WO2000067225A9 - Test, editing and playing system and method - Google Patents

Test, editing and playing system and method

Info

Publication number
WO2000067225A9
WO2000067225A9 PCT/US2000/011774 US0011774W WO0067225A9 WO 2000067225 A9 WO2000067225 A9 WO 2000067225A9 US 0011774 W US0011774 W US 0011774W WO 0067225 A9 WO0067225 A9 WO 0067225A9
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
test
question
questions
editor method
category
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2000/011774
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2000067225A1 (en
Inventor
Bradley J Fietsam
Brett N Adams
David E Warner
Original Assignee
Ibt Technologies Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ibt Technologies Inc filed Critical Ibt Technologies Inc
Priority to AU48120/00A priority Critical patent/AU4812000A/en
Publication of WO2000067225A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000067225A1/en
Publication of WO2000067225A9 publication Critical patent/WO2000067225A9/en

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G09EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09BEDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B7/00Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers
    • G09B7/02Electrically-operated teaching apparatus or devices working with questions and answers of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student
    • GPHYSICS
    • G09EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09BEDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B5/00Electrically-operated educational appliances
    • G09B5/08Electrically-operated educational appliances providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations
    • G09B5/14Electrically-operated educational appliances providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations with provision for individual teacher-student communication

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a test editor and player, and more particularly a test editor and player that is superior m dynamically creating, editing, encrypting and disseminating of test.
  • Prior art test creation programs experience problems in that the interfaces employed to use the programs are complex and require substantial user capability m order to create simple tests and the export methods employed allow the user the ability to view the source of the test questions, which could allow the user to compromise the integrity of the test itself. Furthermore, the prior art test creation programs also limit the test output to only an electronic format that precludes it from being utilized m an off-line type of mode.
  • the present invention provides a very easy to use interface for editing of the test data that can be saved and exported as a simple rich text format document for distribution as a paper based test or exported as an encrypted test for playback across an electronic medium such as the web.
  • the present invention also has the capability to weight categories of test questions along with the ability to pull questions from a category or pool of questions for each category, thus allowing for a very flexible test creation and playback experience.
  • the test editor data can also easily be re- purposed for entry into other electronic mediums for analysis in a variety of ways.
  • the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has as an object a simple to operate test editor capable of dynamically editing and creating categories and test questions within categories and formatting the questions for play back on a test player.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide a test player capable of reading encrypted tests and further capable of operating pursuant to the formatting of the test.
  • a still further object of the present invention is to provide a system having a CPU with memory operating pursuant to instructions to facilitate the creation of, editing, disbursement, encrypting and playing back to the end user via a player a formatted test.
  • one aspect of the present invention comprises a test player capable of playing for a user a preformatted test, the test player including a CPU with a memory, capable of receiving and transmitting associated test data to and from a network.
  • the software is capable of decrypting and playing back for a user test, wherein the playing back of the test is solely controlled by the format of the test and wherein the software provides the user several capabilities.
  • the capabilities are browsing the test questions, saving and terminating the test for later, review past answers, editing answers before submission and interpreting test results.
  • test editor method for creating and encrypting test for distribution
  • the test editor method includes the steps of defining one or more categories representing sections of a test and assigning each category a weight.
  • the method additionally provides for selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category, inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the question can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions.
  • the method also provides for formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) .
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • a still further aspect of the present invention provides for a test editor system for creating and encrypting test for distribution over a global network and includes general purpose computer capable of defining one or more categories representing sections of a test and assigning each category a weight.
  • the test editor further provides for selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category, inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the ⁇ uestion can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions, and formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) .
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • Fig. 1 is flow diagram of the test editing process of the present invention
  • Fig. 2 is diagram depicting an entry template of the test editor of the present invention
  • Fig. 3 is diagram of a pull -down menu associated with the entry template of Fig. 2 of the present invention
  • Fig. 4 is a diagram depicting selection of a category pull -down menu of the present invention.
  • Fig. 5 is a diagram depicting selection of a question pull -down menu of the present invention.
  • Fig. 6 is a diagram depicting selection of a view pull -down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 7 is a diagram depicting selection of a help pull -down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 8 is a diagram depicting a tool bar of frequently used functions of the editor of the present invention
  • Fig. 9 is a diagram depicting selection of the category window of Fig. 4, of the present invention
  • Fig. 10 is a diagram depicting selection of the question window of Fig. 5, of the present invention.
