Geography futures : assessing student achievement in geography using ICT's that enhance student learning

A preferred future for geographical education for school students should include the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in teaching and learning. When used in the Geography classroom in schools, ICT's are often at best peripheral to the usual learning experiences of students. This includes for assessment. In this paper we report on assessing student learning in a Geography unit on the future of the student's local area using ICT's with eighty Year 7 students. Evidence suggests that the collaborative ICT system used enhanced learning in the Geography unit and provided rich assessment information to inform and support teacher judgements of student achievement on the outcomes of the unit. The data suggests that this method of assessing student achievement in Geography by teachers in their classrooms is at least as accurate as traditional pen and paper tests and other evidence such as student workbooks. Importantly, teacher judgements can be made accurately in about a quarter of the time of more traditional practices. Also, the resulting evidence to support teacher judgements of student achievement in Geography is transparent and readily available for audiences such as other teachers for moderation purposes, school administrators, parents and the students themselves.