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Why should I use
TOIA for online assessment?
TOIA provides a secure, robust, feature-rich system which is entirely
web-based. It was designed by leading UK experts in online assessment.
It has sophisticated reporting facilities and nine question types
which will meet the majority of online assessment requirements in
your institution. TOIA has interoperability at the heart of its
philosophy and is the most standards-compliant assessment management
system available – your questions will not be locked into
any proprietary format. The user interface is easy to use and customisable
and staff will not require any formal training to get started on
their assessments. TOIA is easy to manage by systems administrators
and allows fine-grained control of user privileges. It can also
be used for collecting assignments which require manual marking
and for delivering and processing questionnaires. . Top
How much does TOIA
cost?
JISC has made it possible to provide TOIA free of charge to UK further
and higher education, potentially saving your institution many thousands
of pounds. Other organisations should contact the project manager
to discuss pricing options. Top
How do I get hold
of TOIA?
Contact the project manager if you would like an account on the
beta version of the system. We ask beta testers to provide us with
feedback. The first full release is scheduled for early July 2004.Top
I am not at a UK
further or higher education institution so how can I get hold of
TOIA?
Non-UK FE and HE organisations are able to purchase the system.
Contact the project manager for further details. Top
Can TOIA be installed
in my institution?
Yes – TOIA can be downloaded and installed on your own server.
Top
Are there any plans to either open-source or support more operating systems?
I am
interested in why TOIA chose two relatively closed platforms for both server (IIS) and client (IE 5.0)
for a tool to increase the use of an open standard like IMS
TOIA is aimed at increasing the use of online assessment and the IMS
QTI specification across UK HE and FE. Given the resources available
to the project, it made sense for us to team up with a company which
had already developed a system - and to adapt it to our requirements for QTI compliance
- rather than to employ our own programmers to build a less
sophisticated system. We also checked usage statistics for web
browsers and found that over 95% of people were using Internet
Explorer, so we are happy knowing that the vast majority of users will
be able to access TOIA. Regarding the server platform we are at least
planning to reduce our dependance on Microsoft by providing a MySQL
version of the database as well as SQLServer. Top
Why should I use
online assessment?
There are at least five main reasons for delivering tests online:
- Improving learning. Online assessment can
have a positive impact on the learning process and lead to better
quality questions. Instant feedback can be provided to learners
and it can help you to identify those who need extra help. Frequent
online assessments can lead to enhanced participation by students.
Online assessment allows media-rich assessments including video,
sound, simulations and animations.
- Objective marking. Marking varies between
human markers who can also make mistakes. With online assessment
using objective questions you can be sure that responses are marked
fairly and consistently.
- Reducing marking load. Perhaps the most obvious
benefit of online assessment is the automation of marking. You
simply set the questions and view the results – missing
out the often tedious process of marking.
- Automated results collation, analysis and return.
Online assessment allows you to collate results and instantly
analyse the performance of a single learner or class. Many of
the other administrative processes surrounding assessment can
be simplified or automated.
- Improving access. Online assessment can be
beneficial for learners with disabilities – and also for
those living in remote areas or confined to the home.
More information can be found in the SQA’s online assessment
guidelines. http://www.sqa.org.uk/files_ccc/GuidelinesForOnlineAssessment(Web).pdf
Top
What question types
does TOIA have?
TOIA offers the following question types:
- Multiple choice
- Multiple response
- Pull-down list
- Fill in the blanks
- Matrix
- Essay
- Macromedia flash
- Java applet
- File Upload
Top
We need "Hotspot" and
"Drag and drop" question types - does this mean we can't use TOIA?
Not at all - the Flash question type allows those types of interactions
to be included in assessments. The Documentation
section includes a Tutorial on Flash question types. If the use
of Flash isn't sufficient, those question types are available in
the Premium version of TOIA which offers 21 question types in total
and even richer functionality. You will also be able to purchase
extra question types individually, as needed. This can be discussed
with the project manager.Top
How do I know my
students are who they say they are?
