russdev Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Well lets ask then the question what next now the statutory requirement of ict sats has been scrapped what next for future of exams being that ks3 sats was start of larger process of making exams online. do we need to move exams to be online or not what and how do you see testing in 5 years time. Russ
Jake Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 I still see testing being online in 5 years time. This ICT test style might have fallen, but I expect they will come up with something else to take its place
standunstan Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6247939.stm well seems like all my panic this morning may have been for nothing
alan-d Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Online testing and examination is definitely the way forward especially for those 'hard facts' subjects such as maths. It would reduce the error rate during the marking process. Online tests for subjective material may take longer, but there is no reason why it shouldn't happen provided that it is planned properly and uses an interface which is universally recognisable. There is a danger that online examinations will end up a multi-choice only option or put through a scanner to pick out key words, which may or may not indicate that a subject is learnt and fully understood. Yes online is the future - but not until it has been planned in consultation with users first.
webman Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 What's wrong with muilti-choice web-based exams? Cross-platform and easy to implement!
Jake Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 As long as its not something like.... Maggie is 12 years old, which we shall call A, Michael is 3 years older. How would you write Michaels age in algebra form. A - A+3 B - Chris Tarrant C - Chocolate Dumplings D - Down at the bottom of the garden Though that would probably be the A-Level version of the question, the GCSE one would probably be "Write your name, if you spell it right you get an A*"
CyberNerd Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 I agree, online *web based* testing is the way forward - just the way this last lot was implemented was the problem.
alan-d Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 What's wrong with muilti-choice web-based exams? Cross-platform and easy to implement! Nothing really until you get to a psychology exam or you have to explain a theory in science or discuss a poem or book in literature. However MFL oral exams online would be an achievement
ChrisC Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Our students would still score lowly, even with those options! Chris
webman Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Alan: Well, textareas for more in-depth explanations. Heck, even a Flash-based testing routine would be a start!
Chafftech Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Our students would still score lowly, even with those options! Chris Very funny had me laughing, and I would say that is true of my school as well but then thought that with multiple choice the teachers can coach the kids to pass an exam without actually knowing the answers!
alan-d Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Alan: Well, textareas for more in-depth explanations. Heck, even a Flash-based testing routine would be a start! I know what you are saying - I was thinking more of the marking being automated
alan-d Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Alan: Well, textareas for more in-depth explanations. Heck, even a Flash-based testing routine would be a start! I know what you are saying - I was thinking more of the marking being automated
webman Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 All they have to do in that case is to check if certain words related to that question are located in the answer; and pptionally deduct points if it doesn't pass a spellcheck
beeswax Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Can we have a definition of what is meant by online testing? Will it be internet, LAN, or downloaded to individual machines?
alan-d Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 Can we have a definition of what is meant by online testing? Will it be internet, LAN, or downloaded to individual machines? In a word ................. Yes! Seriously though it could be any or all of those methods My preferance would be online with an option to run from a dedicated (very secure) server within the school for a backup and allow for candidates which may have a clash of exams. Oh and optical recognition to log in
john Posted January 10, 2007 Posted January 10, 2007 I can see online testing, but not with that type of software. I think it will be more a pure online system with perhaps a small internal backup type thing for if the internet goes down or something like that, but nothing complex or with strange interfaces. I think just very plain and simple.
beeswax Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The KS3 tests may have been the bane of many a techie, but the planning of how it should be delivered wasn't necessarily cock-eyed. RM's method of downloading the tests to a server and then the actual machines may seem a bit belt and braces, but when I did my exams I wouldn't have liked to go into them with only one pencil and no sharpener (ok, slate and chalk). You have to have backup in these situations. Look at the uproar caused when some examination authority looses/mislays completed exam papers. The exams are there to serve the pupils after all, and for a lot of them it's a stressful time.
alan-d Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 Beeswax is right - there has to be a backup system in the event of net outages and to allow for a clash of exams. The pilot was on the right track - it was just poorly planned without any thought on the user interface. Something closer to the ECDL tests would be more appropriate.
SpuffMonkey Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 I dunno - I couldn't understand why the tests weren't internet/thin client based - I take the point about a net outtage - but you could just as likely have an in house server/network problem.
Geoff Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 I would expect hosting and bandwidth costs would of made it prohibitively expensive.
CyberNerd Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 But doesn't Asynchronous Java and XML (AJAX) overcome some of these problems - if there are intermitent network problems surely they could save locally until the network is restored and still have 'web based' applications
budgester Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 How about a nice moodle course set up with a bunch of questions for the assesment. Why re-invent the wheel ? Then schools could just upload it to an existing moodle installation. Maybe with a syncronise module that sends the results to a central server. If there results are marked instantly then a CTF with the results could be produced to go straight into the MIS system.
beeswax Posted January 11, 2007 Posted January 11, 2007 So what subject would be first on the list for this online test? *EDIT*...and do you think that ICT was a good first choice for online testing?
woody Posted January 12, 2007 Posted January 12, 2007 We used Exambase from edexcel last year for delivering a Maths test. Found it went very smooth and running on an older server too! But did only test with about 5 pupils so didn't put it fully to test. This is a server / client installation but seemed much more straight forward than the KS3 test installation. Anyone used this?
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