JISC

Start date: 1 March 2007

End date: 30 April 2008

Funding programme: e-Learning Capital programme

Project website: http://qtitools.caret.cam.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=39&Itemid=32

JISC theme(s): e-Learning, e-Administration

This project has completed. See the project website and download the final report.

Overview

The Minibix project is developing an open source item banking system for the management of assessment items using version 2 of the IMS QTI specification.  Building on an existing prototype already in use at Cambridge, we'll develop the system to meet both high-stakes and low-stakes use cases drawing on expertise internally and from the SQA and E3AN.

Item banks build on the concept of a digital repository,  with additional version control,  workflow and support for item statistics.  With the publication of QTI version 2, assessment content is now packaged for interchange using the same content packaging and metadata techniques in use for existing learning objects.  We'll therefore be drawing on good practice from this established field and investigating the implications for implementing search interfaces and metadata harvesting.

Aims and objectives

• To develop and publish an open source item bank system including an online demonstrator, downloadable installer and publicly accessible source code repository
• To work closely with the AQuRate and AsDel projects taking significant steps towards an end-to-end assessment system to help inform the e-Framework
• To carry out case-studies of the use of the item bank system for high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.

Project methodology

We propose to use a three-layer approach.  The first layer will provide a thin user-interface for the application to ensure basic end user functions without the need for additional tools.  The second layer will form the core of the item bank application itself, including authorization and authentication and will  be exposed as a set of web-services suitable for both the user interface in Layer 1 and other client applications to consume.  At this point we will investigate protocols such as SRU and other RESTful approaches to viewing the contents of the item bank (such as WebDAV), as well as RSS for providing user-orientated views of the workflow.  The third layer will be a set of packaged java classes providing functions common to a wider range of QTI-based assessment applications.  We're hoping to work closely with the AQuRate and AsDel projects to share code at this layer where possible.  We'll also be investigating existing code, such as that developed by SPAID, as a possible starting point.

Anticipated impact

This development will make a significant contribution to the process of kick-starting the uptake of QTI version 2.  By allowing item banks to behave in a similar way to learning object repositories it will also encourage the reuse of assessment content.  The resulting system will also be a suitable platform for building more complex test construction and test paper production systems in future.

The service model will be contributed back to the JISC/DEST e-Framework and, through the University's membership of the IMS, directly to new international initiatives in documenting assessment services.  QTI remains a high priority activity for IMS members with integration of assessment tools (including authoring and delivery) an important goal.  Cambridgealso contributes to the Sakaiproject which is now in use across the institution as a platform for the support of teaching and research.  Minibix could provide a useful starting point for updating Sakaito support QTI version 2, as well as promoting links between Sakaiand the wider e-Framework.

Minibix provides an excellent opportunity for the E3AN item bank to become more widely available to students through making the questions easier to access.  Working with  Cambridge Assessment and the SQA we hope to see Minibix considered for use in larger operational contexts too.

Lead institution

• University of Cambridge, CARET, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1SB

Project partners

• University of Southampton, Dr Hugh Davis and Dr Su White, E3AN Team
• Scottish Qualifications Authority, Mhairi McAlpine, Project Manager in the Computer Assisted Assessment Team