What you should know about CAA

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What you should know about CAA

• Steve Wheeler

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What is CAA?

• Civil Aviation Authority
• Catholic Anthropological Association
• Combined Arms Agency
• Controlled Access Area
• Customer Asset Accounting
• Chicken Anaemia Agent
• Communication Achievement Award

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Computer Aided Assessment
CAA refers to the use of computers in
assessment. In this context the role of the
computer is to deliver tests, mark student
response and present the data to the
participating staff member (http//www.herts.ac.
uk/ltdu/technology/what_is_caa.html)
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• CAA changes the student tutor relationship
• (Stephens, 2005) http//www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/proj
  ects/jtap/reports/teaching/chapter7.html
• It also causes us to reconceptualise our notions
  of assessment

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• The computer doesnt assess the student YOU do.
  
• The computer often plays no part in the actual
  assessment of responses but merely facilitates
  the capture and transfer of responses between
  candidate and human assessor (Wikepedia.org).
• In Computer Based Assessment the computer is used
  to do the marking.

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• CAA is open to plagiarism
• It is also easier to detect using either
  meta-search engines or proprietary software
• (e.g Turnitin.com)

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• CAA does not replace traditional methods of
  assessment, but can be an addition or amendment
  to an existing scheme
• http//www.swap.ac.uk/elearning/elcaaguide.asp

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Example of e-draft submission with tutor feedback

• I going to analyse and compare the differences in
  education of post 16 students studying Beauty
  Therapy by looking at things (factors) such as
  education, continual (lifelong?) learning,
  funding, equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Comparing the different types of teaching
  practice by looking at the resources which are
  available to schools/ colleges and the money
  which is invested by the state, will also help.
  Other topics to analyse are tuition, learning
  support and facilities for disabilities. The
  length of time students are in training, what
  they go on to do after, continual training,
  employment practice, work base learning/placements
  , opportunities for work experience are also
  important. Another (Other) aspect(s) to be
  considered are working conditions, hours of work,
  pay and conditions etc. (Spider Gram Appendix)
  Take care with syntax for sentences Another is,
  Others are
• I would also like to look at life styles, social
  cultural, political and economic changes amongst
  general life and living. I am going to compare
  this to my own working practice, training social
  and economical culture and generally the way I
  live and learn. Use of verbs could be more
  academically oriented check the meaning of your
  message and try to write accordingly.
• You have an opportunity here to develop
  this introduction into a literature review or
  overview of education and culture/history of the
  Czech Republic, with references to the work of
  Buzkova, Parizek, Svecova, Meteju, and others.
  Leaving it this way is a little thin and
  uninformative to the reader a richer background
  and context to your visit it needed. Check out
  the module handbook for required and recommended
  reading, and visit the relevant web resources
  etc., to strengthen your work.

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Example of (self) assessment in MTutor (IMP
online module)
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Summary of Limitations

• Possibility of hardware/software failure
• Secure servers required to ensure learners cannot
  go elsewhere on the Internet to gain the answers
• Security issues need to be addressed to ensure
  each students ID is verifiable
• Learners must demonstrate a minimum level of ICT
  skill prior to taking the test

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Summary of Limitations

• Development of rigorous and appropriate questions
  requires training and staff time
• High level of co-ordination required between
  tutors, computer support, invigilators and admin.
  
• Limitations on the knowledge and skills that can
  be assessed
• Most assessment development software does not
  support textual responses beyond a sentence.

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Summary of Benefits

• CAA can broaden range of knowledge assessed
• Places emphasis on assessment design
• Increases consistency and objectivity of marking
  and minimise human error (e.g. eliminates norm
  referenced assessment)
• Decreases staff marking load
• Aids administrative speed and efficiency

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Summary of Benefits

• Expands optional tools not available for use with
  paper-based exams, for example multimedia
• Increase in frequency of testing, may increase
  student motivation
• Increases feedback for both learners (scores,
  hints, praise, guidance) and tutors (question
  statistics, scores, reports)
• Quality of questions easily monitored using
  statistical analysis via course management
  software

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Summary of Benefits

• Potential for sharing questions with other team
  members
• Provides opportunities to practise skills
• May help identify individual student and cohort
  difficulties and weakness

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Any Questions?

• www2.plymouth.ac.uk/distancelearning