Evaluation in Distance Education and Its Challenges: The Active Methodologies in the Teaching-Learning Process

Gelsomina Maria Bignetti Veloso, José de Lima Albuquerque, Renato Luiz Vieira de Carvalho, 

                   Williana Carla Silva Alves, Andressa Pacífico Franco Quevedo

(Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil)

Abstract: This paper presents a didactic experience in the discipline (curricular unit) entitled Distance Education offered by the Postgraduate Program in Technology and Management in Distance Education at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). The main activity taught in this curricular unit was the development of a short course in which it sought to analyze the importance and challenges of evaluation in distance education.

The main objectives were to discuss the various possible ways of assessing learning in the distance education modality and to analyze the assessment tools that can be used in virtual environments. For this purpose, a survey of evaluation methodologies was carried out, emphasizing the need to innovate and seek alternatives that stand out to contribute to meaningful learning. It was observed that in distance learning there are some studies that highlight innovative methodologies. As examples, there are active methodologies that are already a reality in distance education. At the end of this didactic experience, it was concluded that evaluating requires a break of paradigms, because in distance education, evaluation is a dynamic process that has undergone constant changes since the emergence of digital Information and Communication Technologies (TDIC).