Running head: TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

Technologys Effect on Students Attitude and Performance and

Effectiveness over Traditional-Based Assessment
Santiago Ser
University of Maryland University College

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

Abstract
This paper explores several experiments and case studies as well as firsthand experience from the
author to discuss how assessment using technology compares to the use of traditional methods of
assessment. The original articles use various terms to describe technology based assessment but
to keep things clear they have all been summed up as technology based assessment. Findings
show a mix attitude about using technology-based assessment therefore more research has to be
conducted to confirm one over the other. Research in the lower levels of school might prove to
be a good place to start doing research since there is little research for that population of
students.
Keywords: technology, assessment, technology-based, traditional-based assessment

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

Technologys Effect on Students Attitude and Performance and

Effectiveness over Traditional-Based Assessment
As our society progresses into a more technology-based system, education has to do the
same. Many classrooms across the United States are equipped with computers, smart boards, and
other technologies. Teachers are using these and other technologies in very creative and
innovative ways in order to best meet students different needs. Whether technology is used to
extend lessons for gifted students or to scaffold lessons for struggling students, technology
allows teachers to individualize lessons for each child in the classroom. Technology has
infiltrated everything from planning, to delivering, and even to assessment.
Assessment has become a major topic in the field of education. Everyone involved has
something to say about it. From teachers debating best practices, to administrators expecting
certain results and to parents arguing the validity of assessments; everyone seems to have an
opinion. How about the students? What are their thoughts on it? Which method of assessments
do they prefer or are able to perform better in? Is technology-based assessment better than
traditional forms of assessment? This research paper compares the use of technology in
assessment to the use of traditional paper and pencil assessment. It uses different research
already conducted and firsthand experience by the author to discuss the findings.
First, we need to consider why focus on assessment and how technology affects it.
According to Jamil, Topping, and Tariq (2012), research being conducted on technologys role in
assessment and overall learning, showcase that it is changing pedagogical developments. This
means that because of how we are assessing, we are changing teaching practices. It all had to get
started by changing the way we teach, in other words, incorporating more technology-based

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

activities affected our methods of assessment. This then turned around and began going the other
way; our methods of assessment are affecting what we do in the classroom.
When looking at technology-based assessment, it is important to clarify what this means.
As the Department of Education states in their article, using technology assessment does not only
mean using the computerarized and adaptive exam/test questions, but a commitment to use
technology to gather data, fuel planning and help students learn (2010). This difference allows
teachers and other people in the field of education to move away from the notion that
technology-based assessment simply means putting a test online and having the students take it
on the computer.
Assessment has to match what we expect students to be able to do and what and how we
are teaching it to them. President Barack Obama is quoted by saying that it is time to develop
standards and assessments that dont simply measure whether students can fill a bubble on a test,
but whether they posses 21st century skills (Dep. of Ed., 2010). This statement puts into question
the assessment methods that are currently being used. Teachers are using technology to teach
content and expect students to produce work using computers, it makes sense that they also be
assessed using the same tools. It is common knowledge in the field of education that students
perform better on tests when they sit in the same seat and environment where they first gathered
and learned the information. This same line of thinking can be applied to technology-based
assessment. If we are asking students to learn through the use of technology and expect them to
demonstrate understanding using technology, we need to make sure that we are also assessing
them using it. Kaya and Tan (2014) also found that the way we assess students must be
consistent with what we are teaching and how we are teaching it. It makes sense then that our
assessments match our objectives, teaching methods and content. Furthermore, Barrett et al.

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

(2014) in a study conducted at a university in Los Angeles, found that, students benefit when
congruent mediums are used for note and test taking. This means that students who are using
technology to take notes tend to do better using the same tools they used. Now, not all schools
are using computers to allow students to take notes but many are and in either case, students are
expected to turn in many assignments after being typed. The authors of that particular study note
that they do see how the effect of their study can also affect and extend to other school settings
(i.e. activities, warm-ups, exit ticket, etc.) (Barrett et al., 2014). In addition, a case study on
second year Economic students showed that they performed better and scored higher using
technology-based assessment than traditional forms of assessment (Jamil et al., 2012).
Educators must also take into account how technology can reach out and help students at
all levels. Take for instance a typical classroom in a typical American school. The teacher poses a
question and immediately three students raise their hands. The teacher does everything he or she
is supposed to do: gives enough wait time, asks students to share their thoughts even if they are
wrong and that it is ok, etc. The teacher usually, will end up calling the students who know the
answer either because they know the answer or because he or she does not want to embarrass
some of the other students. A teacher next door uses a thumbs-up/thumb-down system to
informally assess whether his or her students know the right answer. A student who is struggling
in class has no idea and simply looks around the room to see what the overall answer is. He then
makes his answer. The teacher is pleased that that student got the right answer because he or she
feels like this student is finally getting it. What is wrong with those two scenarios? Assessment
was not being used or interpreted correctly! Through the use of a simple clicker, students are
encouraged to answer the question despite maybe getting it wrong. They are also safe from being
ridiculed in front of their classmates because the answers are anonymous to the class. The

