A two day conference for practitioners and developers of e-Assessment

Past Events

Proceedings for 9th CAA Conference 2005

Foreword

Welcome to the ninth year of the International CAA Conference at Loughborough University.

The programme this year is the largest we’ve seen to date and as in previous years has been drawn up through our double blind review selection process. I expanded the Organising Committee to cope with the extra work load and have named the members overleaf for your interest and as an opportunity to express my thanks.

This book of proceedings contains a diverse collection of CAA (also known as E-Assessment) related research and findings. There is evidence of large scale initiatives, more funding being made available to support work in the area, and technical boundaries being pushed further than we’ve seen previously. Free text assessment has made the national and international news this year and such technologies are represented this year. Large government bodies such as the Qualification Curriculum Authority (QCA) are now running national ICT CAA tests and have papers included in the programme.

Of significant interest are the moves being made by the Joint Information Systems Committee ( JISC) in furthering the field of
E-Assessment. JISC are showcasing their most recent initiatives and projects on Day Two under the themes of ‘changes in pedagogical approaches’, ‘emerging technical requirements’, and ‘tools for e-assessment’. This is followed by a discussion session. In line with the potential impact this offers I have scheduled the session so all our delegates can attend.

I rarely make recommendations about the programme, encouraging you to drop in and out of sessions as you see fit. However, for anyone new to E-Assessment I would suggest the paper by Warburton and Conole (p471), as this offers a review of the literature and should get you up to speed quickly.

Our invited Key Note Speakers are Sharon Shrock and William Coscarelli from Southern Illinois University. I have included their biographies in this book for your interest.

The presence of our sponsors; JISC, Questionmark Computing, the Higher Education Academy, Thomson Prometric, Scottish Qualifications Authority, and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate demonstrates evidence of a demand for thorough, secure E-assessment across all educational and training sectors. Please do pay them a visit.

We have had expressions of interest from four journals so may see a special edition based on a selection of our best papers.

The Joanna Bull Prize for best paper will be announced at the event and publicised on the conference web site (www.caaconference.com).

Lastly, there are a large number of ‘old hands’ attending, so do please engage with those new to CAA Conference. With your help I’m sure we will strike the balance between useful information exchange and enjoyment.

Enjoy the conference.

Myles Danson
July 2005