JISC

Start date: 1 October 2000

End date: 30 September 2002

Funding programme: Building MLEs in Higher Education

Project website: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/service/ltd/flicaa/jisc/

This project is part of the Joined up System for Institutions project cluster in this particular programme. Projects in this cluster intend to integrate a variety of different types of information systems to support learning and teaching (for example joining up the student record systems with the institution's VLE).

This project has completed and produced :

• A final report  'Implementing online assessment in an emerging MLE: a generic guidance document with practical examples' (July-03)

Background/Context

This project seeks to develop a generic model of an integrated Managed Learning Environment (MLE) for Web-based Computer Assisted Assessment (CAA) that will have relevance to other colleges and universities. It will achieve this by exploiting the current experience of Web-based CAA at Loughborough University (LU). LU has experience of several funded CAA projects that have resulted in a well developed central university service that includes OMR CAA, a Windows-based service using QuestionMark for Windows and a newly developing Web-based service using QuestionMark Perception. As part of the TLTP (Teaching and Learning Technology Programme) CAA project LU has run the annual CAA Conferences, now in their fifth year, and is involved in the national CAA Centres.

Aims

The aim is the integration of Web-based CAA into the Loughborough University infrastructure to achieve a system that is seamless, interactive and individualised to the needs of students. From this experience a generic model will be developed.

Objectives

The objectives are

• To identify all the principal stakeholders in the assessment processes (academic and administrative staff, students, etc), and to involve them in the project
• To provide academic staff with an appropriate mechanism for ratifying scores prior to uploading them automatically into each student's record in the database
• To provide pedagogical and technical support and training in all areas
• To identify measures that can ensure against electronic cheating
• To use standard tools to enable staff to author their own sets of questions
• To publicise and disseminate the project and its benefits

Project Design

The research will be based on qualitative testing of live pilots that will be run within the Loughborough CAA service and focus on delivering Web-based assessment using QuestionMark Perception. The project will focus on detailed analysis of the total Loughborough University CAA system, including tracking the coursework route from pre-exam planning through to post-marking activities. This will lead to the development and piloting of a model for integration at LU that will be used as a case study for the generic model. The model will be underpinned by case study examples of codes of good practice and standard procedures.

Implications/ Deliverables/ Stakeholders

The outcomes of the project will be a generic model for the management of Web-based CAA. This will be disseminated to the community using existing networks, the two national CAA Centres, the Generic Learning and Teaching Centre (GLTC) and the Learning and Teaching Subject Network (LTSN). The continuation strategy will focus on the CAA Centres and the GLTC and LTSN.