Executive SummaryAccording to Martell and Calderon (2005), assessment is an ongoing process that involves planning, discussion, consensus building, reflection, measuring, analyzing, and improving based on the data and artifacts gathered about a learning objective. Assessment encompasses a range of activities including testing, performances, project ratings, and observations (Orlich, Harder, Callahan & Gibson, 2004).Impacting education from early childhood through graduate studies, the assessment movement is based on standards and outcomes, measuring results, and holding educational institutions accountable for student learning. Oversight bodies and accrediting agencies are beginning to require the establishment of learner-centered outcomes that reflect the well-rounded knowledge, competencies, and abilities preferred in today's students; the alignment of curriculum to reflect the desired progression and cognitive development of learners; the collection of data that demonstrates the satisfaction of learning objectives; and the use of assessment information to inform decision making (Buzzetto-More, 2006).The use of information technologies and e-learning strategies can provide an efficient and effective means of assessing teaching and learning effectiveness by supporting traditional, authentic, and alternative assessment protocols (Bennett, 2002). According to Vendlinski and Stevens (2002) technology offers new measures for assessing learning that will yield rich sources of data and expand the ways in which educators understand both learning mastery, and teaching effectiveness. The use of information technologies and e-learning to augment the assessment process may include: pre and post testing, diagnostic analysis, student tracking, rubric use, the support and delivery of authentic assessment through project based learning, artifact collection, and data aggregation and analysis.The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into the origins, evolution, and key concepts of assessment as well as illustrate some of the ways in which technology and e-Learning serve as the most promising mechanisms for satisfying assessment goals and objectives. This work is based on an exhaustive review of literature, the analysis of a number of critically acclaimed assessment programs, as well as the authors' own work in the development and use of e-Learning in the design, and implementation of an assessment program at a mid-sized institution of higher education located in the rural Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The program being profiled includes computerized longitudinal testing, online diagnostic testing, competitive networked simulations, rubrics, student discussion transcripts, taped presentations, and electronic portfolios.

Pervasive social networking and media sharing technologies have augmented perceptual understanding and information gathering and, while text-based resources have remained the standard for centuries, they do not appeal to the hyper-stimulated visual learners of today. In particular, the research suggests that targeted YouTube videos enhance student engagement, depth of understanding, and overall satisfaction in higher education courses.In order to investigate student perceptions and preferences regarding the implications of You-Tube, a study was conducted at a Mid-Atlantic minority serving institution that examined student opinions regarding the usage of YouTube videos to augment instruction in online and classroombased courses. According to the findings, use of YouTube in the teaching and learning process enhances instruction with students most likely to visit video sharing services from mobile devices. Further, length has an impact on student decisions whether or not to watch a video, and course delivery format impacts length and audio preferences. Finally, there is no relationship between personal use of social media and the perceived value of the use of YouTube in the instructional process.

E-Books are a type of e-content based learning object whose benefits may include: hyper linking, nonlinearity, data density, customizability, greater distribution, low costs, search ability, and other multimedia features (Shiratuddin, Hassan, & Landoni, 2003). Originally introduced in the late 1990's, the growth of e-books has been sluggish. Midgley reported (as cited in Wilson, 2003) that while proponents believe that e-books will come to change the way we understand reading and represent the future of reading in this digital age, critics explain that reading on a screen is an unpleasant experience that has, and will continue to, stymie the growth of e-books (Weeks, 2002). Concurrently, Prensky (2001) reports that the new generation of students entering higher education, the "Millennials", are fascinated by new technologies and considers it as a natural part of their environment. This paper represents the findings of students' reported experiences and perceptions of e-books at a historically Black university.

