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Pros and Cons of on-line testing using Moodle

TEL@York2006 April 25, 2006. Pros and Cons of on-line testing using Moodle. A case study of the elementary Japanese course. by Norio Ota, Noriko Yabuki-Soh, Gergana Ivanova (DLLL), Mike Street (IT Consultant, ATS). Preamble. TEL initiatives by the Japanese Section of DLLL

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Pros and Cons of on-line testing using Moodle

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  1. TEL@York2006 April 25, 2006 Pros and Cons of on-line testing using Moodle A case study of the elementary Japanese course by Norio Ota, Noriko Yabuki-Soh, Gergana Ivanova (DLLL), Mike Street (IT Consultant, ATS)

  2. Preamble TEL initiatives by the Japanese Section of DLLL • Server-based web course development • Developing interactive instructional materials for self-study • Developed a distance education course for the elementary level Japanese language course (tested at Glendon for 4 yrs) using videoconferencing • Introducing Media Site Live for video-streamed lectures • Developing web-based on-line tests for the elementary Japanese course assisted by ATS (2005-06) • Developing a distance education course for the advanced Japanese course for St. Mary’s University in Halifax (to be implemented in September 2006)

  3. Web-based Testing (WBT) Computer-based Testing (CBT) vs. WBT On-line course delivery software products • WebCT • Hot Potatoes • Sakai • FLE3 (Future Learning Environment 3) • Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) Moodle • Free • Open source – customizable • Non-proprietary • User-friendly • Ease of installation • Flexible • Language support • Modular & Comprehensive Why on-line testing? • Reducing marking time • Developing distance education courses

  4. Challenges for on-line testing for languages Concerns by language teaching professionals • limited types of questions • lack of analytical tools (natural language parsing) • lack of qualitative evaluation • lack of evaluation for communicative competence • security issues

  5. Implementation and Objectives • On-line testing is NOT comprehensive • On-line testing is to access each learner’s knowledge and recognition of: • Vocabulary • Expressions • Conjugations • Sentence structures • Basic kana characters and basic sino-Japanese characters (kanji) • Simple context (communicative understanding) • Sociolinguistic and pragmatic aspects

  6. Developing tests • Transforming paper-based tests into web-based versions • Modifying types of questions • Developing new types of questions • Reviewing students’ answers and modifying possible answers • Readjusting answers to introduce partial marking system • Developing a questionnaire for students’ feedback

  7. Overview of Moodle • Course Management System (CMS aka LMS) • Similar to WebCT, or Blackboard • Our Moodle runs on Linux OS using PHP and a MySQL database backend. • Open-source, modular and flexible • Large, growing community • Community-driven support

  8. Overview of the Japanese Tests • Tests run in the Multimedia Language Lab (MLC) • 50 mins per test • 2 to 5 tests run a day, over 2 days, 5 mins between tests • Students self-register for accounts using Moodle • Ran an Orientation Session at beginning to create accounts and try out sample test • Tests were originally developed in MS Word. • Imported into Moodle via web interface

  9. Question Types • Aside from the normal types of questions, the tests also included: • Fill-in-the-blanks (multiple blanks within a paragraph, using Cloze or Embedded Answers type questions) • Wildcard characters in the answers (for partial marks) • Custom question type: • 50 Japanese characters in a large image (png), each given a unique number • Students answered the question by typing the number of the character into the box, in the correct order. (able to use wildcards for partial marks here too).

  10. Security Measures • IP-restricted (MLC only) • Each test has unique password • Time-based release of each test • During the allowed test time, students can review answers • Allowed a maximum of 2 attempts • Moodle ‘secure window’ test

  11. Technical Challenges • Accurate representation of Japanese characters • Clarity of images • Import not functioning in Moodle, so questions were cut/pasted • Time-consuming to enter questions initially • Cloze type question still sensitive to illegal characters • Various minor software glitches (eg. Half marks getting rounded down)

  12. For the Future • Moodle has proven to be a successful way of deploying language tests online • All of the major/minor software problems are going to be fixed over the summer 2006 • Eventually will be bringing Language Placement Tests on board (French and Italian)

  13. What is tested? Evaluation criteria for JP1000 • Attendance & Participation (Sept.-April): 10% • Oral Presentation (4 times a year): 25% • Quizzes (dictation, every week) & Homework (practice of Japanese characters): 15% • Tests (4 times a year, on-line testing): 50% -grammar & structure; vocabulary; idiomatic expressions -reading of Japanese scripts

