Beyond textbook communication exchanges: Are student teachers ready for virtual assessments?

The production of videos and sharing them on the Internet has changed the landscape of communication exchanges, and the approach to education. This change is attributed to the low budgets associated with video production and with the convenience of using the Internet as a means to disseminate the information thus processed, through technology. However, most learning and teaching resources continue to be in the traditional text format, as are the assessment modes for teachers. This study aims to describe an innovative practice of having student teachers present a summary of their final assignments in digital format, which could either be videos or other digital formats. The participants in the study are final year undergraduate and post-graduate Diploma of Education student teachers. For the purpose of the study, the virtual presentations were uploaded to a learning platform to enable the two different classes to comment on each other’s work within one week. Thereafter, the data collected, was analysed from tracked statistics provided by the learning platform and students’ reflections of this inter-class activity. It was found that most of the participants were positive about this new presentation approach, but they preferred to give comments to peers of their own class rather than comment on the work of the other class. It was concluded that our student teachers were ready to accept virtual presentations in formative assessments, at the same demonstrating a marked reluctance to criticise the work of their peers from a different class. Copyright © 2008 Eugenia M. W. Ng and Yiu Chi Lai.