Replacing computer market assessment and Part A exams with Moodle Quiz
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The document discusses the successful transition from the CMA system and Part A exams to the Moodle quiz platform at USQ, enabling comprehensive electronic assessment integration. The new system promotes enhanced student engagement and addresses efficiency concerns, although challenges such as cultural attachment to the old system and the need for online participation remain. Future development plans focus on improving academic integrity and expanding quiz functionality.
Replacing computer market assessment and Part A exams with Moodle Quiz
- 1. Replacing computer market assessment and Part A exams with Moodle Quiz Michael Sankey Learning Environments and Media Jonathon Fowler Information Communication Technology Services
- 2. • CMA was a key plank in USQs ability to mediate distance education student's summative assessment for some 15 years. • It was an xml-based system that aligned with our PeopleSoft Gradebook (not Moodle). • Similarly, Part A exams, that is, the multiple choice part of an exam, where students mark a predefined marking sheet and then these are optically scanned and matched against their student identity, is still a key tool used in the USQ exam structure for off- and on-campus students.
- 3. • However the CMA system was old and needed to have major work done on it, or be replaced • As we already had quizzing functionality in Moodle could this be used as an adequate replacement? • However, with some non-trivial tweaking of the Moodle quiz engine • USQ has been able to replace both CMA and Part A Exam with Moodle Quiz. • This now means all our electronic assessment can be mediated under the one roof (Moodle) and that of course linked to PeopleSoft.
- 4. The context – our VLE USQStudyDesk Student facing USQStaffDesk Staff training and playground USQOpenDesk OERs and Community based courses Repository Equella – LOR and other collections ePortfolio USQ Website and Portal
- 5. This time last year Vs Now Moodle EASE CMA/EMS Turnitin Moodle Turnitin 2 • We are all on a journey
- 6. Integrated StudyDesk project • New look-n-feel for Moodle • Develop new communications/notifications bar • Develop new tabular functionality • Augmented Moodle Assignment (temp) • Integrate assignment+ with PeopleSoft • Replace the CMA and Part A Exam system • Fully implement Equella under Moodle • Semi-automate processes for migrations • Further integration Mahara
- 7. Generally • The use of online quizzes and CMAs has been growing in response to pedagogical & organisational efficiency drivers, linked to improvements in the technology. • Three main assessment techniques: 1. written assignments 2. invigilated exams (including multiple choice) 3. online assessment (Quiz/CMA) used by 1/3 of staff • The majority of these are weighted @ 5 – 30% • The main motivation for using quizzes or CMAs: – promoting student engagement with course content, – scaffolding of learning, – Help counteract Poor student study habits. Pedersen, C., White, R and Smith, D (2010) Usage of online assessment in the Faculty of Business: report and recommendations. USQ Project Report.
- 10. Issues in making the change • Have a culture use to using CMA and multiple choice exams. • It was a home grown tool and many felt attached to it. • It wasn’t broken as such. • Still have significant student cohorts not able to easily participate online, or are aligned with overseas partners. • So we still had a need to print questions and to have the marks fed through electronically. • A significant amount of legacy materials needing to be converted.
- 11. What we built • Wrote the capability CMA questions to be converted correctly to the Moodle Quiz structure • Built a new question type called calculated plus with variables/subexpressions functionality • Added Calculated Descriptions allowing wildcards to be rendered within a Description-type question • The functionality to print as an html page, but it removes the superfluous information • Print questions with or without correct answers • Part A Exam grade management to import from scanned copies (in XML) • Brought answers into new categories (question banks) to be used for other Moodle quizzes
- 12. In simple terms Set up Assessment (e.g. exam) in People Soft Print out quiz or exam Students use answer sheet Scan answer sheet Feed data back into Moodle Moodle GB feed to People Soft Set up quiz or exam in Moodle
- 13. Issues we have faced • Some unwillingness to change, but • Most staff were willing to make the shift with some hand holding or we did it for them • We specificly targeted the staff still using CMA • With the rise in academic integrity issues however, is this form of assessment still suitable on line testing (summative) or is it better suited to engaging students formatively • But we have a plan to make further improvements • Identified future development – Variable to guard against collusion – Extend functionality of ‘calculated question’ instead of + – Way to have more variables (for certain discipline groups)
- 14. Conclusion • All worked as expected and staff were really happy • Would eventually like to see the structured import patch adopted • Also we believe ‘Calculated Plus’ could be very easily integrated into native ‘Calculated’ • We contributed Quiz printing but has not gained much traction yet.