OER1015 Demonstration

FETLAR project

Sue Milne, Consultant to FETLAR project

Conference Theme: Open educational content

Intended audience: Learning technologists with responsibility for subject areas requiring mathematics, QTI specialists, those interested in e-assessment

Abstract: The JISC-funded MathAssess project (September 2008 – March 2009) took existing QTI toolkits and developed them so that they provide the necessary functionality for mathematics. The new tools are Open Source (New BSD License) and conform to the QTI Version 2.1 specification. They have been enhanced as part of the FETLAR project within the HEA OER program and are now available for use in real-life teaching and learning, alongside collected OER for Mathematics in the FETLAR Virtual Appliance. The tools are suitable for creating QTI questions in any discipline, and provide additional facilities essential to any subject involving numeracy or mathematics, ranging from science and engineering, to nursing, social sciences and business studies. These facilities are:

• Display of mathematical expressions
• Manipulation of mathematical expressions
• Creation of randomised items
• Comparison of input and expected answer algebraically, not just string matching.

Once the tools are adopted by users, the future of the standards used in creating them becomes more assured, and hence the sustainability and interoperability of materials created with them. Alongside these tools, FETLAR provides search facilities which improve the efficiency with which academics can gather resources for their courses. The demonstration will show how users can:

• Discover OER suitable for a revision course in basic algebra,
• Assemble assessment materials, including individual questions and complete assessments, which relate to the selected resources,
• Modify the assessment materials by
  • Creating or amending a question using the MathQurate question editor,
  • Storing the question in the Minibix+ item bank.
  • Using Constructr+ to find the question in the Minibix bank and insert it in a test.
  • Storing the revised test in the Minibix+ test bank.
  • Delivering that new test as part of a Moodle course.
• Demonstrate interoperability by running a question in two different renderers: JAssess and QTIEngine.

Keywords: e-assessment, QTI, open source, open standards, mathematics

References/URL http://stack.bham.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=14