JISC

Start date: 1 November 2007

End date: 1 March 2009

Funding programme: Institutional Exemplars Programme

Project website: http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/jisc/

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

Committees: JISC Integrated Information Environment committee, JISC Learning and Teaching committee, JISC Organisational Support committee

Overview

This project addresses a key area of institutional concern for the Higher Education Sector, that of delivering effective and efficient summative e-assessment in a flexible, secure, and accessible way to learners. The exemplar will use thin client (Sun Ray) technology linked with smart card identification to implement a new, flexible, personalisable and scalable system for summative e-assessment. This system will have secure integration with other key University processes (e.g. student records, module registration, and examination scheduling), will be able to deliver standard network services and aspects of formative assessment when not in use for summative purposes, will provide a personal assessment experience to learners, and will be more accessible for our disabled students.

Thin client technology, which has already been successfully piloted at the University in other contexts, offers major advantages over conventional pc-based e-assessment systems in terms of scalability, economy and sustainability. In particular, it builds on work already conducted with Sun Microsystems to evaluate and introduce their Sun Ray thin client technology as an environmentally friendly, secure and sustainable alternative to the PC. It can also offer additional flexibility in the range of e-assessments that can be delivered without needing elaborate installation procedures or additional software to control for security and access. Integrating smart cards with the thin client technology, will add an extra layer of security and user authentication to e-assessments. Only the resources allowed by the assessment can be accessed by the candidate providing levels of flexibility not available in our current pc-based system. This project will build on existing E-strategy projects related to access control for buildings and AV facilities for teaching using smart cards.

This project furthers specific aims from the University's Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy and builds on several existing projects that have been conducted as part the University's E-Strategy. The project will demonstrate that the technology can be used to provide an easy-to-manage, secure and reliable classroom resource for Computer Aided and computer-based assessment. To add further value to the project, the project will also test whether this system provides faster, easier to support technology than standalone PCs for use within lecture rooms. The outcomes of the project will be valuable to all HEIs who wish to better integrate e-assessment with other university systems and particularly to those in need of models, interfaces and protocols for a more flexible and secure e-assessment system.

Aims and Objectives

This project addresses several key issues that affect all HEIs, namely

• The need for secure and reliable systems to deliver computer aided assessments to large classes in a manageable and sustainable environment
• The need for flexible systems which can deliver a wide range of assessment types and which support automated delivery of anonymised scripts (as recommended in current QAA guidance) for marking and for checking (e.g. testing for plagiarism through Turnitin etc.)
• Full integration of Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) processes and marks with the student record system
• Streamlining of examinations management by integrating exam scheduling software with student record systems
• The need for effective strategies to manage and improve the learning and assessment process for inclusion, widening participation and accessibility.
• Systems to allow use of IT facilities as part of the teaching process which are up to date, easily managed and responsive to academic staff needs.
• The development of sustainable and environmentally responsible approaches to our development in learning, teaching and assessment, particularly in the deployment of educational technologies

For more information visit the project website