©2003, Sunil Hazari

Online Testing Methods in Web Based Courses

Testing and assessment remain an integral part of instructional systems design for traditional classroom based courses as well as web based training courses. The goal of testing is to determine if learning objectives have been accomplished. Formative evaluation using online testing helps students assess their level of knowledge of course material. In addition it gives the instructor a better idea of what students are understanding as well as the concepts that still need clarification.

Although there are full fledged web authoring tools available that integrate testing, many are proprietary in nature and not available to instructors and trainers that want to integrate testing without the use of these embedded tools. Two alternative methods available for online testing that employ either server side or client side processing will be the focus of this discussion.

For the client side method JavaScript is a standard scripting language commonly used today that continues to be very popular since it works with all browsers that use a graphical user interface. As a result it is attractive to most trainers and instructors interested in integrating web based testing on their pages especially for formative evaluation. Server side processing on the other end relies on a back end machine to calculate test results and return the output in HTML format to the user. A non-proprietary technology called Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is used to implement server based assessment. 

Resource Links

Theory

• Leveraging Student Feedback to Improve Teaching in Web Based Courses (Journal Article)
  
• Assessment Rubrics
  
• Validated Web Course Evaluation Instrument
  
• Old Concerns with New Distance Education Research
  Article in EDUCAUSE Quarterly journal, by Barbara Lockee, Mike Moore, and John Burton (pdf file)
  
• Assessments in Instructional Technology
  This is a collection of assessments related to instructional technology. For each assessment the presence of the actual assessment, the protocol used to administer the assessment and the results of the assessment are indicated.
  
• Psychological Tests
  This home page of PsychTests' free battery of original psychological tests, all of which are scored online in real time and accompanied by extensive interpretation. The tests are organized by category, as well as alphabetically.
  
• Using Internet/Intranet Web Pages to collect Organizational data
  Article by Stanton and Rogelberg (pdf format). Provides Information on technological challenges for collecting data over the web and its ethical implications for research. 
• No significant difference
  Compilation of research studies showing there is no significant difference between distance education and traditional instruction. 
• A significant difference
  Compilation of research studies showing there is a significant difference between distance education and traditional instruction.
• Impact of Distance Education
  These articles, selected by Dr. Rory McGreal, concern the effectiveness of distance education and its impact.
• Innovations in Online Learning: Moving Beyond No Significant Difference
  Case studies from universities ranging from the University of Illinois
  at Urbana-Champaign to the British Open Universities on reducing the
  costs of online learning while improving the quality. A must read free
  report from the Pew Learning & Technology Program.
  

Common Gateway Interface (CGI)

• Web Exam (previously called Multiple Choice Grader)  Download
  This script allows you to create your own multiple choice exams on the web and, if you create an answer key database, it will grade the answers submitted by a user and gather all completed exams in a database.

• Downloadable CGI scripts
  These Guestbook, Quiz, Discussion forum scripts can be downloaded and modified depending on platforms being used.
  
• WebTest
  Create an interactive testing, tutorial, or survey environment. Features multiple choice, numeric input, or text input (regular expression matching), randomization, elaborate hints.
  
• Web Worksheet
  Enable instructors to make template based, multimedia enabled exercises available to students over the web. Also provides summary reports, course management.
  
• WWWAssign
  WWWAssign allows teachers to create, deliver, and even grade assignments for students using the World Wide Web. Students listed on a class roster that you create receive the assignment, complete the work, and submit their responses on their web browsers. The
  CGI collects, stores, and grades all student responses; teachers may view the grades on each assignment at any time.
  Related article, Using WWWAssign to Create Online Quizzes and Tests
  
• SurveySite
  Create and administer surveys online (free)
  
  

JavaScript

• JavaScript Tutorial
  Shows examples of how JavaScript can be used to develop interactive sites
  
• Developing a Quiz using JavaScript
  With basic knowledge of HTML users can see how a simple quiz can be developed with JavaScript
  
• JavaScript Examples
  Some examples of using JavaScript to evaluate student answers and provide feedback
  
• Hot Potatoes Web Authoring Tools
  The Hot Potatoes suite includes five applications, enabling you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword and gap-fill exercises for the World Wide Web. Freeware. Available for Macintosh and Windows95.
  
• Online QuizMaker
  Connect to this web site, enter test question and answers, have it generate Javascript code and paste this in your html file. Quizzes can be practice (provide feedback to user) or graded (sent answers to instructor)
  
• Multiple Choice Javascript
  Simple script to create multiple choice questions. (Download zip file)
  
• CASTLE
  CASTLE (Computer Assisted Teaching and Learning) - it's a simple web interface for generating on-line MCQs, but which requires no knowledge of HTML/Javascript etc etc. It's also free to the academic community and has attracted a huge amount of interest in the UK.
  