  • Fig. 11 is a diagram depicting a set of entry fields specific to the type of question selected of the present invention.
  • Fig. 12 is a diagram depicting message or instructions dialogue box to the user from the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention.
  • Fig. 13 is a diagram depicting category names and percentages and providing the user limit control of these functions of the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 14 is a diagram depicting a control environment capable of being set by the user from test properties pull-down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 15 is a diagram depicting an appearance dialogue box capable of setting aesthetic attributes of the test from the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 16 is a diagram depicting a test record dialogue box for providing the user the capability of setting recording options from the test properties pull-down menu of the present invention
  • Fig. 17 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention.
  • Fig. 18 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention
  • Fig. 19 is a diagram depicting an answer key to a sample test of the present invention
  • Fig. 20 is a diagram of an introductory interface of the present invention.
  • Fig. 21 is a diagram of a data entry form for a user of the test editor player of the present invention.
  • Fig. 22 is a diagram depicting an instruction page of the test of the present invention.
  • Fig. 23 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention.
  • the test editor system is comprised of an editor and a player.
  • the editor is used to create and encrypt tests for distribution.
  • the test creator can disseminate the encrypted test file by disk, e-mail, FTP, or other electronic means.
  • the player is an application that is used by the user to decrypt and playback tests locally or on the internet. When tests are completed, the player can report scores locally or via the internet or WAN or LAN, as illustrated in Fig. For paper-based tests, the Player application is not required.
  • the interface of the test editor application is made up of four main areas: pull-down menus, a toolbar, a category window & a question window.
  • a New selection button 310 of File pull-down menu 210 creates a new test data file (TWD extension) .
  • An Open selection button 320 opens a previously saved test data file.
  • a Close selection button 330 closes the current test data file.
  • a Save selection button 340 saves the current test data file to disk or some other storage medium. If the TWD file has not been saved before, this selection prompts the user for a filename.
  • Save As selection button 350 prompts the user to save the current test data file with a different filename.
  • a View As Text option button 360 hides category and question windows and displays the test material in an RTF format.
  • a Properties selection button 370 opens a Properties dialog box. It should be noted that the pull-down menus contain all of the functionality of the player in a standard WindowsTM pull -down menu format .
  • a Verify selection button 380 checks the TWD file for omissions and errors and displays these to the user in a window that appears below the category and question windows. Users can double-click on the line item problems to go directly to them.
  • a Build selection button 390 initiates a verification process and, if passed, prompts the user for a filename to save an encrypted test file (TST extension) . Under the Build selection button 390 are shortcut selections to the four most recent TWD files. An Exit selection button 395 closes the current test data file and exits the test editor.
  • An Edit selection button 220 opens the category name field of the currently selected category, allowing the user to edit the name of the category.
  • a Delete selection button 430 deletes the currently selected category from the TWD file. If that category has questions in it, the test editor will prompt the user to erase those questions or assign them to a new category before the deletion process can proceed.
  • a New selection button 510 displays a list of question types (such as multiple choice, true/false, matching & ranking, labeling or short answer) that the user can create .
  • An Edit selection button 520 opens a dialog box of selected questions, allowing the user to edit its contents.
  • a Delete selection button 530 deletes the selected question and its line in the question window from the test data file.
  • a last selection in the Question menu 230 is a toggle button (show all) 540 that switches the contents of the question window between all test questions and questions attached to the selected category.
  • a Toolbar selection button 610 toggles the display of the toolbar on and off.
  • a Status Bar selection button 620 toggles the display of a status bar (along the bottom of the Editor interface) on and off.
  • a Messages selection button 630 toggles the display of the Messages window.
  • a Help pull-down menu 250 contains a Help Topics selection button 710 that opens a standard Windows HLP file.
  • a tutorial selection button 720 launches the test editor computer-based training application.
  • An About Test Wizard selection button 730 displays version information and credits for the test editor. It also has an HTML link to the test editor website.
  • a toolbar 800 as illustrated in Fig. 8, contains short-cut buttons to frequently used functions of the test editor. These shortcuts have the exact functionality of the pull -down menus selections of the same name.
  • a category window 810 lists all categories for a test with their percentages (which must add up to 100%) An area directly above this window displays the path and filename of the current TWD file.
