The Assessment tool allows sequence authors to create a series of questions with a high degree flexibility in total weighting. In future revisions, the tool will interface with a 'question bank' allowing the author to automatically create randomised questions for learners.

Learners can re-attempt the assessment if they fail, and the tool allows for the customisation of penalties for each successive re-try.

View of the Assessment Activity Basic tab.

There are two features on the basic tab common to all activities:

• Title: All Activities have a web page title which is presented at the top of the activity page when displayed in the Learning Environment. This is NOT the same title as the Title that can be set using the Properties Inspector.
• Instructions: All Activities have a text area that is presented beneath the title. This is where the main activity text to be displayed to learners is entered. The text can be formatted using the Rich-Text Editor. Image, Video, Audio and URL content can also be displayed in the Instructions area.

Specific Features for the Assessment Activity

For most text-entry fields in each question type, you can use the full features of the [fckEditor toolbar].

There are several fields common to all question types in the assessment tool.

• Question Name: provides a reference point for the question.
• Question Text: specifies the actual question to answer.
• Default Question Grade: specifies the 'value' or 'weighting' of a question. By default, this is set to 1.
  Penalty Factor: This is applied to the final result for each incorrect attempt a learner makes at the question.
  For example, if the learner gets a correct response on their second attempt, the final mark will be 0.9 out of 1 (with the default values).
• General Feedback: General Feedback is shown to all learners regardless of their response. If you choose to use this field, best practice is to explain what the question was asking for, or what knowledge was being targeted by the question.
• Overall Feedback: These fields allow authors to give targeted feedback for Correct, Partially Correct and Incorrect responses. Use of Overall Feedback can can assist learners who got the question wrong to better understand their results, encourage partially correct students, and reward Correct students.

Multiple Choice

This question type presents learners with a question and several possible answers.

• One or Multiple Answers?: Specific to Multiple Choice, this either allows learners to select one or several responses respectively from the answers to the question. The final mark for each question will be averaged from the responses selected.
• Answer Field: Specifies the available choices to choose from. You can use the full extent of the fckEditor toolbar for the answers.
• Grade: You can choose variable grades for each choice.
  • In cases where one response is 'correct', select 100% for that question and None for all others.
  • In the case where learners need to select two correct responses out of five, each correct response should be 50% of the total value.
  • To add a new choice to the question, click the button + Add Blank Option

Matching Pairs

This question type presents learners with two lists, which they have to align in the correct sets.

• Shuffle the Choices?: When enabled, this option randomises the order in which the pair choices are displayed.
• Question Field: This field contains the initial or 'static' list for pairing. You can use the full extent of the fckEditor to insert text, sounds, images or video.
• Answer Field: This is the 'matching' list, which presents to the learners as a drop-down menu. Only text entry is allowed.
  To add a new pair to the question, click the button + Add Blank Matching Pair

Short Answer

This question type allows learners to write a short response to a question. Their response is then searched for specific words or phrases to create the final question mark.

• Case Sensitivity: defines whether or not the case of student responses is counted in the search. By default, case is not important.
• Answer Field: defines the text to search for in the learner's response to the question.
• Grade: each word or phrase can be given a different grade.
• Feedback: feedback for each word or phrase can be given independently.
  To add additional answers to the question, click the button + Add Blank Answer

Numerical

The Numerical question type is ideal for mathematics based questions, as it allows learners to submit a number as their answer, as well as customise the acceptable error rate for each response.

• Answer Field: defines the base answer for the question. (eg, 245)
  • Accepted error: defines how far either side of the base answer will be counted as correct. (eg, if error rate is 2, then correct answers will be accepted as 243 - 247)
  • Grade: different grades can be assigned to different answers.
    To add additional answers to the question, click the button + Add Blank Answer
  • Units: specifies how unit suffixes affect the learners responses.
    For example: if the question was for measurement, then m (for metres) would be the first unit with a 1.0 multiplier, and cm (centimetres) would be the second unit, with a multiplier of 0.01.
    In this case, 10m and 1,000cm would be treated as the same response.

To add additional units to the question, click the button + Add Blank Unit

True/False

The True or False question type presents learners with a statement that must be classified as either true or false.

• Correct Answer: specifies either 'True' or 'False' as the correct answer.
  Authors can also give targeted feedback to learners based on their chosen response.

Essay

The essay question type requires learners to submit an extended text-based response to a question.
The essay must then be reviewed and graded by a sequence monitor.

Ordering

The ordering question type presents learners with a list of possible answers which they must move into an ordered state.
The answers are entered in the authoring environment in the 'ordered' state, and are then shuffled by the assessment tool for presentation to learners.

View of the Assessment Activity Advanced tab.

• Time Limit: Specifies how long learners can spend on the activity. Learners must click to start the timer, and the assessment locks once the time has elapsed.
• Questions per page: Determines how the questions are displayed on the page.
  All questions can be displayed at once, or between 10 and 1 per page.
• Shuffle Questions: Randomises the order in which questions are displayed.
• Attempts Allowed: Determines the number of times a learner can re-take the quiz. Options range from 1 to 6 and Unlimited.
• Allow students to see overall feedback after each question: When enabled, this feature presents the learner with the overall feedback for the question once they have completed the assessment.
  The overall feedback is the same regardless of the learner's response, and is only available on certain question types.
• Allow students to see question feedback after each question: When enabled, this feature presents learners with feedback relevant to their response.
  This type of feedback is only available on certain question types.
• Allow students to see right/wrong answers: When enabled, this feature presents students with a or or for each response in the assessment.
  This feature can be used as an indicator for a 'once-only' assessment, or a teaching aid for an 'assess-until-correct' method.
• Allow students to see grades at the end of each attempt: When enabled, this feature displays the learners total grade mark for the assessment after each attempt.
• Allow students to see history of responses at the end of each attempt: When enabled, this feature displays all of the learners previous responses each time they complete an assessment.
• Notify teacher after student completes attempt: Emails monitors whenever a learner completes an assessment.
  ( This option requires an SMTP server to be configured for LAMS. Contact your System Administrator for details.)

Overall Feedback Section

This area allows authors to give different feedback for different levels of achievement.

For example, learners who achieve 100% may receive one message, while learners who score between 50% and 99% will get another.

• Add Feedback Field: Adds another feedback range for comment.
  See the screenshot at left for a an exemplar. The section at the bottom of the screen shows different messages for different achievement levels.

View of the Instructions tab. This is the same for all activities.

The Instructions tab contains the same features for all Activities.

It allows the Author to create specific instructions for the activity, as well as upload files that may be useful for running the activity (ie: support documents, etc.). It is a resource that can be used by teachers who are running the sequence for their learners. (In the Monitoring Environment, the Instructions for an Activity can be viewed by double clicking the activity on the Sequence tab and then selecting the Instructions tab.

The instructions can be retrieved by other authors who open the activity, or by monitors running the sequence.

There are two types of Instruction possible, Offline and Online, depending on the mode that the teacher wishes to run the activity. The feature is useful for teachers who are sharing sequences with their colleagues as it provides an area where the Author can describe any learning objectives and/or the specific purpose of the activity.

View of the Assessment Monitoring Summary tab.

The Assessment summary page allows monitors to view statistics on the assessment. Statistics can be compared as an entire set, on a per-user basis, or a per-question basis.

The Assessment activity displays data using the same toolkit as the new Gradebook feature. More on this soon.

Click on a learners name to sort by that learner.

Click for larger view.

Choosing a question from the Report by Question drop down gives this new window, showing all the responses to the question.

Click for larger view.

You can export and save a spreadsheet version of the Assessment Summary by clicking Export Summary.