  14. Types of questions Pen & Paper vs. On-line • Reading words • “What would you say when…?” • Translation (E→J) -Complete a dialogue -Short answers vs. jumbled words • Kanji(sino-Japanese characters) • Translation (J→E) -Short answers vs. multiple-choice

  15. New attempts • Short answers • Multiple-choice questions • Questions using a table • Questions using pictures • “Read a passage and answer questions”

  16. ‘Cons’ for Students • Less lenient marking compared to paper-based tests • Stressful for those uncomfortable with computers and bad eye-hand coordination; displaying time left in the corner • “Save without Submitting” function tedious and demanding • Difficult to return to an unanswered or problematic question, slow in viewing answers • Easier to cheat • Blurry screens

  17. ‘Pros’ for Students • Quiet atmosphere, easier to focus • Easier to answer questions (multiple-choice, kanji recognition, re-attempts) • Easier to correct answers • Immediate feedback • No concern about bad handwriting; hands do not get tired from writing; no need to use pencils • Less stress for those familiar with technology, more fun • Gain more knowledge about computer technology - important for academic and professional life

  18. On-line vs. PaperTest Average (%) Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test4 Paper 78.44 55.16 64.90 66.98 (2004-05) On-line64.5759.0959.5262.50 (2005-06)

  19. Students’ Self-reflection (1) Q: How satisfied are you with the time you have allotted to prepare for the tests? A: dissatisfied 6.67% somewhat dissatisfied 46.67% satisfied34.67% very satisfied 12%

  20. Students’ Self-reflection (2) Q: How satisfied are you with the efforts you have allotted to prepare for the tests? A: dissatisfied 8.79% somewhat dissatisfied44.59% satisfied38.51% very satisfied 8.11%

  21. ‘Pros’ for Instructors (1) • Less time spent on marking, less tired, improved quality of teaching • A test can be automatically re-graded for the entire class if a mistake is discovered in a question or more possible answers are added to the system • Easier to deliver the correct answers to students • Typed text easier to read than unintelligible handwriting

  22. ‘Pros’ for Instructors (2) • Easier coordination between instructors regarding reviewing students’ answers, modifying possible answers, marking • Faster processing of the test results • Objective assessment(not a comprehensive approach) • Increased marking consistency

  23. ‘Cons’ for Instructors • Technical problems unsolvable by instructors • Too sensitive to spaces, hyphens, unpredictable bugs in the program • Location and scheduling restrictions • Limitations regarding the types of questions • Academic honesty issues

  24. Cheating…  Weaker classroom control • Assigned seats, gaps in the seating  Inability to cut off the Internet  ‘Monitored activities’  Multiple attempts, higher test scores  Limited attempts (two attempts only)  Easy to duplicate the test and export it to Word  Question pools, randomized questions, different order of answers; run Moodle from a CD

  25. Outcome • Learned more about limitations, bugs and positive features re Moodle • Why were test scores lower this year? • Academic honesty issues • Learning process for faculty • Faculty’s willingness to learn and no quick resistance to Moodle • Cooperation between IT consultant and faculty with good working relationship and initiatives • Tech problems are hard to deal with by faculty alone: requires a tech support person at the test site. • Limitations re the test site

  26. References • Abhijeet Chavan (2004) Open-Source Learning Management with Moodle http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/7478 • Moodle (2006) Moodle for Language Teaching http://moodle.org/course/view.php?id=31 • Aditya Nag (2005) Moodle: An open source learning management system http://business.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/05/09/2117200 • Den Pain and Judy Le Heron (2003) WebCT and Online Assessment:  The best thing since SOAP? http://www.ifets.info/journals/6_2/7.html • Röver, C. (2000)Web-Based Language Testing: Opportunities and Challenges http://www2.hawaii.edu/~roever/wbt.htm • _________(2001) WEB-BASED LANGUAGE TESTING http://llt.msu.edu/vol5num2/roever/default.html • Sabine Siekmann (2006) CALICO Software Report Which Web Course Management System is Right for Me?A Comparison of WebCT 3.1 and Blackboard 5.0 http://calico.org/CALICO_Review/review/webct-bb00.htm • University of Ontario (2006) WebCT http://www.uoit.ca/EN/main/11258/12122/17767/learning_webct.html

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