Getting Results

I added a printing facility to the Aggression Questionnaire today. I'd been giving some though to general methods of returning results for computer aided assessment and all have pros and cons.

i) Internet server - here a test is delivered over the internet and the results are returned over the internet. This requires an internet connection for the duration of the exam. It's usually a bad idea to provide an internet connection during an exam as the user might google all the answers.

ii) Local server - here a test is delivered from a server located inside a university or other organisation. The drawback is the maintenance required. It usually requires someone on the ground with specialised knowledge.

iii) Email results - I've seen some software recently which prompts the user to email a set of results on completion. This uses the default method and email address on the computer and is easy for the user to alter before the results are transmitted.

iv) SCORM 1.2 - There's a very well defined way to send results back through the SCORM 1.2 API - but it requires the organization to have an LMS or VLE already running and the granularity of the results is poor (a single score can be returned).

v) SCORM 1.3 - This provides a better granularity in returned results than 1.2, but requires constant interaction with the server during the assessment. That means a high load on the server and a less responsive client.

vi) Results presented on screen - This is pretty low tech, but it is readily understandable. After an exam, an instructor can view the results on screen on the computer that was used. He can also print them out for later use or ask the students to click on the print button. It's simple and easy to understand. I'm thinking it would be useful in primary and secondary schools or anywhere that has computers with printers attached but can't guarantee internet access or a reliable local server.

Would this last method be a useful in your organization? Leave a comment.

Posted by Alexander at March 30, 2005 04:19 PM

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