  • a left side of the category window (not shown) displays categories in the order they were created. Clicking a category name selects it. Double-clicking it allows the user to edit the name. A right side of the window displays the percentage weight of each category. Double-clicking these values opens the Properties dialog 370 to the Categories tab 220, allowing the percentages to be edited. By default, the percentages are equally distributed to categories as they are created.
  • the question window 230 lists questions in the user's test by category or for the full test, as shown in Fig. 9.
  • a checkbox directly above the question window allows the user to toggle the display of questions between all in the TWD and only those under the selected category.
  • a questions column as shown in Fig. 10, contains question references. By default this is the first twenty characters of the question. Their purpose is to help distinguish questions from each other.
  • a type column indicates the type of question. The view column indicates whether the questions is a required or optional question with an R or an 0.
  • Each question within a category may be of a different type, (i.e. ranking, matching, T/F, etc.
  • Double-clicking on a question line item launches that question's dialog box for editing, as shown m Fig. 12.
  • Each question type has a set of entry fields and buttons specific to the type of question.
  • the multiple cnoice question dialog box has an entry field for the question and several for possible answers. Description, Reference, Category and
  • Required/Optional Display are items common to all question type dialog boxes.
  • the Description is used to help locate questions in the Question Window quickly.
  • the Reference s presented to users who do not answer the questions correctly so that they know where to find the answer.
  • the Category is a drop-down list of categories from the Category Window. All questions must be assigned to a category.
  • a Required/Optional display buttons determine whether or not to display a question every time (required) a test is taken or to add this question to a pool of optional questions for each category. After questions are placed in pools, users can open the Properties box 370 to the Categories tab 220 and set the number of randomly selected questions that should be shown from these pools in each test.
  • a Test Properties dialog box depicted in Figs. 13-16, is opened from the pull -down menu or the Properties button 820 on the toolbar 800. It contains five tabs. The first is a Messages tab 1210. This tab contains text items that are shown to the user when the test is administered, as depicted in Fig. 12. The instructions are shown to the student before the test begins, while the pass and fail messages are given to students after they have completed the test - for better or for worse.
  • a Categories tab 1220 gives the user control of category names and percentages. It also gives the user a tally of the total number of questions in a category, broken down further by Optional and Required settings. This is the area where the number of optional questions to display per pool is set.
  • a Controls tab 1230 gives the user broad control of the testing environment.
  • the user can specify a test to be timed 1420, which causes the test to end at the specified time regardless of completion status.
  • Bookmarking 1430 allows a user/student to exit the test and return to the point at which he or she left off.
  • a Skipping function 1440 lets students skip questions which may be too difficult to answer. Those questions are then presented after all others have been completed.
  • a Delete Test On Exit checkbox 1450 will delete the encrypted test from a user's hard drive after completion.
  • Test attributes 1460 are version and passing score. Version 1470 is useful to specify the latest revision of a test.
  • a passing score 1480 is just that. Any score below this is given a failing designation.
  • a Web Control for pass and fail are used when the Player is run via a web browser. These controls cause the URLs specified in each field to be jumped to upon student exit from the test. Which URL is jumped to is determined by whether or not the student passed.
  • An Appearance tab 1240 depicted in Fig. 15, is used to set aesthetic attributes of the test.
  • the title, instructor and test code appear on the opening screen of the test.
  • Login information is used to gather data from the student before the test begins.
  • the feedback is used to display or hide correct or incorrect responses to individual questions. This feature allows the Player to function as a survey tool as well.
  • the interface drop-down list set the color of some text and graphics on the Player interface.
  • a Records tab 1250 depicted in Fig. 16, is where data recording options are set.
  • a Print feature causes test data to be printed in RTF format once the test is complete.
  • a Save records locally 1620 feature saves test data in RTF format to the user's hard drive.
  • a Report passing only 1630 will only invoke record keeping options if the user passes the test.
  • a do not score option 1640 will prevent score information from being displayed - for use in surveys.
  • An output AICC data 1650 causes test information to be reported to AICC compliant Computer-Managed Instruction systems.
  • a FTP transfer settings allows test results to be sent to any FTP location as long as users have an active internet connection at the time the test is complete. Fields are standard FTP protocols with the addition of two directory fields for organization use.
  • an e-mail feature 1670 will send test data to the e-mail address specified, provided there is an active internet connection.
  • Figs. 17 and 18 When a View As Text feature is invoked, as shown in Figs. 17 and 18, the interface changes to show the test in an RTF format .
