Contents:
IT'S ALL IN THE TIMING
by Bruce Drummond
How much time is enough, and how much time is too much?
If you have ever delivered an online quiz, this type of
question most likely popped up. There are several variables
that can influence the amount of time that students might
need to complete an exam.
For example, an exam with one essay question might take an
hour for a student to write satisfactory answer. But, in that
same hour, a student might be able to answer 45 short
answers or fill in the blank questions. Given that same hour,
60 multiple choice or true/false questions could be answered.
These are questions that need to be addressed in a traditional
face-to-face setting as well as an online setting. The difference
with timing online exams can be found in how the exam is
constructed and how it is delivered.
Regardless of platform (Blackboard or WebCT), the amount of
time that a student might need to successfully complete an exam
can hinge on the combination of three key issues:
- Embedded media
- Selected delivery method
- Connection speed of the student’s computer
Embedded media refers to inserting graphics, charts, illustrations,
animations, audio, or video. Any of these elements can add to the
amount of time needed to complete the download of questions.
If you include elements such as these, you might want to give
students a little extra time to complete an exam.
The delivery method may also impact the time needed to complete
an exam. Both platforms can deliver all the questions of an exam
at once or one question at a time. If you select to deliver one
question at a time, you may need to make an adjustment on the
overall time of the quiz to allow for the question to be downloaded
by the student, answered, and then reported back to the server
before the next question is sent.
Even with a high-speed connection, downloading media and
delivering questions one at a time can increase the amount of
time needed by student to finish an exam. But if a student is
using a slower dial-up connection, the time needed will significantly
increase. While you are constructing an exam always try to keep
in mind that some students will be using slower dial-up connections
and everything will take more time.
The last issue concerning time has nothing to do with your exam.
If students are accessing your course through the MyISU portal,
they may be "timed out" while taking your exam.
To avoid this, students can log in directly to the server and bypass
the portal. To sign in directly to the server, students will need their
portal ID and password to sign on to either:
When you are determining how long an exam should be available
to students, you should be aware of these factors and adjust
availability time accordingly.
Bruce Drummond is an instructional designer with the
University's Center for Teaching and Learning. If you
have questions on this article or any instructional design
topic, contact Bruce at (812)237-8892 or bruce.drummond@isugw.indstate.edu
NEW ISU COURSES DEVELOPED
This summer, three new online courses will be offered in:
- Early Childhood Education
- Electronics and Computer Technology
- School Psychology
Details follow.
ECT 697: Major Project
- Audience: Students enrolled in the Electronics and Computer
Technology Master's (MSECT) Program
- Delivery: Internet
- On-campus requirements: None
- Scheduling: This is a six-hour project course.
- Description: The student will be involved in research, applied or theoretical, using standard procedures of problem identification, possible solutions, and a final report. This experience can be field and/or laboratory based in electronics and computer technology.
- Note: The MSECT Program is open to eligible in-state (Indiana),
out-of-state, and international students.
- Instructor: Dr. Gerald Cockrell
ELED 4/532 Early Childhood: Teaching Within a Diverse Society
- Audience: Students enrolled in the Master of Education in
Early Childhood Education
- Delivery: Online (Web)
- On-campus requirements: None
- Open to: In-state (Indiana), out-of-state, and international students
- Scheduling: This is a three--hour, semester-based course with
starting periods in fall and summer semesters.
- This course focuses on developing and enhancing the knowledge and skills
to work with children and families from diverse cultural, racial, and soci-economic
backgrounds. This course introduces the conceptual frameworks of multicultural teaching and reviews the current research and practices relevant to teaching-learning solutions.
- Instructor: Dr. Karen Liu
SPSY 600 Introduction to School Psychology
- Audience: Students in the Ed.S. School Psychology Program (TAPS)
- Delivery: Internet (with on-campus requirements)
- On-campus requirements (Summer 2004): July 11, 18, and 25
- Scheduling: This is a three-hour, semester-based course
- Description: This course provides an overview of the organization and operation of public
schools with the expanding roles and functions of the school psychologists highlighted and discussed. The history of school psychology as well as common theoretical orientations of school psychologists will be addressed.
- Instructor: Dr. Alisha Ford
ISU faculty members who are developing new courses are invited
to submit a course overview for inclusion in upcoming issues.
Contact:
Julie Tipton
(812) 237-8689
j-tipton@indstate.edu
ROSE-HULMAN CONFERENCE: LAST CALL FOR PAPERS
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is hosting an
interdisciplinary conference on the visions, technologies,
and directions that characterized the Web's first decade:
WWW@10: The Dream and the Reality
September 30 through October 2, 2004
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
This conference will provide a forum in which scholars and
practitioners of all disciplines (cultural, historical, and technical)
can share perspectives, concerns, and innovative ideas.
Submissions are invited for papers or panels on all aspects
of the Web's history and future development. Student
submissions are encouraged.
Possible threads include, but are not limited to:
- The Next Big Thing(s), from Wiki Wiki Webs to Voice Over IP
- The wireless revolution
- Dot biz: Internet economics after the bubble
- Transformations in communication and culture
- The dark side of the Web, from spam to spyware
- The Founding Fathers: the ideas of Tim Berners-Lee, Robert Cailliau, and other pioneers
- Web pedagogy: course management and teaching applications
- Politics and the Web, from emancipatory dreams to campaign fund-raising
- Hypertext or just hype? Web models of knowledge and narrative
- The Star Trek Computer: the Web and science fiction
Deadline: Abstracts due April 15, 2004
For details, visit:
http://www10.cs.rose-hulman.edu
ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCETERA
MIT is offering free downloads of Caddie.net, a software
package similar to those sold by Blackboard or WebCT.
This software, developed by MIT, is designed to help
institutions set up and manage various aspects of
distance learning programs, including: registration,
course management, and online testing.
Source:Edupage (24 Mar 04)
Browse IPEDS COOL (College Opportunities On-Line) for
information on nearly 7,000 colleges and universities in
the United States. In addition to a short institutional profile,
this database offers graduation rates for postsecondary
institutions based on all first-time full-time degree or
certificate-seeking undergraduate students that began in
the stated cohort year. Graduation rate information is further
broken down by bachelor degree-seeking students, gender
and race/ethnicity.
URL: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/Search.asp
Source:NCES Newsflash (3 Mar 04)
THOUGHT FOR APRIL:
There is never enough time, unless you're serving it.
- Malcolm Forbes
Interaction is published by the Office of Distance
Support Services - Indiana State University.
