I think the quizzes are very good for an analytical course where you can chop the course into pieces and questions can have specific answers, i.e. there is a set link between inputs and outputs. The questions can be varied and can be written in a way to allow stud
ents to apply reasoning. However, this would not work as well with synthetic courses, something like a design course for example – where the problems are open ended and have infinite combinations of solutions. I see this as a limitation. But this is a tool and there is no such thing as a universal tool. We have to use it where it fits best.Once the system is up and running, it is self sustaining, you have to spend less and less time on development. I have not got there yet. My estimates are that I will need to do about ten deliveries to break even. I have three so far.
I set up a practice quiz which students can attempt as many times as they like. Every two weeks they have a topic summary quiz, followed later by a larger quiz which covers three topics. The structure of the marking – quizzes have a small overall contribution toward the final mark – permits quick and painless feedback, indicating areas needing further revision or extra study. Then at the end of the semester they have a final in-class
exam. The subjectivity in the course is removed. The marks are automatically and instantly awarded. It’s a brutally honest system. To avoid academic dishonesty, with a handful of students taking the tests for their colleagues, the questions are randomly chosen from a test bank, with the questions and answers shuffled.Advantages
I’m using quizzes to avoid technical issues and to ensure fairness. It’s the computer that does the tricks so I cannot be accused of unfairness, and this is a big advantage. Once it is set up, the marking virtually disappears. You just press a button to collect the marks at the end. All students are treated the same, regardless of whether they are locally or remotely located. The reaction from my students was fairly good. I got good results or better back from them in the CEIs when compared with the more traditional face-to-face delivery of the course.
Advice for colleagues
I would advise colleagues that if they have time to use online quizzes, they should go ahead, but beware. It takes a lot of work to set it up; it is work for the future. Once it is up and running, however, it saves you time. The time commitment is then reduced to ongoing maintenance. It is a huge job that you have to be aware of from the beginning. I knew it was big but I did not realise it was so huge. It is not really something you could do just to see if it works. It will not save any time in the short term.
Future directions
I started delivering this course, face to face about 5 years ago and based on historical data I expected 24 students, but ended up with 94. This resulted in 70kg of marking – and this is not a joke! This was the point where I thought something had to be done. It took me 4 years to find the instrument. Now I am left with only marking the final exam, which is really just ticks and crosses – multiple choice questions. That only takes me about 6 minutes per paper.
I do not know if there will be another course that I will modify this way because it is a huge amount of work. I do not see myself doing this again for at least a couple of years. It is new technology and we can only anticipate its evolution. There are probably other possibilities that we will discover in the future.
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