  • Each of the three views is configurable according to font type and size. Any view can also be printed or saved to disk. The first view is the full view. This lists each question of the test in the order it was created. All questions are included along with their correct answer.
  • the Test View displays questions in a random order and according to the optional settings the user have specified, if any.
  • This view is a preview of an actual printed test, and indeed the user can print a copy directly from the editor to give to a student .
  • the shuffle button become active, allowing the user to randomize the display of the questions .
  • An Answer Key is a listing of test answers corresponding to questions in the order they appear in the current test view. This view can be printed as an answer key to the test printed under the Test View. Operation of the Player will now be reviewed with reference to Figs. 20-23, begins the display of tests with an introductory screen. At this point the test has been decrypted and the questions have been randomized. At the bottom of the interface is status information or prompts for the user. The top bar displays the test title and the Test editor name. The following screen gathers user data for tracking purposes. This is the login information that is specified to be collected in the editor.
  • the test begins. If it is a timed test, the timer will start at this time.
  • the test questions are displayed within the center of the Player window. Each type of question has a set of standard instructions which appear m grey under the test title.
  • the bottom bar contains action buttons specific to questions, such as reset, submit, next question, etc. It also shows "correct” and "incorrect” feedback per question. In a timed test, a countdown clock is also visible m this bar.

Abstract

A test editor method for creating and encrypting tests for distribution. Categories are defined and weighted and questions generated. Categories and questions are formatted for use on at least one of a network, stand alone device and personal digital assistant.

Description

TEST, EDITING AND PLAYING SYSTEM AND METHOD
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to provisional application number 60/132,025, filed April 30, 1999, entitled " Testing System Editing and Playing System" and provisional application number 60/131,953, filed on April 30, 1999, entitled "Knowledge Advancement Systems and Method" which are hereby fully incorporated by reference . BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test editor and player, and more particularly a test editor and player that is superior m dynamically creating, editing, encrypting and disseminating of test.
Description of the Related Art
Prior art test creation programs experience problems in that the interfaces employed to use the programs are complex and require substantial user capability m order to create simple tests and the export methods employed allow the user the ability to view the source of the test questions, which could allow the user to compromise the integrity of the test itself. Furthermore, the prior art test creation programs also limit the test output to only an electronic format that precludes it from being utilized m an off-line type of mode.
The present invention provides a very easy to use interface for editing of the test data that can be saved and exported as a simple rich text format document for distribution as a paper based test or exported as an encrypted test for playback across an electronic medium such as the web. The present invention also has the capability to weight categories of test questions along with the ability to pull questions from a category or pool of questions for each category, thus allowing for a very flexible test creation and playback experience. The test editor data can also easily be re- purposed for entry into other electronic mediums for analysis in a variety of ways. These capabilities coupled with the complete flexible nature of the test input and makeup allows the test editor and player to provide a superior test creation and playback environment whether it be localized or across an electronic medium.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has as an object a simple to operate test editor capable of dynamically editing and creating categories and test questions within categories and formatting the questions for play back on a test player. A further object of the present invention is to provide a test player capable of reading encrypted tests and further capable of operating pursuant to the formatting of the test.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a system having a CPU with memory operating pursuant to instructions to facilitate the creation of, editing, disbursement, encrypting and playing back to the end user via a player a formatted test. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims .
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, one aspect of the present invention comprises a test player capable of playing for a user a preformatted test, the test player including a CPU with a memory, capable of receiving and transmitting associated test data to and from a network. The software is capable of decrypting and playing back for a user test, wherein the playing back of the test is solely controlled by the format of the test and wherein the software provides the user several capabilities. The capabilities are browsing the test questions, saving and terminating the test for later, review past answers, editing answers before submission and interpreting test results.
Another aspect of the present further provides for a test editor method for creating and encrypting test for distribution, the test editor method includes the steps of defining one or more categories representing sections of a test and assigning each category a weight. The method additionally provides for selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category, inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the question can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions. The method also provides for formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) .
