Enhancing Authentic Assessment in Higher Education: leveraging Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated universities to adopt online assessments, incorporate hybrid teaching methods, and diversify their evaluation tools. This transformation centered on principles of authenticity, accessibility, and responsible data management. Technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and assessment analytics have played pivotal roles in reshaping assessment practices. Automatic grading tools like Knowledge Tracing have proven valuable for both in-person and online learning. Nonetheless, ongoing debates revolve around issues of data literacy and striking a balance between humanistic and technocratic educational approaches. This proposal delves into the realm of e- assessment tools, the evolution of assessment objectives, and the challenge of establishing trust in online assessment processes. Universities are actively working to enhance assessment methods, with a strong emphasis on authenticity and robust student support. They are also integrating e-assessment technology to ensure genuine and effective evaluations. The proposal's overarching objective is to contribute to the ongoing discourse surrounding the promotion of authentic and continuous assessment within higher education. It aims to explore the opportunities presented by digital transformation, online learning, and artificial intelligence in this educational context. Additionally, we provide an overview of a pilot study aimed at investigating the potential application of a multimodal computer vision system to enhance assessment methods in the university setting and create a supportive learning environment.