**1. Introduction**

#### **1.1. General**

The current research project is in the assessment field of education. The members of the project has developed an Internet Wi-Fi application that can assess teams with several levels of hierarchy. This application could be considered as an assessment management system (AMS). The application is a complex assessment task in collaborative mode display engine. In fact, during the assessment task, team members can be appointed as team members, team leaders and team administrators that supervise team leaders. These appointments define the hierarch‐ ical levels used in the software application. This application is able to process and manage courses, course material, students, teams, hierarchical appointments, assessment tasks, student's curriculums, student's progression in courses and also summative and formative assessments. The application stores all the assessment data to accelerate the organization's assessment process at all hierarchy levels. Hierarchical aggregate assessment of learning in the education domain is a subfield of teamwork assessment where teams have several levels of hierarchy and supervision. Team members are either students or members of any organiza‐ tion that participates in teams in a collaborative mode complex assessment task. In the mastery learning paradigm,this application is a system that presents exams [1] or a system that presents tests to be solved in teams [2] that is a test management system in comparison with the competency-based approach paradigm that defines the application as a collaborative mode complex assessment task display engine [3] and an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) manage‐ ment system[4] because the application stores all the summative and the formative assess‐ ments of presented tests and tasks in its database.

Hierarchical aggregate assessment is a teamwork assessment project that groups students in teams with several levels of hierarchy and assign them a hierarchical position as team member, team leader and team administrator to present them complex assessment tasks in a collabo‐ rative mode in an authentic context. When the assessment task is completed, the actual teams are dissolved and the team members are grouped in new teams with new hierarchical positions to perform another assessment task. One of the goals of this chapter is that the term "hier‐ archical aggregate assessment" to be accepted by the scientific community. This process is shown in Figure 1.

The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 85

**Figure 1.** Hierarchical aggregate assessment process

courses, write exams, submit homework, perform in teams and submit self- and peers formative assessment. The theoretical consideration of the project establishes the link between hierarchical aggregate assessment applications and management information systems (MIS). The application is an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) management system in the competency-based learning and an Internet test administration system in the mastery learning approach. The aim of the chapter is to introduce the reader to the field of hierarchical aggregate assessment and to show how to implement complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy into an Internet software application.

84 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

**Keywords:** E-learning, E-assessment, Teamwork assessment, Hierarchical aggre‐

The current research project is in the assessment field of education. The members of the project has developed an Internet Wi-Fi application that can assess teams with several levels of hierarchy. This application could be considered as an assessment management system (AMS). The application is a complex assessment task in collaborative mode display engine. In fact, during the assessment task, team members can be appointed as team members, team leaders and team administrators that supervise team leaders. These appointments define the hierarch‐ ical levels used in the software application. This application is able to process and manage courses, course material, students, teams, hierarchical appointments, assessment tasks, student's curriculums, student's progression in courses and also summative and formative assessments. The application stores all the assessment data to accelerate the organization's assessment process at all hierarchy levels. Hierarchical aggregate assessment of learning in the education domain is a subfield of teamwork assessment where teams have several levels of hierarchy and supervision. Team members are either students or members of any organiza‐ tion that participates in teams in a collaborative mode complex assessment task. In the mastery learning paradigm,this application is a system that presents exams [1] or a system that presents tests to be solved in teams [2] that is a test management system in comparison with the competency-based approach paradigm that defines the application as a collaborative mode complex assessment task display engine [3] and an electronic portfolio (e-portfolio) manage‐ ment system[4] because the application stores all the summative and the formative assess‐

Hierarchical aggregate assessment is a teamwork assessment project that groups students in teams with several levels of hierarchy and assign them a hierarchical position as team member, team leader and team administrator to present them complex assessment tasks in a collabo‐ rative mode in an authentic context. When the assessment task is completed, the actual teams are dissolved and the team members are grouped in new teams with new hierarchical positions to perform another assessment task. One of the goals of this chapter is that the term "hier‐ archical aggregate assessment" to be accepted by the scientific community. This process is

gate assessment

ments of presented tests and tasks in its database.

**1. Introduction**

shown in Figure 1.

**1.1. General**

Hierarchical assessment process is applied everywhere teams have several levels of hierarchy. This process could execute itself either manually or automatically with computerized algo‐ rithms executed on computer or Internet servers driving Wi-Fi applications. This process finds its origins in the management field where it is applied since human race worked in teams in large organizations. This process surely has been executed by Julius Caesars's generals to assess combat effectiveness of soldiers and their officer's leadership to lead troops in combat.

Hierarchical aggregate assessment includes the standard or the conventional assessment field that provides the same type of assessment for all the students in the class. Hence standard or conventional assessment process is the assessment of the same abilities, performances, knowledge and skills in the same assessment task. So standard or conventional assessment is a particular case of the hierarchical aggregate assessment field. Hierarchical aggregate assessment includes the standard or the conventional assessment and is the assessment of different abilities, performances, knowledge and skills in the same assessment tasks according to the hierarchical position assigned to the team member as shown in figure 2.

**Figure 2.** Situation of hierarchical aggregate assessment in the assessment field

#### **1.2. Objectives of the actual research**

The objectives of the actual research that is also the subject of a doctoral dissertation is the automation and the computerization of the hierarchical aggregate assessment process with Internet applications and mobile technologies (Wi-Fi). With computer algorithms, Internet applications and mobile technologies, teamwork could be done over the Internet with collaborative work applications used by team members. An Internet application named "Cluster" was developed by researchers of the CDAME [5] laboratory for a PhD project to automate and computerize the hierarchical assessment process with the research and devel‐ opment (R & D) methodology for the development of educative products stated by Harvey and Loiselle [6]. This application currently resides at the following address: http:// eval.uqam.ca/cluster/.

#### **1.3. Fields and application domains**

The process of hierarchical aggregate assessment has been performed everywhere by mankind throughout the ages. Although the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment was per‐ formed through ages, no scientist has considered to define a particular case of teamwork assessment where team members have several levels of hierarchy. The domain of hierarchical aggregate assessment first situates itself in the field of management and its computerization is in the field of computer science. However, the actual research also wants to situate this process in the field of education through complex assessment tasks in collaborative mode with an authentic context, as shown in Figure 3.

**Figure 3.** The field of hierarchical aggregate assessment

In effect, in the field of education, it can happen that courses or complex assessment tasks that could be performed in teams can have several hierarchical levels. The authentic context under the hierarchical aggregate assessment occurs when students perform the task in a similar environment to the workplace. This context also applies to the use of mobile technologies (Wi-Fi) in the workplace through which students can perform a complex assessment task in collaborative mode through their cell phone, iPad, iPod or laptop. The use of information technologies in the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment ensures that this process can take place in the field of mobile learning and especially in the mobile assessment field.

The "Cluster" Internet application is a complex assessment task presentation engine in collaborative mode with an authentic context that implements the hierarchical aggregate assessment process. One of the goals of this chapter is to formally define the domain of hierarchical aggregate assessment to be accepted and recognized by the scientific community.

#### **1.4. Chapter structure and organization**

This chapter will first define the problematics and the theoretical framework of the hierarchical aggregate assessment field. This chapter will then describe the computerized implementation of the hierarchical aggregate assessment process in the field of education. This process is actually implemented with the research and development (R & D) methodology of educational products defined by Harvey and Loiselle [6] using the "Cluster" Internet application. This chapter will finally present and discuss the results of testing of the "Cluster" application by high school students of the school board of Montreal in the study of geology and by army cadets for the learning of cartography by performing navigation patrols in teams.
