E-ASSESSMENT AS TOOL TO IMPROVE STUDENTS' LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND PASS RATES IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Computers and electronic technology today offer many ways to enrich educational assessment both inside and outside the classroom. A combination of methodologies and technologies facilitates the increased use of student centred learning, in which students can learn at their own pace, improve time-on-task and enables the use of a variety of learning resources. Less common in engineering, and also more problematic, is the use of e-assessment, both as a method of assessing student progress towards learning outcomes, or as a learning tool. Assessments can be generally classed as formative, where students receive feedback from assessments, or summative, traditionally in the form of written examinations where the primary purpose is to assess compliance. E-assessment is a generic term used to describe the use of technology in the assessment process. This paper describes how e-assessment has been introduced into second level subjects Fluid Mechanics II and Thermo-flow II during the first year of Mechanical Engineering students at a University of Technology in South Africa. A survey was conducted with these students, where a combination of e-assessments and paperbased assessments were used during the period of two semesters. Data was collected on affective, validity, practicality, reliability, security and teaching and learning factors related to e-assessment. The authors analysed and reflected on responses from students and adjusted the practice of eassessment, in order to enhance the quality of learning. The results of this project in progress show an improvement in the students' experiences and expectations with e-assessment as well as an indication that this might increase pass rates. This valuable information will therefore in future be used to research if a true correlation between a pleasant e-learning experience and pass rate exists.