Each student must exist in the TOIA database in order to participate
in an assessment. TOIA uses usernames and passwords to authenticate
users. Students can only be added into the system by a member of
staff with appropriate privileges. However unless students are being
checked against ID cards under exam conditions you cannot be sure
that they are who they say they are. If you wish to use TOIA for
the summative assessment of students you may want to ensure that
this makes up only part of the final mark – and continue to
use traditional forms of assessment for the rest. Another strategy
is to back up online assessments for distance learners with telephone
interviews to check their knowledge in key areas of the assessment.
Organisations can refer to BS7988 for detailed guidance on ensuring
validity when tests are administered. This British Standard covers
the identification, invigilation and supervision of candidates.
For more information, visit http://edd.bsi.org.uk/link.php/ist/43/-/1
. Top
What platform does
TOIA run on?
Learners, authors and administrators can access TOIA using Internet
Explorer 5.0+ on any platform. However, we recommend Windows 2000,
Windows XP and Windows Millennium Edition. The server software is
Windows-based. Top
How secure is
TOIA?
Security was of prime importance during the development process.
A combination of usernames, passwords and fine-grained control over
privileges by the administrator means that only valid users can
log in.Top
How robust is
TOIA?
Recent tests have demonstrated that the system is robust and there
have been no reported instances of serious bugs or system failures.
To date a maximum of 25 concurrent users have been able to use the
system without any problems; we anticipate that the system will
be able to deal with at least 150 concurrent users before there
is any noticeable performance degradation.Top
Can I deliver
questionnaires using TOIA?
Yes, questionnaires and surveys can be created, delivered and evaluated.
These can be set so that users can log in anonymously without having
to create accounts for them. They can be accessed via a hyperlink
or URL. Top
What is question
and test interoperability?
IMS Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) is a specification
for a standard way of sharing assessment data. IMS QTI is designed
to make it easier to transfer information such as questions, tests
and results between different software applications. While IMS compatibility
is not essential to the initial development of online tests, incorporating
it at this stage will enable you to move your assessment data to
a different system at a later date, and to share learner information
and results with learning management systems or your institution’s
central computing systems.
The QTI specification is being implemented within an increasing
number of assessment systems and virtual learning environments.
Many assessment systems will continue to store assessment data in
their own formats, but allow data to be imported from and exported
to other systems by using the IMS QTI format.
The CETIS Assessment Special Interest Group can provide information
and support to institutions interested in specifications and standards
for assessment technology, and can be found at http://assessment.cetis.ac.uk.
Top
How good are
the reporting features of TOIA?
TOIA provides sophisticated reporting facilities with 24 different
report types available in areas such as learner performance, group
performance and question analysis.Top
Can I use TOIA
together with my virtual learning environment?
TOIA runs separately from your virtual learning environment and
currently requires a separate authentication process (though class
lists can be imported into TOIA using the IMS Learner Information
Package specificiation. We are currently examining ways of integrating
TOIA with systems such as WebCT and Blackboard. You can transfer
questions from TOIA into these systems if required.
Can I share my
questions with people at different institutions?
Yes. TOIA items are based on QTI and can be exported out of one
TOIA system and imported into another with relative ease –
or transferred to any system which deals with IMS QTI. Top
Will TOIA be
maintained in the future?
The TOIA project is currently funded by JISC until October 2005
and we will be providing support until then. UK FE/HE users will
be able to use the system indefinitely. If demand is sufficient
we will endeavour to continue the support service and issue future
upgrades. TOIA has been built in conjunction with Freedom2Learn
Ltd which is likely to further develop the system in years to come.
Top
What extra features
does the Premium version of TOIA offer?
Features include:
- 21 question types
- Improved reporting
- LDAP authentication
- More assessment types
If you are interested in buying the Premium version of TOIA, please
contact the project manager.Top
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