12. Trials 2007 - Bachelor of Education (ICT unit) – computer labs 2008 - Bachelor of Education (ICT unit) – computer labs 2009 - Bachelor of Education (ICT unit) – student-owned laptops in examination halls 2010 - student-owned laptops in examination halls Bachelor of Education (ICT unit) Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Arts (History) Pre-tertiary mid-year exams for Information Technology & Systems
13. I am totally for using a laptop for the exam, absolutely. But only if it can be proved that the conditions will be as equitable as those during hand writing exams.
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15. Pre-tertiary trials in Tasmania Fifty-six students in five schools Institutional-owned equipment
16. Watch the video Complex DNA [95 seconds] and use the enzyme replication simulation software to construct a molecular junction inhibiting the binding process. Submit your enzyme design template together with an explanation of how it will perform the required task. Question 9
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Notas del editor
(Laurillard conversational framework)
Intelligent Assessment – browser-based exam system http://www.intelligentassessment.com/ See the video on their page. The implication for assessors is they must become adept with the test creation software.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (2007) Regulatory principles for e-assessment. London: Author. Online at http://www.qcda.gov.uk/resources/assets/Paper_4_-_Regulatory_principles_for_e-assessment_(April_2007).pdf on 3Oct2010.
Before reading the paper, you need to know about PROMIS: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is a network of NIH-funded primary research sites and coordinating centers working collaboratively to develop a series of dynamic tools to reliably and validly measure patient-reported outcomes (PROs). PROMIS provides an opportunity to improve healthcare outcomes by giving decision makers hard data on how healthcare affects what patients are able to do and how they feel. The information is derived from patient responses to a set of rigorously designed questions about different aspects of health-related quality of life (pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, social functioning, physical functioning, quality of sleep, etc.). Each measure is subjected to a multi-stage development and testing program to ensure that the information meets scientific standards of reliability with the goal to enable clinicians and researchers to have access to efficient, precise, valid, and responsive indicators of a person’s health status. These measures are available for use across a wide variety of chronic diseases and conditions and in the general population.
Rönnberg, K.(2001) Security in Learning Management Systems – User authentication in online assessment. Master’s Thesis: Umea University, Sweden.
In early versions of the system, the assessor was required to choose whether candidates would be able to use, or not use, facilities like the internet, sound, and so on. Over time, his team have eliminated these options, focusing on an environment which is as secure as possible. The assessor just has to place the examination materials (questions, videos and other resources) onto a special partition on the USB drive (see internal arrangements in the figure below).
The students were experiencing a halo effect, and were becoming aware that this was a novel practice. This added to their concerns, and forced them to enquire deeply into the new system. Since it had not (to our knowledge) been used before, it was impossible to prove all their concerns would be addressed. Also, what were the metrics for comparison? This tension was expressed in this exchange between an anonymous student and the unit coordinator: The speed question is an interesting one. You can look at it two ways. Firstly, the time required to boot up and get going. This can vary according to how fast your computer is (whether you are using USB or CD for instance), but won’t affect the time you have because no-one will be allowed to start writing until everyone is booted up. The second is the speed you can enter your answers. Most of this is typing, and I doubt ANYONE can type faster than the slowest computer can accept text. So once again, you are on a level playing field.
Area of concern Opposing policy stances Reticulation of questions and answer responses Networked Standalone Computer ownership Institutional Personal Computer functionality Kiosk (locked) mode Wide range of software (sometimes using virtualization or a compatibility layer) Candidate communication Function blocking Logging/monitoring Candidate familiarity Common learning environment Test environment requires familiarization/training Licencing costs Commercial Free, open source software
Teachers Had one incident where a student’s computer locked up and they had to reboot, but document was saved and no other problems ensued. Was a capable student so coped, but a lesser student may have been thrown. Went very smoothly All went very well, easy to use system for this type of exam. I liked the ability to mark work without having to be able to read handwriting. However, eExams are not exploiting the possibilities e.g. videos describing the case study etc. It was good Students Happy with process No problems at all. It was just like using Microsoft Word. Yes, enjoyed it very much. Power failure could be a potential problem. Scrolling up and down was required. I don’t see there being any advantages to the end-of-year exam being a written exam. I would much rather another computer based exam. No advice needed for the eExam system designer. I believe that the eExam was good. All exams should be done on computers. Students like it - technology was not a handicap - all could type fast. Students weren't fazed. They all refused the choice of doing the exam on paper. Should every student use a computer or should this be a choice of writing tool as is currently the case (some use biros, some use fountain pens, others use pencils etc.)? Does the kind of computer give any specific advantage to candidates? At what point in the innovation process should we move on from replication of pen-on-paper exams to incorporate features only possible in a digital environment such as video-based scenarios, questions requiring complex analysis with software tools (eg calculus and computer algebra systems or spreadsheet-based mathematical models) etc.? How are the pre-tertiary and university sectors linked in respect to this assessment innovation? Will the advent of digitally-based high stakes assessment tools automatically engender the adoption of ICT tools in teaching?