Digitales Prüfen

Digitalization in the university environment is not just about developing new approaches to teaching and learning activities, it also addresses the formats used for university examinations and assessments. German universities have been discussing the idea of digital assessments and digital exams since the mid-1990s. The literature on digital exams often uses the term 'e-assessments', which is understood to cover 'diagnostic e-assessments that determine the knowledge and skills of students before the learning phase starts, formative e-assessments that promote and shape student learning during the period of instruction, and summative e-assessments that evaluate student learning, skill acquisition and academic achievement at the end of the period of instruction or learning.' (Franke & Handke, 2012, p. 155).

Digital examinations allow examiners to arrange assessments without time and place restrictions, but they must be conducted in a manner that ensures academic integrity and fairness. Other benefits of e-assessments include the easier modification of questions by examiners and the use of automated marking and grading processes.

The most common formats currently used for digital examinations are oral exams, digital written exams and e-portfolios. The latter can be used both as a means of assessing learning outcomes and as a digital repository of learning materials that can be used to provide feedback to support student learning ('learning e-portfolio'). Keep reading to learn more about these three assessment formats.

Digital examinations

Online examinations

Digital examinations can be a practical alternative to traditional in-person exams. Digital exams can be usefully divided into digital oral and digital written exams. At Saarland University, digital written exams are conducted in either a take-home or open-book format. To learn more about these examination formats and how to implement them, please refer to the guidance documents Digital oral examinations (Digitale mündliche Prüfungsleistungen – currently only available in German) and Digital written examinations (Digitale schriftliche Prüfungsleistungen – currently only available in German). These and other related documents, including consent forms, can be found here. Other materials available on that page include the guidance document Recommendations for dealing with ChatGPT (Empfehlungen zum Umgang mit ChatGPT – currently only available in German), which discusses the significance of the AI chatbot in the context of examinations at Saarland University. Please note that digital written exams (open-book exams) are not recommended at the present time as it is not possible to reliably exclude the use of ChatGPT.

If you'd like a quick overview of these two types of examination, take a look at the following two how-to guides. These and other how-to guides can also be accessed by joining the team Digitale Lehre UdS ('Digital Teaching – Saarland University') in Microsoft Teams.

We have also compiled two check lists of things you need to be aware of when preparing for digital oral or written exams.

Checkliste zur Vorbereitung von digitalen mündlichen Prüfungen
Checkliste zur Vorbereitung von digitalen schriftlichen Prüfungen

E-portfolios

An e-portfolio is a digital collection of a student's work containing 'artefacts' (i.e. essays, photographs, videos, etc.) that showcase the student's learning and achievements. (EUfolio, 2015). E-portfolios can be used in both formative and summative assessments. The e-portfolios that are used for formative assessments are development-oriented and aim to promote (through feedback) student reflection and engagement, as well as the development and presentation of learning processes. Summative e-portfolios, on the other hand, are results-oriented and can be used to assess progress towards learning objectives, to present student work and to facilitate feedback and interaction (Baumgartner et al., 2009). According to Baumgartner et al. (2009), e-portfolios can be classified by type. We can distinguish three types of e-portfolios: reflection portfolios, development portfolios and presentation portfolios. Comprehensive information on the different types of e-portfolios as well as guidance on which e-portfolio to use in which context can be found in the document 'E-portfolios: A detailed look', which is linked below. For a short overview of e-portfolios, please take a look at our how-to guide.

The literature in the field describes numerous benefits from the use of e-portfolios, such as students acquiring multimedia technology skills (Bauer & Himpsl-Gutermann, 2016). Another advantage of e-portfolios is that they enable students to work on the material from anywhere and at any time, whether individually or collaboratively (EUfolio, 2015). Incorporating peer feedback when working with e-portfolios also brings benefits such as increased student problem-solving skills, improved student learning, greater interaction and collaboration between peers, and improved student understanding of work quality (see e.g. Brown, Topping, Henington and Skinner, 1999; Burke and Pieterick, 2010; Harrison, O'Hara and McNamara, 2015; Peng, 2010; Pope, 2001; Topping, 2009). We therefore recommend building peer feedback into e-portfolio work. Comprehensive information on this topic can be found in the document 'Peer feedback: A detailed look' (Blow-by-blow-Peer-Feedback; currently only available in German) linked below.

