e-Assessment in a Limited-Resources Dental School Using an Open-Source Learning Management System

e-Assessment provides solutions to some problems encountered in dental students' evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the experience of a limited-resources dental school with e-assessment provided through an open-source learning management system (LMS). Data about users' access and types of e-assessment activities at the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Egypt, were obtained from the web-based LMS Moodle. A questionnaire developed to assess students' perceptions of the e-assessment was also sent to students registered in two courses (undergraduate and postgraduate) with the same instructor. The results showed that most e-courses at the school had one form of e-assessment (82%) and, of these, 16.7% had summative assessment activities. There were significant differences among departments in the number of e-courses with e-assessment. One-quarter of e-courses with e-assessment used Moodle quizzes. Of 285 students registered in the two courses that included the questionnaire, 170 responded (response rate=59.6%). The responding students positively perceived the impact of e-assessment on learning and its reliability and security, whereas technical issues and related stresses were negatively perceived. This study suggests that e-assessment can be used at minimal cost in dental schools with limited resources and large class sizes with the least demands on faculty members and teaching staff time. For these schools, an open-source LMS such as Moodle provides formative e-assessment not available otherwise and accommodates various question formats and varying levels of instructors' technical skills. These students seemed to have a positive impression of the e-assessment although technical problems and related stresses are issues that need to be addressed.