eAA Chair presenting at OEB: Embedding Soft Skills to Enhance Future Employability
Graham Hudson, Special Adviser, GA Partnership, is the new Chair of the e-Assessment Association. Graham is presenting at Online Educa Berlin, OEB 2022.
Graham is joining Per Bergfors, Associate Professor, cphbusiness, Denmark; and Niels Høyer, Lecturer, UCL University College, Denmark on a panel discussing how 21st century skills can be part of a curriculum and even be taught in an online setting. How do you create a path of built-in personal development that can strengthen a student’s employability for the careers of the future?
The session is titled, “Embedding Soft Skills to Enhance Future Employability” and is moderated by Claudia Roeschmann, Associate Director for Design Innovation, Texas State University, United States of America.
Within this session, Graham Hudson will present on: A New Model for Critical Thinking – Addressing the Growing Global Skills Gap
“The presentation will set out the PACIER model and sub-skills, explain the research base and provide examples of the assessments. It will relate the importance for universities in providing taught courses and the benefits that these can bring. It will provide information about how the courses are certificated and look to the way in which Universities can also leverage the use of micro-credentials.”
Date Friday, Nov 25
Time –
Room Koepenick I/II
About OEB
“Online Educa Berlin (OEB) is the annual global, cross-sector conference and exhibition on digital learning and training. The event has a unique focus, bringing you to the forefront of developments in learning technology. Since 1995, insights gained at OEB have pointed the way towards the future of learning”. For the complete agenda please go to: Programme | OEB
Prometric® Partners with HelloWorldKids® to Expand Coding Opportunities for Students
New coding and certification program to launch through Prometric’s global, secure testing solution
Press release. Dubai, UAE – November 15, 2022 – Today, Prometric announced its partnership with HelloWorldKids, a leading educational technology organization specializing in coding curriculum for children, to develop and administer an exam and first-of-its-kind certification program called the HelloWorldKids Certification Program (HCP). The first certificate in this program is the HelloMaster CertificateTM.
As part of HelloWorldKids’ mission to prepare new generations for the future with crucial skills, HelloMaster will develop and evaluate coding proficiency for children ages 8 to 18 years old in three different areas: SmoothY language, web development, and Python Programming Language. The program will be available for students who have completed their HelloCode courses and are ready to demonstrate their knowledge.
“Our partnership with Prometric continues our investment in coding education and will help young students unleash their potential to prepare them for a world full of possibilities,” said Hanan Khader, founder and CEO of HelloWorldKids. “Many students are looking to differentiate themselves for a better future job or to be accepted at a top university. The new HelloMaster certificate will be proof of a student’s proficiency in coding to increase those opportunities.”
“Coding is the language of the future, and it is critical for students to be able to prove their proficiency and skills. This is the first clear and competitive exam that will validate their knowledge for better opportunities,” said Azadar Shah, Vice President, Growth Leader in Europe, and the Middle East at Prometric. “We are excited to partner with HelloWorldKids to leverage our extensive and secure global test center network to administer this certification program for students.”
The first exam, the SmoothY Basic Exam, will launch in May 2023 at Prometric’s licensed testing centers globally. Eligible candidates can schedule their exam online in late December 2022.
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About Prometric
Prometric is a leading global provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment solutions. Our integrated end-to-end solutions provide exam development, management, and distribution that set the industry standard in quality, security, and service excellence. Today, we are paving the industry’s path forward with new solutions and innovation to ensure reliable access to secure assessments anytime, anywhere. For more information, visit Prometric.com or follow us on Twitter at @PrometricGlobal and LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/prometric/.
About HelloWorldKids
HelloWorldKids is an ed-tech company that aims to build and nurture coding talents in kids from 6-18 years old. We aim to build the largest community of coding learners at an early age, get them certified and recognized internationally to unleash their talent in a world full of possibilities. Our mission is to simplify Text-Based Coding for young learners and discover their talents through a unique certification journey to unleash thousands of international perks and opportunities. For more information, visit helloworldkids.org, HelloCode.me or follow-us on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/helloworldkids/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloWorldKids
ACER to lead 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment
Press Release from ACER. 18 October 2022
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has appointed the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to lead the development and implementation of the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) across more than 90 countries and economies.
PISA is a leading international survey that measures young people’s ability to apply their knowledge and skills to real-life problems and situations. ACER will lead a consortium that will design and conduct internationally comparable assessments of science, mathematical literacy and reading literacy for 15-year-olds.
Working with partners TAO, by Open Assessment Technologies, cApStAn and HallStat, ACER will manage and coordinate all aspects of PISA, including survey development and operations, linguistic quality control, country liaison, online and paper-based test and questionnaire delivery, and data handling, analysis and scaling.
In addition to science, mathematical literacy and reading literacy, each PISA cycle also assesses student proficiency in an ‘innovative’ domain. The OECD has also nominated ACER to develop the 2025 innovative assessment—learning in the digital world—which will measure students’ abilities to self-regulate learning while using digital tools.
