Educators Better Equipped to Assess Written Communication Skills

NEW YORK, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- TaskStream (www.taskstream.com), the leading provider of web-based software and supporting services for electronic portfolios and outcomes assessment, and iParadigms, creators of Turnitin (www.turnitin.com), the leading originality checking and plagiarism prevention service, announced a seamless integration to help educators streamline the process for assessing higher order student learning outcomes via written assignments.

Educators around the world use TaskStream's performance assessment system to collect and evaluate work from students in order to examine student achievement of learning outcomes and provide feedback for improvement.  The system uses a portfolio-based approach to assess learning. Students collect papers, projects and other artifacts and submit that work for evaluation in the system. Evaluators then review the submitted artifacts, score the work using defined evaluation methods, such as rubrics or forms, and provide feedback to students.  

Due to the portfolio-based nature of the system, the assessments conducted in TaskStream are typically designed to examine higher order thinking skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, analysis, and information literacy.

"As part of the assessment process, many of our clients want the ability to check proper citation and originality of student work," said Webster Thompson, TaskStream's President. "They are not only concerned that students are submitting original work, but, more importantly, that their students have been able to appropriately synthesize and attribute information from various sources - vital skills for success in today's knowledge economy."

The use of the Internet as a research tool has led to rising concerns over plagiarism and improper citation, both intentional and unintentional. Today, students must demonstrate the ability to sift through countless sources, synthesize that information, and clearly articulate original, well-formulated ideas. These complex skills require much practice and guidance from teachers.

Said Chris Caren, Chief Executive Officer of iParadigms, "Turnitin is an ideal complement to the robust outcomes assessment capabilities offered by TaskStream. Now TaskStream users can take advantage of Turnitin's leading originality checking services as part of their assessment activities."

Turnitin provides educators and students the capability to check written work for improper citation and misappropriated content by comparing it to a vast library that includes: over 14 billion web pages; over 120 million student papers; over 80,000 subscription-based publications such as newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals; and thousands of books.

"We are delighted to be able to offer our clients the power of the Turnitin service directly within TaskStream" said Thompson. "The seamless integration between these two leading services offers a powerful solution for assessing authentic student work and promoting strong written communication skills."    

For more information about this integration, please contact TaskStream at +1 800 311 5656 (US) or +44(0) 113 815 2480 (UK) or [email protected].

About TaskStream:

TaskStream provides the highest quality web-based software and supporting services to efficiently plan and manage assessment processes, facilitate the demonstration of learning achievement and foster continuous improvement. Using TaskStream's powerful tools for assessment planning, outcomes alignment, e-portfolios, rubric-based data collection and reporting, field placement management, surveys, and more, educators around the world are ensuring that students are learning the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in today's global economy. www.taskstream.com

About iParadigms (Creators of Turnitin)

iParadigms, LLC is the leading provider of web-based solutions to check documents for originality, plagiarism, and misappropriation of text. The company's award-winning educational products include Turnitin® and Writecycle™, web-based services used in over 100 countries to vet work for originality, enable web-based peer review, and provide cutting-edge tools for digital grading of student work. iParadigms is headquartered in Oakland, CA. www.turnitin.com or www.iparadigms.com.

SOURCE TaskStream