A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a test editor system for creating and encrypting test for distribution over a global network and includes general purpose computer capable of defining one or more categories representing sections of a test and assigning each category a weight. The test editor further provides for selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category, inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the σuestion can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions, and formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) . It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one (several) embodiment (s) of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Fig. 1 is flow diagram of the test editing process of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is diagram depicting an entry template of the test editor of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is diagram of a pull -down menu associated with the entry template of Fig. 2 of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a diagram depicting selection of a category pull -down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a diagram depicting selection of a question pull -down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a diagram depicting selection of a view pull -down menu of the present invention; Fig. 7 is a diagram depicting selection of a help pull -down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 8 is a diagram depicting a tool bar of frequently used functions of the editor of the present invention; Fig. 9 is a diagram depicting selection of the category window of Fig. 4, of the present invention;
Fig. 10 is a diagram depicting selection of the question window of Fig. 5, of the present invention;
Fig. 11 is a diagram depicting a set of entry fields specific to the type of question selected of the present invention;
Fig. 12 is a diagram depicting message or instructions dialogue box to the user from the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 13 is a diagram depicting category names and percentages and providing the user limit control of these functions of the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention; Fig. 14 is a diagram depicting a control environment capable of being set by the user from test properties pull-down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 15 is a diagram depicting an appearance dialogue box capable of setting aesthetic attributes of the test from the test properties pull -down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 16 is a diagram depicting a test record dialogue box for providing the user the capability of setting recording options from the test properties pull-down menu of the present invention;
Fig. 17 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention;
Fig. 18 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention; Fig. 19 is a diagram depicting an answer key to a sample test of the present invention;
Fig. 20 is a diagram of an introductory interface of the present invention;
Fig. 21 is a diagram of a data entry form for a user of the test editor player of the present invention;
Fig. 22 is a diagram depicting an instruction page of the test of the present invention; and
Fig. 23 is a diagram depicting a sample test of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments (s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
The test editor system is comprised of an editor and a player. The editor is used to create and encrypt tests for distribution. The test creator can disseminate the encrypted test file by disk, e-mail, FTP, or other electronic means. The player is an application that is used by the user to decrypt and playback tests locally or on the internet. When tests are completed, the player can report scores locally or via the internet or WAN or LAN, as illustrated in Fig. For paper-based tests, the Player application is not required.
The interface of the test editor application is made up of four main areas: pull-down menus, a toolbar, a category window & a question window.
A New selection button 310 of File pull-down menu 210 , as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3) creates a new test data file (TWD extension) . An Open selection button 320 opens a previously saved test data file. A Close selection button 330 closes the current test data file. A Save selection button 340 saves the current test data file to disk or some other storage medium. If the TWD file has not been saved before, this selection prompts the user for a filename. A
Save As selection button 350 prompts the user to save the current test data file with a different filename. A View As Text option button 360 hides category and question windows and displays the test material in an RTF format. A Properties selection button 370 opens a Properties dialog box. It should be noted that the pull-down menus contain all of the functionality of the player in a standard Windows™ pull -down menu format .
A Verify selection button 380 checks the TWD file for omissions and errors and displays these to the user in a window that appears below the category and question windows. Users can double-click on the line item problems to go directly to them.
A Build selection button 390 initiates a verification process and, if passed, prompts the user for a filename to save an encrypted test file (TST extension) . Under the Build selection button 390 are shortcut selections to the four most recent TWD files. An Exit selection button 395 closes the current test data file and exits the test editor.
A New selection button 410, of the category menu 220, as illustrated in F g. 4, creates a new question category. Categories must all have at least one question assigned to them for the test to be valid and all tests must have at least one category. Within a category, questions may all be of one type or they may be mixed.
An Edit selection button 220 opens the category name field of the currently selected category, allowing the user to edit the name of the category. A Delete selection button 430 deletes the currently selected category from the TWD file. If that category has questions in it, the test editor will prompt the user to erase those questions or assign them to a new category before the deletion process can proceed. As shown in Fig. 5, within a Question pull -down menu 230, a New selection button 510 displays a list of question types (such as multiple choice, true/false, matching & ranking, labeling or short answer) that the user can create . An Edit selection button 520 opens a dialog box of selected questions, allowing the user to edit its contents. A Delete selection button 530 deletes the selected question and its line in the question window from the test data file. A last selection in the Question menu 230 is a toggle button (show all) 540 that switches the contents of the question window between all test questions and questions attached to the selected category.
As shown in Fig. 6, in a View pull -down menu 240 a Toolbar selection button 610 toggles the display of the toolbar on and off. A Status Bar selection button 620 toggles the display of a status bar (along the bottom of the Editor interface) on and off. A Messages selection button 630 toggles the display of the Messages window.