Commercial Testing Programs

• Digital Teacher
  Digital Teacher is a set of software applications that enables educators to create and administer interactive, instructional or testing materials on the computer, for deployment either off-line or on-line.
  
• Question Mark
  Question Mark is an authoring, delivery, reporting software to generate quizzes. Quizzes are converted to HTML using QM Web Converter software. QM Web interactive software that runs on a server (using Perl), tests can be graded online. (Pricing varies by licenses)
  
• Quiz Please
  Quiz Please creates tests for the Internet and supports text, pictures, sounds, movies for use in multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank or short answer tests with Quiz Please. Uses JavaScript to grade quizzes. ($199 for single license). Quiz Please Server is available for NT and Unix and allows the server to store and grade quizzes. Results are stored in Microsoft Excel database. ($199 for single license)
  
• SnapSurvey
  Survey software for questionnaire design, data entry and analysis. SNAP publishes interviews, collects and analyses all forms of web, internet, email, scanning, paper and interviewer CE surveys.
  
• Test Pilot
  Java based package developed at Purdue University and available for Mac, Windows, and Unix platforms. It consists of a database of test, tutorial or survey questions and a Web server extension to both administer the surveys and tests and record, score and retrieve user responses. ($119.95 Education Price)
  
• Perseus SurveySolutions for the Web
  Comprehensive survey software system that's easy-to-use, cost effective and provides everything you need to implement a successful Internet survey, market research and web polls.
  
• Survey Key
  Online survey creation software. Use for creating opinion polls, satisfaction survey, voting applications, online tests, customer service, elections, marketing studies, event planning etc. Uses 128 bit encryption.
  
• Zoomerang
  Easy to use, customizable templates to develop surveys that provide answers in real time. Registration required (free)
  
• Ioxphere
  Web-based, asp/xml, data gathering program, enabling organizations to create, warehouse and data-mine surveys, polls and reviews. With it's easy to facilitate format and comprehensive list of features, Ioxphere has proven useful to both marketing and healthcare research.
  
• My Online Forms
  Form and survey data are delivered back to the user via an email attachment in a variety of formats. Easy and quick to build a form. Supports many formats beyond plain email. No need for CGI access .
  
• Advanced Survey
  Easily create online web surveys. Free registrations for basic, fee based for advanced surveys.
   
• ZipSurvey
  A web-hosted survey application developed by I/O psychologists for business and HR consultants, market researchers, professionals, students or anyone interested in creating online surveys quickly and affordably
  

Survey Programs

http://www.formsite.com

http://www.zoomerang.com

http://www.hostedsurvey.com

http://www.myformsonline.com

http://www.surveymonkey.com

http://www.activefeedback.com/af/

http://www.advancedsurveysoftware.com/

http://www.askget.com/

http://www.surveysaid.com/

http://www.elisten.com/

http://www.qstation.com/

http://www.quask.com/

http://www.surveyselect.com/

http://www.surveyo.com

Other Category

• Quiz Builder
  Template that accepts typed responses in a Web form generates HTML code for the quiz  that can be saved on a Web server.
  
• Quiz Builder
  Template that accepts typed responses in a Web form generates HTML code for the quiz  that can be saved on a Web server.

• Quiz Center Online Service 
  QuizCenter enables teachers to make web pages with quizzes that provide instant feedback to students, and/or package answers in an email that is sent back to the instructor. Features include Automatic Quiz Generation and grading. Quizzes are stored on Quiz Center server and students access this with an assigned password.
  
• Active Server Pages
  Microsoft Active Server technology run scripts on the server and deliver these to browsers using HTML. This site shows how ASP can be used to write quiz programs.

• Resource link of other tools
  Survey of Course and Test Delivery / Management Systems for Distance Learning
  
• Resource link of other tools 2
  Collection of links on Online Testing, HTML, Java
  
• Survey of Course and Test Delivery / Management Systems for Distance Learning
  Course/Test Management, Test Creation/Delivery, Web Lecture Systems, Online-Research, On-line Forums, Distance Learning Sites,Conferences, in the Field. Maintained by Thelma Looms, George Washington University.
  
• Comparison table of Web-based Survey/Testing/Quiz programs
  
• FrontPage 2000 Quizzing Engine (Search on Microsoft site)
  The FrontPage 2000 Quizzing Engine Add-In provides a simple way for educators to create quizzes containing multiple choice and true/false questions. The quizzes are automatically graded, enabling instructors and students to monitor their progress. The FrontPage 2000 Quizzing Engine also includes a new course web template for creating a simple web site for a course. This can be used with or independently from, the FrontPage 2000 Quizzing Engine.
  
  
• Microsoft Office Templates (Search on Microsoft site)
  Contains useful templates for use in essay question development, multiple-choice, true/false, lesson plans, gradebook etc.
  
• Web Evaluation Form for online course evaluation

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