Improving e-Assessment in Collaborative and Social Learning Settings

Abstract

Cognitive assessment in collaborative and social learning requires assessment processes that achieve significant effect on collaborative learning and engage learners through accountability and constructive feedback. In order to design a coherent and efficient assessment system for collaborative and social learning it is necessary to design an enriched learning experience that predisposes the feedback and awareness in the group. This research focuses on e-assessment of collaborative learning and extends it with Social Network Analysis (SNA) techniques that are able to analyze and represent social network interaction during the live collaborative sessions. The interaction data extracted from social and collaborative networking must be integrated into a general assessment system to produce an efficient and personalized awareness and feedback about the collaborative activity and the social behavior of the participants. In previous work we provided a conceptual and methodological research approach of e-assessment applications and tools that meet the mentioned requirements and goals. In this paper we provide empirical data and interpretation to validate the approach.