A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Assessment and Survey Tools <s> This paper presents a novel approach of using web log data generated by course management systems (CMS) to help instructors become aware of what is happening in distance learning classes. Specifically, techniques from Information Visualization are used to graphically render complex, multidimensional student tracking data collected by CMS. A system, called CourseVis, illustrates the proposed approach. Graphical representations from the use of CourseVis to visualise data from a java on-line distance course ran with WebCT are presented. Findings from the evaluation of CourseVis are presented, and it is argued that CourseVis can help teachers become aware of some social, behavioural, and cognitive aspects related to distance learners. Using graphical representations of student tracking data, instructors can identify tendencies in their classes, or quickly discover individuals that need special attention. <s> BIB001 </s> A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Assessment and Survey Tools <s> While a number of studies have been conducted on the impact of online assessment and teaching methods on student learning, the field does not seem settled around the promised benefits of such approaches. It is argued that the reason for this state of affairs is that few studies have been able to control for a number of confounding factors in student performance. We report on the introduction of a regular (every 3 weeks) low-mark online assessment tool in a large, first-year business mathematics course at the University of New South Wales, a major Australian university. Using a retrospective regression methodology together with a very large and rich data set, we test the proposition that exposure to the online assessment instrument enhances student learning. Significantly, we are able to control for prior student aptitude, in-course mastery, gender and even effort via a voluntary class attendance proxy. Furthermore, the study incorporates two large, and statistically diverse cohorts as well as manipulations in the model tested to robustly examine the outcomes. Our central result is that higher exposure to the online instrument robustly leads to higher student learning, all else being equal. Various implications for online assessment design, implementation and targeting are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] <s> BIB002 </s> A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Assessment and Survey Tools <s> Electronic supported assessment or e-Assessment is a field of growing importance, but it has yet to make a significant impact in the Australian higher education sector (Byrnes & Ellis, 2006). Current computer based assessment models focus on the assessment of knowledge rather than deeper understandings, using multiple choice type questions, and blocking access to more sophisticated software tools. This study explored a new system based on a customised version of an open source live CD, based on Ubuntu which was used with three groups of pre-service teachers (N=270). Students had divided opinions about using computers or paper for their examinations, but prior exposure to computer based assessment was a highly significant factor for preferring the computer medium. Reflecting upon their experience, students found the noise of computer keyboards a distraction during the eExamination and preferred fewer on-screen windows. The new system allowed eExaminations to be taken securely on student owned laptop computers and was supervised by invigilators without specialist information technology skills. The system has been made available for other researchers to use at http://www.eExaminations.org/ <s> BIB003 </s> A REVIEW OF E-LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES - Opportunities for Teaching and Learning <s> Assessment and Survey Tools <s> Introduction This paper presents the perceptions of Irish Nursing students with regard to the use of technology in the clinical skills laboratories. Many instructors at both large and small educational institutions have begun to use classroom technology that allows students to respond and interact via small, hand-held, remote keypads called "Clickers". It resembles the "Ask the Audience" portion of the game show "Who Wants to be A Millionaire" and enables instructors to instantaneously collect student responses to a posted question, generally multiple choice. The answers are immediately tallied and displayed on a classroom projection screen where both students and instructor can see and discuss them. This technology is known under many names and will be referred to as an audience response system (AR system or ARS). Audience Response Systems are an evolving in-class student-polling technology designed to create an engaging and inviting learning environment that maximizes active learning. Unfortunately, there appears to be no standardization of terminology in the literature; audience response systems are variously described by vendors and academic users as: audience-paced feedback systems (APF), student response systems (SRS), classroom performance systems (CPS), electronic response systems (ERS), hyper-active teaching technology (H-ITT), interactive engagement (IE), interactive audience response systems (IRIS), interactive learning systems (ILS), interactive student-response systems (ISRS), personal response systems (PRS), group response systems (GRS), and wireless response systems (WRS). For the purpose of this research, the ARS acronym will be used to refer to this technology. This is a relatively new technology that offers easy deployment of active learning and engagement within any learning environment. One of the aims of the research was to evaluate students' experiences of the use of technology in supporting their learning styles. Another objective was to determine if the students better retained the knowledge of the module with the user of the ARS or Clicker technology. This was achieved via an online quiz in Moodle in the penultimate week of the semester. Many methods are used to enhance student engagement in instructional nursing education courses (Moredich & Moore, 2007; Richardson & Trudeau, 2003) and systems are introduced as new technologies become available (Fink, 2005; Fitch, 2004; Roberts, 2005; Skiba & Barton, 2006; Weimer, 2002). The operation of an ARS is a simple three-step process: 1) During the teaching period, the instructor displays or verbalizes a question or problem, previously prepared or spontaneously generated "on the fly" by the instructor or a student, 2) All students key in their answers using wireless handheld keypads--aka "Clickers", 3) Responses are received, aggregated, and displayed on both the instructor's computer monitor and an overhead projector screen. The distribution of student responses may prompt the students or instructor to further explore the key area with discussion or, perhaps, one or more follow-up questions. This interactive cycle can continue until both the instructor and the students have resolved ambiguities or reached closure on the topic at hand (Lowery, 2006). Background The B.Sc Nursing (General, Mental Health, and Intellectual Disability) is a full-time four year programme offered by the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick in conjunction with the Health Services Executive Mid-West (Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary). Upon successful completion of the programme students will register with An Board Altranais (ABA) and practice as a Registered Nurse (R.G.N), Registered Psychiatric Nurse (R.P.N.) or Registered Nurse Intellectual Disability (R.N.I.D). The curriculum encompasses the development of theory and practice simultaneously and includes lectures, clinical skills laboratory work, tutorials, and clinical placement. … <s> BIB004
Tools for formative and summative assessment being used in higher education include: quiz and survey tools, eExaminations and those for visualisation and activity development. Such tools are found to encourage student learning and enable a better understanding of student behaviour in teaching environments. Online surveys or quizzes are generated for testing purposes or used as a learning tool incorporating automatic feedback. Surveys can be created through an LMS, or using web-based survey tools such as SurveyMonkey or Zoomerang. In a study of mathematics students using a quiz built using Respondus, BIB002 found that higher exposure to such online instruments lead to higher student learning all else being equal. The use of the web-based MathXL, with features such as self-paced homework and a test manager, allowed automatic grading and targeted feedback (BuzzettoMore and Ukoha 2009). The use of online examinations (eExaminations) is becoming more prevalent and there are efforts to move away from multiple choice questions to more sophisticated software tools. BIB003 describe a system using an open source CD on student owned laptop computers that was supervised by invigilators without specialist information technology skills. There are also a variety of visualisation tools that help teachers to better understand students' cognitive levels and how they might progress through concepts and learning materials. These tools vary from CourseVis, that graphically renders student tracking data collected by a CMS BIB001 , to a tool described by Costagliola, Fuccella, Giordana and Polese (2009) that allows tutors to monitor a learner's strategies during online tests by using data visualisation. Although the focus with these tools is not on student assessment per se, they nevertheless provide a means of understanding behavioural patterns of students better, thus allowing for improved assessment processes. In a classroom, tools such as VotApedia can enable questions to be answered by large groups of students using their mobile phones. Similarly an Audience Response System (aka clickers) help motivate and engage students while simultaneously providing feedback on their understanding of material BIB004 .