When I was younger I always thought about how great it would be if were able to use a computer to help with taking our tests. I thought how easy it would be browse the internet and be able to get every answer on the test. I also thought about how great it would be having the computer as my aide, which meant that I wouldn't need to study as much. In college I had a couple tests that were strictly online exams, I did not study enough for the test and the questions were definitely much harder than what I anticipated. I didn't do as well as I thought I would have and was thoroughly disappointed. Even though this was a personal experience that appears to be against the use of computers during test taking, I definitely couldn't agree more with the side on enabling students to use technology during tests.
Both sides have valid points and arguments that should be equally assessed. The side that believes internet integration during tests is acceptable states that with the use of computers students will hopefully engage in higher level thinking situations. These situations include critical analysis, idea synthesis, or delineation of evaluative arguments which are posed to challenge the thinking of the students and push them to step out of the repetitive memorization of facts and dates. On the other end of the spectrum, individuals feel that with the use of computers while students take tests, takes away from the purpose of what the test is suppose to represent, which is the knowledge of the student not the computers capabilty. They feel that if students are allowed to use computers on tests it takes away from them doing the actual thinkings themselves and it would pose great difficulty monitoring what the students will be accessing while the test is in session.
Now knowing the different arguments from both sides and having personal experience of the issue, I feel that there are both valid arguments on both sides. I don't personally think that having the ability to use computers on every test would be wise, but for specific subjects I think it would be a great addition to the way students are tested. It makes them think of the material in a different perspective having to give answers that aren't just from memory. I definitely do think that it will help aide students down the line when they get in the work force due to the fact that technology is already such a strong asset in society. Why not prepare our students for what they will be using to assess real life situations?
Lauren, similarly to you. I had to take a couple of tests online during college. One of them was a Juvenile Delinquency open-book-test. I was allowed to use all possible resources to take it (textbook, internet, notes). I spent a couple of days preparing myself for this test, and I thought that I was going to do well. However, when it came the time to take it, I realized that that the questions were designed in a way that required more than knowing all the concepts learned during class and doing an internet search. The questions were very specific that I had to think about all the topics that we had learned, discussed and read in class in the whole semester before being able to answer them. Just having access to the internet, my notes and my textbook was not enough. This goes along with the argument made by James Cash that when tests are well designed and require critical thinking rather than memorization, having access to internet is irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteHi Lauren, I really liked how you stated both sides of the argument and then stated your opinion. As a reader, it helps to know the facts before making an opinion or biased judgement on the information at hand. On this particular topic, I feel similar to you in that I think it would be beneficial for students to see both kinds of testing. I don't think online testing can be used in every situation but it would be useful for building critical thinking and information analysis. I like what you said (and completely agree) that having these skills will be incredibly useful when students get into the work force because technology has such a strong presence in so many professions. We can't pretend that students are going to remember every fact they learn for a test so I can definitely see why teachers and schools would want to lean more towards a more technology focused testing strategy.
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