Examining the role of e-learning in assessment education for preservice teacher education: Challenges, potentials, and opportunities

This article examines the current use of e-learning to promote preservice teacher development in classroom assessment. Motivating this study are: (1) the perennial challenges assessment educators face in fostering teacher development in the areas of assessment policies, standards, and practices, as documented in the literature and experienced in our own practice; and (2) the potential and promise that recent advancements in web technology hold in enabling new forms of, and approaches to, teacher learning. As assessment educators, we are especially interested in specific applications of e-learning that can enhance or support teacher development in assessment capacity.
This article presents a systematic review of the literature to identify the ways in which e-learning is currently being integrated to support preservice teacher learning in assessment. On the basis of our findings and on the general literature on e-learning, we suggest what may be productive applications of e-learning to assessment education for future exploration, especially in the areas of: (1) building teacher capacity in assessing with technology; (2) learning how to assess through technology; and (3) learning how to assess using technology.