Increase Faculty Adoption of Online Testing Shea Ramquist

2 Assessments within Course Management Systems Over 90% of higher education institutions in United States have a CMS (Source: Eduventures) At these institutions, 46% of classes use a CMS (Source: Eduventures) An estimated 15-20% of CMS courses include at least one online assessment (Sources: NetKnowledgy 2006; Brian Morgan, Marshall University 2007) In all, less than 10% of higher education courses are delivering assessments via a CMS

3 Two Factors that Inhibit Faculty Adoption of Online Assessments Creating or converting content for online assessments is slow and difficult –Converting questions from MS Word is difficult –Managing questions within a CMS is slow The online testing environment makes it easier for students to cheat –Google for answers –Access applications (IM, , browsers, documents) –Access other areas of the online course during test –Print, copy, screen capture

4 Improving Faculty Adoption Rates of Online Assessments Increase training for online testing (F2F, demo movies, tutorials) Invest in tools that simplify the creation of online assessments and self-assessments Invest in tools that reduce student cheating during online assessments

5 Respondus 3.5 Offline authoring tool for creating & managing Blackboard tests Provides a bridge between print and online testing Increases faculty use of online testing Integrates with Bb Enterprise, Vista & CE 850 institutions have campus-wide licenses

6 Respondus 3.5 Bb Enterprise Bb Vista, CE MS Word (.doc) Rich Text (.rtf) Respondus Test Bank Network Import existing tests from MS Word Publish or retrieve tests directly to/from Bb courses Access 1,500 of the official publisher test banks from the Respondus Test Bank Network (free to adopters)

7 Simple formatting requirements Inline images, tables & formatting retained Import tests from MS Word

8 Respondus Test Bank Network Respondus Test Bank Network Contains 1500 test banks from leading publishers Instructors who adopt a participating textbook can download test banks directly with Respondus or StudyMate, for free

9 StudyMate 2.0 Create Flash-based learning activities and games Uses 4 templates to create many activities Publishes.swf or SCORM activities directly to Bb Enterprise, Vista, or CE

10 StudyMate 2.0 Numerous activities can be created, ranging from flash cards to game shows iPod and Sony PSP activities can also be generated with no additional work StudyMate will import Respondus files and can download files from the Respondus Test Bank Network Existing questions and glossaries can be imported from MS Word, QTI, and Blackboard’s glossary format

11 StudyMate 2.0 Math and science faculty can create algorithmic questions – students see new values each time Foreign language faculty can embed audio recordings of pronunciations in Flash activities Quick Start Guides and demo movies make StudyMate easy to roll out to faculty Institutions that license Respondus 3.5 receive a 50% discount on StudyMate (or vice versa)

12 Respondus LockDown Browser Locks down the testing environment in Bb Enterprise, Vista & CE Increases faculty confidence in online testing Standard browsers are blocked from accessing the same tests Windows & Macintosh compatible

13 Respondus LockDown Browser During a test, Respondus LockDown Browser prevents: –Printing, copying, screen captures –Going to other URLs –Accessing other applications or browsers –Googling, Instant Messaging, , etc. –Going to other areas of the Blackboard course –Exiting the test early

14 Respondus LockDown Browser Increases “Quality” of assessments –Better measurement of student knowledge Increases “Quantity” of assessments –Gives faculty confidence in online testing –Reduces student frustration with online testing (ie. cheaters prosper)

15 Conclusion The adoption of online assessments is relatively low today Two major hurdles to the adoption of online testing is content authoring and student cheating Respondus and StudyMate make it easier for faculty to create assessments and self- assessments Respondus LockDown Browser can increase the quality and quantity of online assessments Faculty training also contributes to the adoption of online testing

16 Shea Ramquist ph ext. 127