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Learning that is facilitated by electronic technologies, otherwise known as e-Learning, can be either fully online, mixed mode (also known as hybrid), or web assisted; however, regardless of the delivery method, there are numerous tools and features at the disposal of students and instructors, and it is important for the e-learning community to examine both preferences and usage of these features. This paper presents the findings of a comprehensive study that examined the elearning perceptions and preferences of students enrolled at a historically black university. During this study a series of courses were specially designed to be intensive hybrid learning experiences. The Blackboard CE 6 Course Management System was adopted and paper-less learning experiences created. The results of the analysis indicate that students find course Websites to be helpful resources that enhance the understanding of course content, and that these Websites will continue to have an impact on higher education in the future. The examination of individual e-learning components indicated that students responded favorably to most available features. The strongest preference noted in this study was towards the online submission of assignments, with students overwhelmingly noting that they like having the ability to check their assignment grades online.

The under representation of women and minorities in undergraduate computer science and information systems programs is a pervasive and persistent problem in the United States. Needed is a better understanding of the background and psychosocial factors that attract, or repel, minority students from computing disciplines. An examination of these factors is the focus of this multimethodological study that has been conducted over three phases with three separate populations.During phase 1, a survey was administered to students, who were non computer science or information systems majors, enrolled in computer applications courses at both a public and a private Historically Black Universities located in Maryland. The purpose was to examine whether a correlation existed between institutional type and access, education, counseling, and exposure to computing and/or information systems. Analysis of the data found that the participating students came to college with little information about computer science (CS) and information systems (IS) as fields of study. However, a significant disparity was found when institutional type was considered. According to the findings the students attending the private minority-serving institution reported greater access to technology, skill levels, and computing studies prior to entering college.Unlocking the Barriers to Women and Minorities in CS and IS Studies 116 success, and retention of underrepresented students in CS and IS majors.

Proponents of hybrid learning proclaim it to be an effective and efficient way of expanding course content that supports in-depth delivery and analysis of knowledge (Young, 2002) and increases students satisfaction (Campos & Harasim, 1999; Dziuban & Moskal, 2001; Rivera, McAlister, & Rice, 2002; Wu & Hiltz, 2004). In the years to come, hybrid learning is poised to cause a paradigm shift in higher education (Allen & Seaman, 2003; Lorenzetti, 2005; Young, 2002). Graham B. Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, was quoted in Young (2002) as saying that hybrid learning presents “the single-greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today.” This benefits of online and hybrid learning have been recognized by the State of Maryland. In a move to stimulate the use of alternative delivery methods, the regents of the University System of Maryland instituted a policy in 2005 that all students take on average 12 of their credits through out-of-classroom experiences and other nontraditional means. Included in the regents' definition of out-of-classroom experiences are e-learning, internships, student teaching, and a host of other activities. Diana G. Oblinger, vice president of Educause, was cited in Lorenzetti (2005) as saying that the Maryland system is recognizing that some online learning is an enhancement to students’ higher-education learning experiences even when those students are full-time on-campus residents. She asserted that the Maryland initiative indicates, and will result in, tangible growth in the hybrid learning model. This paper presents the findings of a study that examined student perceptions of hybrid business courses at a historically black university that operates within the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1886, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is a historically black, 1890 land grant institution and a member of the thirteen-campus University System of the State of Maryland.

Learning that is facilitated by electronic technologies, otherwise known as e-Learning, can be either fully online, mixed mode (also known as hybrid), or web assisted; however, regardless of the delivery method, there are numerous tools and features at the disposal of students and instructors, and it is important for the e-learning community to examine both preferences and usage of these features. This paper presents the findings of a comprehensive study that examined the elearning perceptions and preferences of students enrolled at a historically black university. During this study a series of courses were specially designed to be intensive hybrid learning experiences. The Blackboard CE 6 Course Management System was adopted and paper-less learning experiences created. The results of the analysis indicate that students find course Websites to be helpful resources that enhance the understanding of course content, and that these Websites will continue to have an impact on higher education in the future. The examination of individual e-learning components indicated that students responded favorably to most available features. The strongest preference noted in this study was towards the online submission of assignments, with students overwhelmingly noting that they like having the ability to check their assignment grades online.