If you would like to use e-portfolios in your course, you can always implement them as 'learning portfolios', i.e. as digital repositories for learning and teaching materials that help students achieve their learning objectives. This type of use is unproblematic, as the portfolio is not being used to assess student performance. Before e-portfolios are used to examine or assess student academic achievement they can be trialled in a test phase of up to two semesters (see Sec. 2(1) of the 'Regulations governing the implementation of remote digital examinations at Saarland University' (Fernprüfungsordnung). Once the test phase has been concluded, the use of e-portfolios can be incorporated into the relevant examination regulations. For more detailed information please refer to Section 6.1 'Legal basis' (Rechtliche Grundlagen) in the document 'E-portfolios: A detailed look' (Blow-by-Blow-E-Portfolios; currently only available in German). In addition to our comprehensive review of e-portfolios, we have compiled a number of shorter guides on how to use e-portfolios in specific situations. For a quick visual introduction to the topic, take a look at our 'Introduction to e-portfolios' (Einführung in E-Portfolios; currently only available in German). Our 'How-to guide: E-portfolios' provides a short overview of using e-portfolios in teaching. To learn more about using e-portfolios in Moodle, take a look at our 'How-to guide: E-portfolios and Moodle'.

Click on the following links to view an example course with e-portfolios in Moodle or to view an e-portfolio in Microsoft Sway. As a member of Saarland University, you can register for the Moodle course directly.

We have also compiled a check list that is designed to help you use e-portfolios in your teaching activities. The check list is structured into things to do before, during and after the teaching activity.

Checkliste zur Planung einer Veranstaltung mit E-Portfolios

As the transition from theory to practice doesn't always proceed as smoothly as hoped, we have included a useful case study provided by Lucia Hubig. Lucia Hubig – a qualified teacher and lecturer at Saarland University with specialist duties in the field of German language teaching methodologies – has been successfully using portfolios in her lessons. In future, she also plans to switch to using e-portfolios.

Praxisbeispiel: E-Portfolios (Lucia Hubig)

Feedback

Feedback can have a motivating effect and help your students improve their performance, identify mistakes and knowledge gaps, better reflect on their own learning process, and develop strategies to regulate their learning process. You can integrate feedback into your course in various ways, including in the form of peer feedback. Some tips on this can be found in the following how-to concepts:

Exam nerves

Exam nerves can occur in any exam situation, regardless of the type of exam being taken. We have therefore compiled a document that provides information on this important topic.

Blow-by-Blow-Prüfungsangst

List of references

Bauer, R. & Himpsl-Gutermann, K. (2016). Zeig, was du kannst! E-Portfolios als alternatives Assessment-Tool im Fremdsprachenunterricht. Medienimpulse, 54(3), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.21243/mi-03-16-02

Baumgartner, P., Himpsl, K. & Zauchner, S. (2009). Einsatz von E-Portfolios an (österreichischen) Hochschulen: Zusammenfassung (GZ 51.700/0064-VII/10/2006). Department für Interaktive Medien und Bildungstechnologien. https://mediencommunity.de/system/files/E-Portfolio-Projekt-Zusammenfassung.pdf

Brown, C. C., Topping, K. J., Henington, C. & Skinner, C. H. (1999). Peer monitoring of learning behaviour. Educational Psychology in Practice, 15(3), 174–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/0266736990150304

Burke, D. & Pieterick, J. (2010). Giving students effective written feedback. Berkshire, Open University Press.

EUfolio. (2015). E-Portfolio implementation guide for policymakers and practitioners. https://eufolioresources.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/eportfolio-implementation-guide_en.pdf

Franke, P. & Handke, J. (2012). E-Assessment. In J. Handke & A. M. Schäfer (Hrsg.). E-Learning, E-Teaching und E-Assessment in der Hochschullehre: Eine Anleitung (S. 147–207). Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag GmbH.

Harrison, K., O’Hara, J. & McNamara, G. (2015). Rethinking assessment: Self- and peer-assessment as drivers of self-direction in learning. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 15(60), 75–88. https://doi.org/10.14689/ejer.2015.60.5

Peng, J. (2010). Peer assessment in an EFL context: Attitudes and correlations. In M. T. Prior, Y. Watanabe & S. Lee (Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Second Language Research Forum (pp. 89–107). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.

Pope, N. (2001). An examination of the use of peer rating for formative assessment in the context of the theory of consumption values. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 26(3), 235–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930120052396

Topping, K. J. (2009). Peer assessment. Theory into Practice, 48(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802577569