PISA has measured trends in reading, mathematics and science achievement every three years since 2000*, starting with 32 participating countries and economies in the first assessment cycle and expanding participation to 84 in PISA 2022. The PISA assessments and contextual questionnaires are completed by students, schools and educational systems. They provide data and analyses that guide system-level education policy evaluation and decision making.
ACER Chief Executive Professor Geoff Masters AO said the OECD’s decision on the management of PISA 2025 recognised ACER’s expertise in large-scale assessment.
Under the leadership of Dr Ray Adams, ACER worked closely with the OECD to design, establish and implement PISA during its first five cycles (2000 to 2012). ACER has conducted all PISA cycles for the Australian government and is engaged by the OECD to help countries participating for the first-time.
“A very small number of organisations globally have the capacity to manage an international assessment program of the size and complexity of PISA,” Professor Masters said. “We see the return of this program to ACER as a reflection on our previous success; the strength of our current staff expertise in project management, test development and psychometric analysis; and the innovative approaches we can bring to educational assessment,” he said.
“ACER welcomes the opportunity to lead the development of PISA so that it remains the preeminent measure of student achievement.”
*The PISA cycle due to take place in 2021 was postponed until 2022 in light of COVID-19, and the triennial forward schedule adjusted accordingly.
Member’s News: Dr Donald Lancaster moves to Exeter University Business School
Former panelist at the International e-Assessment Conference and member of the e-Assessment Association, Dr Donald Lancaster has moved to take his place as Associate Professor and Director of MBA Programmes at Exeter University Business School.
Link to University of Exeter, Business School Profile. Click HERE
Through his interest in contemporary and relevant assessment, Dr Lancaster led the implementation of digital exams at Bath.
At the Association's Conference earlier this year, Dr Lancaster joined Sarah Corcoran, Director of e-Assessment Transformation, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); Professor Phillip Dawson, Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning, Deakin University, Australia; Dan Howard, Director of Operations, NCFE and Claudia Bickford-Smith, Director of Education, Oxford University Press.
The panel discussed What will stick and what won’t? A post-pandemic look at the future of e-assessment.
If you missed the live conference and the opportunity to listen to Dr Lancaster during this session, you can now watch this panel discussion for free. Simply click the link below.
Opportunity: Head of Assessments at the University of Bristol
University of Bristol
Head of Assessment
Competitive salary and benefits
The University of Bristol was one of the six civic universities created in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century. With a global reputation for academic and research excellence, we are a top 10 UK university and 61st in the world (QS Rankings 2023).
The Head of Assessment is a new role, created to lead on all aspects of the delivery of assessment, with a particular focus on digital assessment, across the university. Reporting to the Director of Education Services and working closely with the Director of Education Innovation and Director of Education Quality and Policy, the postholder will be responsible for leading the translation of our assessment strategy into operational planning and delivery. The postholder will also provide expert input on assessment processes, services and systems, and will shape our approach to implementing digital assessment.
Assessment at Bristol is delivered through a framework of complex and multiple central and devolved processes, so the Head of Assessment will need to work across a wide stakeholder network, both academic and professional services, to promote change and engage stakeholders in the development and delivery of new forms of assessment. The postholder will also monitor the external environment for issues that affect assessment and provide advice and guidance to senior leaders and committees.
You will have expertise in assessment, especially digital, and a strong understanding of current issues across higher education and their implications for assessment. You will have operational management experience and will be able to analyse and interpret complex information. You will be able to navigate complex processes and structures and provide expert advice on our assessment strategy and delivery models. Strong interpersonal, communication and relationship building skills will also be essential.
The Head of Assessment will be at the heart of our evolving approach to assessment and will have the opportunity to work across the entire university to lead and promote digital-led change. For more information on this important position, please visit https://andersonquigley.com/bristol-assessment/
For a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Anderson Quigley: Elliott Rae on +44 (0)7584 078 534 or Carolyn Coates on +44 (0)7825 871 944.
The closing date for applications is noon on Monday 10th October 2022.
We welcome applications from all members of our community and are particularly encouraging those from diverse groups, such as members of the LGBT+ and BAME communities, to join us.
Some of the key points included recognition that the digital divide is real, that fairness counts, and that accessibility is important for fairness.
"The future of e-assessment was a recurring theme at this year’s E-Assessment Conference in June. Topics covered everything including examples of innovation, and from AI to the digital divide and barriers to the wider rollout of on-screen testing." writes the team.
"1. Covid has accelerated change
The pandemic’s challenges have transformed assessment, and these changes mean that the move to on-screen assessment is now both “desirable and inevitable”. In his opening Keynote, Colin Hughes at AQA explained that students already feel this will happen, and there are many system-wide benefits in the longer term. But there are widespread worries about the speed of change.
“We need natural evolution, not revolution.”
Colin Hughes, CEO at AQA
One example of manageable change was Qualification Wales’s reimagining of GCSE digital technology, focusing on easy wins first."
