purpose and
location for high stakes testing would be influ-
enced. Incorporating technology into educational
assessment started with implementing computer-
based assessments, then mobile devices such as
Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) and iPads and
iPods were used. Almost all affordances of these
little computers were collected and in one single
piece of equipment: mobile phones. Educational
assessment also benefited from mobile phones.
The earliest studies on m-assessment were
published in mid-2000s. Although m-assessment
is an emerging topic, its emergence attracted
the attention of scholars around the world. To
start with, Dr. McGuire at Anglia Polytechnic
University, United Kingdom is one of the first
scholars published in m-assessment. McGuire
(2005) utilized mobile phones to collect student
feedback via automated mobile phone calls. Dr.
Virvou and Dr. Alepis at University of Piraeus,
Greece are also among the first scholars published
in m-assessment. Virvou and Alepis (2005) as-
sessed students’ writing performance and provide
feedback with mobile phones. Dr. Susono and Dr.
Shimomura (2006) at Mie University, Japan are
also among the pioneers who made use of mobile
phones for presenting in class survey questions
in Quick Response (QR, i.e., visual square code)
format. Following years, m-assessment studies
focused on delivering computer adaptive tests
via mobile phones with Dr. Triantafillou, Dr.
Georgiadou, and Dr. Economides at University
of Macedonia, Greece publishing the first studies
on delivering computer adaptive tests via mobile
devices in 2008 (Triantafillou, Georgiadou, &
Economides, 2008a & 2008b).
As one of the earliest studies, McGuire (2005)
benefited from the calling function of mobile
phones by presenting some questions to students
Fusun Sahin
University at Albany, USA
Using Mobile Phones for Educational Assessment
118
via automated calls. Automated call system was
developed to use outside of classroom for self and
peer assessment, as well as collecting student data
easily and reducing teacher workload. Automated
calls reached out students who were working on
their end of year project and asked them questions
about their progress. McGuire interviewed 25
students benefited from m-assessment and their
teachers to learn about their experiences with the
system. Students narrated that using m-assessment
increased their motivation, facilitated self-directed
learning, and improved student-teacher relation-
ships. Consistent with students’ experiences,
teachers also observed that students’ motivation
and self-esteem increased, students took respon-
sibility for their learning and became independent
learners, and the system improved teacher-student
relationships.
In the same year, Virvou and Alepis (2005)
developed and evaluated an authoring tool by
developing a specific application capable of
automatically scoring student responses (see Wil-
liamson, Mislevy, & Bejar, 2006 for automated
scoring). This application could be used both
inside and outside classroom for self-assessment.
Virvou and Alepis intended to support instruction,
increase student-teacher interaction, and reduc-
ing cost and time for assessment. Ten instructors
and 50 students at high school and college level
were interviewed. Both instructors and students
found using m-assessment useful for their courses.
Students especially appreciated the user friendli-
ness of the authoring tool and found it helpful for
keeping track of their progress and preparing for
the course.
A year later, Susono and Shimomura (2006)
prepared a survey in a QR format enabling students
easily access survey questions via the World Wide
Web. Students could read the survey questions
using their mobile phones, answer questions, and
write some comments. Meanwhile, teachers could
see students’ answers and comment immediately
after students sent their responses and provide
feedback to students. Susono and Shumomura
introduced this m-assessment practice to a class
of students and reported some concerns about
the delivery.
Through 2008 – 2009, scholars from Greece,
Taiwan, Spain and Netherlands published m-
assessment studies regarding computer adaptive
tests. Computer adaptive tests were extensions
of Computer Based Testing ([CBT], see Mills,
Potenza, Fremer, & Ward, 2002), which could
be possible with advancement in measurement
theories (see Hambleton, Swaminathan, & Roger,
1991, for Item Response Theory [IRT]). In com-
puter adaptive tests, the examinee’s responses are
automatically scored after posing a number of
items and new items were given to the examinee
depending on the calculated score. Therefore,
computer adaptive tests have two main advantages:
precision and efficiency. First, computer adaptive
tests can provide more precise results than other
modes of assessment since the tests are tailored
to the examinee’s ability level. Second, computer
adaptive tests can be more efficient than other
modes of tests as they usually require less time
to measure a participant’s ability and for scoring.
Starting from 2008, Triantafillou et al. (2008a)
published the first mobile computer adaptive test-
ing study. Triantafillou and colleagues aimed to
administer tests efficiently and make computer
adaptive testing accessible from anywhere, spe-
cifically both inside and outside classroom with
the help of m-assessment. The evaluation of the
system was done through review of 12 students
who tried out the system by taking a generic
test. Time required finishing the generic test was
recorded and compared with time needed to take
the test in paper-pencil form. Participants also
responded to a seven-item questionnaire about
their experiences. Results indicated that less
time required gathering information about test
takers’ ability by m-assessment because the test
was adaptive. The authors noted that students
who took the test on mobile phones found it to
be interesting and attractive, user-friendly, with
a clear and straightforward interface.
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