Ensuring Ethics and Equity With Classroom Assessments and Mobile Technology

Abstract

As online education continues to grow in both K-12 and higher education environments, teachers are becoming more attentive to the presence and power of their classroom assessments via mobile technology to enhance their self-efficacy. In online education, classroom assessments change both the role of the teacher and the function of the assessments. Mobile technology offers more choices for conducting assessments and providing feedback, accommodating learners' lives and locations, and increasing democratic participation and social inclusion. However, prevalent across online education are ethics and equity: two essential elements that can be difficult to guarantee with many approaches to classroom assessment via mobile technology. This chapter examines the essential elements of ethics and equity with classroom assessments via mobile technology in online education with recommended guidelines for teachers to enhance their self-efficacy.

Technology-Integrated Assessment: A Literature Review

“…Of the 12 references to ethics, there are six references to the ethical use of technology and four references to ethical learner behaviour. There are 14 references to equity, 10 of which presume that the use of technology will enhance equity, for example, Gallavan et al (2017) claim "classroom assessments that are ethical and equitable are more likely using mobile technologies" (p. 195). Conversely, Timmis et al (2016) discuss ethical issues associated with integrating technology, such as questions about surveillance, consent, and the potential for the creation of cultures of control rather than agency.…”

Developing the Technology-Integrated Assessment Framework

“…Although our review surfaced expressed concerns about academic integrity (i.e., learners behaving ethically), there was much less concern evident on the ethical implementation of technology for assessment (i.e., instructors and institutions behaving ethically). A recurring feature of this theme is the presumption that the use of technology for assessment will necessarily lead to increased equity (Gallavan et al, 2017) despite evidence to the contrary (Aluko & Omidire, 2020;Duncan & Joyner, 2022).…”