During and after COVID-19, formative online exams became widely employed at universities. Face-to-face academic activities were suspended. As a result, many institutions increased their use of information and communications technology (ICT) and adopted online assessments. University lecturers were obliged to change their pedagogical strategies, teaching and learning paradigms, and evaluation procedures. This study examined opportunities and challenges experienced by lecturers when using formative online assessments. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was the theoretical framework used for this study. Nine purposively selected lecturers from the faculty of humanities participated in this study. Individual interviews were used to collect data which were synthesized narratively. The findings revealed that online formative assessments enabled lecturers to be more flexible on assessment schedules, meet a variety of student demands and learning preferences, and give their students immediate feedback on their academic performances and comprehension. The validity, reliability, dishonesty, and academic integrity of formative online assessments were the main challenges regarding different assessments that were developed by lecturers. Based on its findings and data analysis, the study recommended that while conducting formative online examinations, lecturers should, among other things, make technical assistance resources available to students, explicitly convey expectations about academic integrity and cheating as well as outline clear learning objectives for each assessment. They should implement adaptive assessment tools that change the level of difficulty and make sure that the online assessment platform is usable for students with disabilities.

Authors:
Paseka Mollo, Central University of Technology, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Paseka Mollo is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Central University of Technology, Free State in South Africa

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