assessment

Assessment & Digital Technologies

The integration of Scratch within both formative and summative assessments operationalises technology-enhanced assessment (TEA) principles by embedding digital reasoning and feedback within authentic, process-based tasks. The formative “Strong Password Algorithm” activity enables learners to demonstrate understanding of branching and iteration through immediate feedback and peer explanation, while the summative “Secure School Login System” extends this into designing a functional, ethical digital prototype. Timmis et al. (2016) argue that TEA supports the assessment of complex skills by situating performance within dynamic and multimodal environments. Scratch’s visual, low-risk interface allows mixed-ability learners to translate algorithmic concepts into executable logic, aligning with Jamieson-Proctor et al. (2018), who highlight that purposeful ICT integration must transform rather than replicate traditional practice. This ensures inclusivity and iterative feedback loops consistent with contemporary assessment for learning principles. Furthermore, the design reflects Hutcheon’s (2025) critique of efficiency-driven edtech adoption by privileging open-ended, creative, and locally controlled tools that maintain learner agency. Through these tasks, assessment becomes an active site of computational reasoning and ethical digital citizenship, consistent with ACARA and NESA outcomes, ensuring technology functions as a pedagogically aligned medium rather than acting as an attachment or peripheral tool.

References

Hutcheon, A. (2025). Crises in Australian education, the push for educational technology and the medium-oriented perspective of Neil Postman. Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies, 30(1), 19–36. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/6573/

Jamieson-Proctor, R. (2018, August 12). Transforming learning with information and communication technologies: Insights from three decades of research [Paper presentation]. Research Conference 2018 - Teaching practices that make a difference: Insights from research. Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). https://research.acer.edu.au/research_conference/RC2018/12august/5

Timmis, S., Broadfoot, P., Sutherland, R., & Oldfield, A. (2016). Rethinking assessment in a digital age. British Educational Research Journal, 42(3), 454–476. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3215