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

teacher can either keep that as documentation or move on easily. This simple and small
adjustment to technology could have allowed this one student to be a part of the learning
experience.
Using technology for assessment purposes enables teachers to reach a wider population
of students. The use of technology in assessment makes assessment more accessible, effective,
and valid for students with greater diversity in terms of disability and English language
capability (Dep. of Ed., 2010). Our schools house students from very varied backgrounds and
who are extremely diverse in their learning. We have students with learning disabilities, physical
disabilities, language limitations, and more sitting in our classrooms. As educators, we need to
have the tools to ensure that we are appropriately addressing the students learning needs. The
Department of Education agrees; they state that technology allows assessment to include
different representations of similar concepts and that these different representations
accommodate students disabilities and strengths. They go on to say that thanks to the availability
of modalities that technology presents, a wider and more encompassing population of students
can be assessed fairly (2010). Imagine a class where students struggle with putting words on a
paper. They have great ideas and understand the material but are not able to demonstrate their
understanding or mastery because they cannot get the words out. Technology would allow those
students to be assessed fairly. Through the use of technology, like Dragon Dictation, students
would have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge thus being part of the learning
experience. As noted in the 2010 technology plan, technology enables students who have
disabilities that require special interfaces to interact with digital resources to demonstrate what
they know and can do in ways that would be impossible with standard print-based assessment
(Dep. of Ed., 2010). Technology is helping students with various learning needs and modalities

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

demonstrate their understanding on assessment making the assessment more valid and more
reliable.
The following information is based on the author's first-hand classroom experiences as
special educator with experience working with students who are: gifted and talented, double
exceptional (or twice exceptional), have a learning disability or simply struggle in class. In his
years of teaching, the author has seen students gravitate and perform better using technologybased assessment than traditional. He attributes this to multiple factors including the novelty and
how not stressful it is. After conducting small scale experiments in his classes, the teacher has
found that students tend to perform higher (i.e. receive higher scores) when using clickers instead
of a traditional paper and pencil test. In fact, after getting permission from the administrators, the
teacher set up a small experiment. He handed five students a paper and pencil quiz and had them
take it at the beginning of class while the other five students read silently outside of class. The
quiz contained ten multiple choice answers on the topic of food webs. He then put the same exact
questions on the Promethean board and had the other five students take the same quiz using
clickers (or ActiVotes) while the first groups of students read silently outside. Results showed
that the first group, the paper and pencil group, had an average of 82% while students who used
the clickers had an average of 95%. Students in a physics class used clickers to answer multiple
choice physic problems. Instead of simply marking students' answers right and wrong, the
professor used the data in a productive way. He paired students who had different responses and
had them sit together and work the problem out to discuss how they got different answers. This
teacher reports higher levels of engagement in his class (Dep. of Ed.,2010). The use of clicker to
informally assess students allows the teacher to create meaningful activities that encourage

TECHNOLOGYS EFFECT ON STUDENTS ATTITUDE

engagement which could indicate a better performance on summative assessments. Educators

