This is the final day of IATEFL. I went to fewer sessions as my own talk was scheduled for the slot after lunch.
From paper-based to online testing: opportunities, challenges, and lessons learnt
Dr Elena Gandini from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) shared her experience of rolling out online/remote EAP-light (English for Academic Purposes) B1-C1 exams. These exams are used by several British universities, including UCLan, for the dual purpose of admissions and language proficiency assessment. Despite the inevitability of online testing during the coronavirus pandemic, she mentioned the case for continuing with it as the digital format can cater for a more diverse range of test takers.
One of the initial challenges was the logistics at the test site. The bandwidth was insufficient to cope with a large number of test takers in a single sitting. Elena suggested that paper-based tests would be more suitable to a large cohort of test takers, whereas online tests would work better with small groups or individual test takers.
Although the vision of the test developers was shown to align with that of the institution (i.e. the university), some other challenges included 1) different priorities among the stakeholders; 2) issues with the online platform; 3) equity issues if online tests were taken in the test taker's own home (e.g. computer setup with benign plug-ins being flagged as candidate malpractice, lack of webcams that can take a 360-degree room scan, test takers with children at home, etc.); and 4) comprehensible online format/layout of tests. In this regard, some students skipped the rest of a listening test after they had completed the first section; this means that they had to retake the test.
Finally, Elena summarised the lessons learnt from the shift to online testing. Every stakeholder's priorities should be clarified prior to test development; there should also be iterative piloting and test familiarisation for the students. In terms of test taker experience, anecdotal evidence has shown that the students tend to use skimming more when reading on the screen. In terms of test performance, there has been an improvement in listening skills but a slight decrease in reading skills. Furthermore, the most common mistakes in writing tests have changed due to a shift from handwriting to typing.
Five burning questions to education from a young changemaker
In this closing plenary talk, Harry Waters and his daughter Alicia Waters Galán explored ways in which children and teenagers can be empowered to advocate for positive change. They asked valid questions about the role of educational institutions in facilitating or stifling young people's voices, and the ability of national curriculums or syllabuses to address contemporary issues (e.g. environment and sustainability), among other things. Harry also showcased some of the initiatives that Alicia had undertaken on the theme of environmental protection.