Conclusion

Missing feedback is a bad assessment and a “bad assessment” can only be transformed into a “bad eAssessment”.

The demands of the new learning generation, specified as “digital natives” cannot be ignored though. Since personal feedback is very hard to retrieve or receive when needed, “digital natives” use real time digital feedback extensively via social media, which might not always be the appropriate resource. It catapults the trainee into a consuming setting, rewards become addictive and might change personal social or learning behaviour, the teacher being completely excluded in this process. Instead, manipulative effects of serious gaming could be used in VET positively more often by creating learning commitment or motivation. Future eAssessment in VET should go beyond status quo and include more potential-orientated or solution-orientated professional feedback to increase professional self-awareness and professional competencies (“know how”, “know-why”), specific tools must be developed. Classic didactic concepts like the “shift from teaching to learning” (vgl. WILDT, 2004),  “problem-based learning” (vgl. ZUMBACH, 2003), “Cognitive Apprenticeship” (vgl. MANDEL, GRUBER & RENKEL, 1994; MANDL & KRAUSE, 2002) should be revisited to find more evidence for the importance of included feedback. In the meantime, etools can support hybrid assessment procedures but cannot replace an authentic assessment process in total.

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*Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: classic definitions and new directions. Contemp. Educ. Psychol. 25, 54–67 / pp. 56

Barto, A., and Simsek, O. (2005). Intrinsic motivation for reinforcement learning systems. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth Yale Workshop on Adaptive and Learning Systems, New Haven, CT, Yale University.