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Delivering QTI Self-tests to Personal Learning Environments using Wookie Widgets

Vladimir Tomberg, Raido Kuli, Mart Laanpere, Peeter NormakTallinn UniversityEstonia

09.12.2010, ICWL 2010, Shanghai

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Personal Learning Environments

The shift of PLE pedagogical paradigm: from teacher-driven to self-directed learning process

Web 2.0 technology is causing a decrease in the use of existing digital content, which is still valuable and re-usable

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PLE and Tests

Questions and tests are digital learning objects, which currently can be hardly delivered to PLE

But there is a wealth of valuable, reusable questions and tests stored in learning object repositories

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IMS QTI XML: de facto standard for assessment-related content

Since 2005 QTI ver. 2 is stable and widely used (but still is beta!)

Possibility to import/export tests

Testing system as a set of tools or services:

authoring tool,

repository,

test construction tool,

assessment delivery system

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Widgets technology

Lightweight Web applications designed for a single specific function

Great choice of different widget platforms and related specifications not compatible between themselves

First standard: W3C Widget Packaging and Configuration specification (2006)

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Our scenario for Self-Testing in PLE

Teacher embeds selected self-tests into her/his blog in form of widget

Embedded search tool provided to learners for finding suitable self-tests from repository

Students generate self-test by themselves

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Functional Requirements

Searching a suitable test from a repository

Visualization of testing questions and submitting the test

Receiving results of test’s completion with feedback

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Overall Architecture of Software Solution

To implement the embedding widgets into blogs we used Java servlet server Apache Tomcat, which serves several web services and software: Wookie application, QAPS API and question rendering engine R2Q2.

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QAPS

QAPS (QTI Assessment Proxy Service) is API, which deals with self-test related data exchange between a Learning Object Repository and the Widget engine.

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Using QAPS API for Self Testing Solution

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Workflow for QTI player prototype components

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Widget at Work: Searching for Test

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Widget at Work: Implementation of Test

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Widget at Work: Finishing Test

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Widget at Work: Feedback

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Conclusion

The implementation of QAPS demonstrated the feasibility of re-using the existing QTI content stored in Learning Object Repositories

Project source code address:http://trac.htk.tlu.ee/modules/wiki/qti_player

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To Do

Adding authentication

Service, which is going to aggregate the learners’ profiles, and store their tests’ results

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Thank you.