Work-in-Progress—How Virtual Reality Can Support Registered Training Organizations to Design / Conduct Effective Assessments in Accordance with the Principles of Assessment

Abstract

Registered Training Organizations (RTOs) in Australia are the training providers which deliver nationally recognized training in Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems. RTOs encounter challenges, with quality assurance and compliance being significant. According to Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) which is the national regulator for Australia’s VET sector, it is crucial for RTOs to align assessment practices with regulatory standards, as failure to do so may lead to penalties or loss of accreditation, as stated in ASQA Standards for RTOs 2015, emphasizing the implementation of an assessment system in accordance with Principles of Assessment (PoA) that set out guidelines of assessment tools used in all assessment activities. This work-in-progress paper aimed to discuss the capabilities of Virtual Reality (VR) technology in the design and implementation of vocational education assessments,
ensuring adherence to the defined principles. The authors begin by exploring how each PoA can be improved with VR, offering examples of designing and conducting VR-enhanced assessments for a specific Unit of Competency (UoC) which specifies the standards of performance required in the workplace. The article concludes by summarizing the advantages of VR across each PoA and
suggesting avenues for future research on the implementation of VR technology in vocational assessments.