across the world know that students who are engaged in their learning tend to do better in class.
Students tend to favor technology in assessment. According to a study done in India
including 1877 students, more than 80% shared a positive attitude regarding the use of
technology in assessment (Jamil et al., 2012). Similarly, in a smaller experiment of 300 students,
findings showed that students also had a positive attitude and thoughts about computer assisted
assessment (CAA) (Jamil et al., 2012). The author of this paper has also found similar positive
attitudes. Students seem to light up and become excited about using the technology instead of
using paper and pencil. Technology allows them to interact with new tools that they are
interested in which then affects their overall attitude about what they are doing. In the study
mentioned above, students reported that they found technology-based assessment interesting and
that the overall attitude of technology in assessment is positive (Jamil et al., 2012). All teachers
know that a positive attitude tends to yield higher performance due to higher engagement.
Technology-based assessment is also a more effective method of assessing students for
various reasons. For one, it allows teacher to provide more and quicker feedback to students.
Technology use in assessment also reduces teacher workload, saves time and resources,
generates reports and allows prompt communication with students (Jamil et al., 2012). The major
reason why we assess is to fuel our planning and student learning. Teachers devote hours to
creating data-driven lessons in order to support student learning. Collecting the data using
technology from the beginning means one less step for teacher to make (Dep. of Ed., 2010). In
fact, many teachers do not use the data available to them because they have to manually input it
into software that will graph it and show trends. Removing this step will allow teachers more
time and less work to do encouraging them to create more data-driven lessons. We also have to

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consider the amount of money that is spent on assessment. To start with the basics, traditional
forms or assessment require money be spent in paper and ink, which in small amounts is not a
big deal. When we are assessing millions of children on a weekly basis, the money begins adding
up. Technology in assessment removes many of those costs. Barret et al. (2014) agree that
technology based assessment conserves institutional resources associated with printing and
photocopying. We also have to take into account how costly it is to test for validity and
reliability. With some technology based assessment it can be field-tested automatically by
putting into a Web-based learning environment with thousands of students responding to it
(Dep. of Ed., 2010). The amount of money saved in printing, photocopying and building
reliability and validity could be used to sponsor more innovative and creative ways to use
technology to assess students.
Summary
This research paper focused on how technology based assessments is a better form of
assessment than the traditional form. It used findings from experiments and case studies as well
as firsthand professional experience from the author of the paper. First, assessment in technology
was defined and examples were given of what it looks like. It does not have to be just an online
test but the innovative use of both software and hardware that enables students to show their
understanding. Teachers need to take into account how they are teaching and realize that if a lot
of it is coming through the use of technology, it is fair that students are assessed using
technology as well. Technology allows teachers to reach a wider population including students
with and without disabilities regardless of the complexities of the disability. Students often tend
to favor and prefer using technology over traditional forms of assessment. Finally, the use of

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technology is more effective both with providing feedback, saving the teacher time, and saving
money.
Conclusion
There is much research out there comparing traditional forms of assessment to
technology based assessments. In fact, many studies and articles disagree with one another so it
is hard to say for sure whether or not a) students prefer technology-based assessment, b) it
promotes more engagement, c) fosters higher scores, and d) is more effective in regards to cost
and time than traditional assessment. However, as the Department of Education states:
Technology allows representation of domain, systems, models, and data and their
manipulation in ways that previously were not possible Technology makes it possible
to assess students by asking them to design products or experiments, to manipulate
parameters, run tests, record data, and graph and describe their results. (2010)
Teachers considering using technology based assessment would need to continue doing
more research and take into account the students in front of them. Some students can be more
prone to technology than others. It is always important to move forward considering the students
we have and their learning modalities. Creating small scale experiment in the classroom is a
quick and quite efficient way to get a brief look at how students would respond to technologybased assessment. Administrators also need to consider and have an open mind and ear to
teachers who would like to pursue more technology based testing. It can start as a small pilot
program including one or a few teachers. Depending on the results from that pilot, the
administrative team could encourage other teachers to try it out. If teachers are willing to spend
time creating and looking for different forms of technology assessment, administrators should
work with them in looking for resources and funding to make this happen.

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Moving forward, there is no doubt that more research needs to happen. This is even more
important when considering the younger grades. Much of the research done relates to high
school students and higher education. There is not a lot of research being done at the elementary
school level. A good starting point would be to start using questionnaires and surveys to see
attitudes of teachers and students about technology in assessment. From there, a more developed
research question could be created that would begin a whole new line of research.

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References
Barrett, M. E., Swan, A. B., Mamikonian, A., Ghajoyan, I., Kramarova, O., Youmans, R. J.
(2014). Technology in note taking and assessment: The effects of congruence on student
performance. International Journal of Instruction, 7(1).
Jamil, M., Topping, K. J., Tariq, R. H. (2012). Perceptions of university students regarding
computer assisted assessment. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational TechnologyTOJET, 11(3).
Kaya. Z., Tan, S. (2014). New trends of measurement and assessment in distance education.
Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE, 15(1).
U.S Department of Education. (2010). Transforming American education learning: Powered by
technology. Washington, DC: ED Pubs.