Information communication technologies (ICT) in education is an expanding field, and within this field there is a need for development of effective systems for faculty and learners to communicate feedback and assess performance. The increasing migration of many academic disciplines and courses to an online format has prompted an increased need for the development of evidence-based tools and techniques that can be made available to educational institutions in order to connect and communicate with the learner. Many faculty and students have been faced with a less than optimal transition to the online environments and for these faculty and students, educational performance can be hindered. Guided by a developmental research methodology (DRM), the researcher examined the need for a novel communication and assessment system, the elements required for such a system to succeed, the building of such a system, and finally the testing of the initial effectiveness of the system. The developed system, known as an Online Assessment System (OAS) or Gradeswift (prototype name), incorporated criterion based assessment utility with multi-modal (text, voice, and video) functionality to create an asynchronous means for communicating effectively through online information storage and delivery. It was shown that the OAS had a significant impact on the educational landscape by providing better communication and performance assessment. Additionally, the OAS had been designed to increase the efficiency of the process of assessment, thus assisting faculty with workload and time required to assess student assignments. Last, students have the added benefit of receiving personalized feedback from instructors, enhancing the experience and perceived usefulness of online assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]