A Help pull-down menu 250, of Fig. 7, contains a Help Topics selection button 710 that opens a standard Windows HLP file. A Tutorial selection button 720 launches the test editor computer-based training application. An About Test Wizard selection button 730 displays version information and credits for the test editor. It also has an HTML link to the test editor website.
A toolbar 800, as illustrated in Fig. 8, contains short-cut buttons to frequently used functions of the test editor. These shortcuts have the exact functionality of the pull -down menus selections of the same name. A category window 810 lists all categories for a test with their percentages (which must add up to 100%) An area directly above this window displays the path and filename of the current TWD file.
A left side of the category window (not shown) displays categories in the order they were created. Clicking a category name selects it. Double-clicking it allows the user to edit the name. A right side of the window displays the percentage weight of each category. Double-clicking these values opens the Properties dialog 370 to the Categories tab 220, allowing the percentages to be edited. By default, the percentages are equally distributed to categories as they are created.
The question window 230 lists questions in the user's test by category or for the full test, as shown in Fig. 9. A checkbox directly above the question window allows the user to toggle the display of questions between all in the TWD and only those under the selected category. A questions column, as shown in Fig. 10, contains question references. By default this is the first twenty characters of the question. Their purpose is to help distinguish questions from each other. A type column, of Fig. 10, indicates the type of question. The view column indicates whether the questions is a required or optional question with an R or an 0. Each question within a category may be of a different type, (i.e. ranking, matching, T/F, etc.
If Show All Questions is checked, an additional column appears that specifies the category of each question, as illustrated m Fig. 11. Right-clicking m this window, displays a pop-up menu that gives the user quick access to the most frequently used functions related to questions. All of these can also be accessed from the pull -down menus.
Double-clicking on a question line item launches that question's dialog box for editing, as shown m Fig. 12. Each question type has a set of entry fields and buttons specific to the type of question. For instance, the multiple cnoice question dialog box has an entry field for the question and several for possible answers. Description, Reference, Category and
Required/Optional Display are items common to all question type dialog boxes. The Description is used to help locate questions in the Question Window quickly. The Reference s presented to users who do not answer the questions correctly so that they know where to find the answer. The Category is a drop-down list of categories from the Category Window. All questions must be assigned to a category.
A Required/Optional display buttons (not shown) determine whether or not to display a question every time (required) a test is taken or to add this question to a pool of optional questions for each category. After questions are placed in pools, users can open the Properties box 370 to the Categories tab 220 and set the number of randomly selected questions that should be shown from these pools in each test.
A Test Properties dialog box, depicted in Figs. 13-16, is opened from the pull -down menu or the Properties button 820 on the toolbar 800. It contains five tabs. The first is a Messages tab 1210. This tab contains text items that are shown to the user when the test is administered, as depicted in Fig. 12. The instructions are shown to the student before the test begins, while the pass and fail messages are given to students after they have completed the test - for better or for worse.
A Categories tab 1220, as shown in Fig. 13, gives the user control of category names and percentages. It also gives the user a tally of the total number of questions in a category, broken down further by Optional and Required settings. This is the area where the number of optional questions to display per pool is set.
A Controls tab 1230, as shown in Fig. 14, gives the user broad control of the testing environment. The user can specify a test to be timed 1420, which causes the test to end at the specified time regardless of completion status. Bookmarking 1430 allows a user/student to exit the test and return to the point at which he or she left off. A Skipping function 1440 lets students skip questions which may be too difficult to answer. Those questions are then presented after all others have been completed. A Delete Test On Exit checkbox 1450 will delete the encrypted test from a user's hard drive after completion. Test attributes 1460 are version and passing score. Version 1470 is useful to specify the latest revision of a test. A passing score 1480 is just that. Any score below this is given a failing designation. A Web Control for pass and fail are used when the Player is run via a web browser. These controls cause the URLs specified in each field to be jumped to upon student exit from the test. Which URL is jumped to is determined by whether or not the student passed.
An Appearance tab 1240, depicted in Fig. 15, is used to set aesthetic attributes of the test. The title, instructor and test code appear on the opening screen of the test. Login information is used to gather data from the student before the test begins. The feedback is used to display or hide correct or incorrect responses to individual questions. This feature allows the Player to function as a survey tool as well. Finally, the interface drop-down list set the color of some text and graphics on the Player interface.
A Records tab 1250, depicted in Fig. 16, is where data recording options are set. A Print feature causes test data to be printed in RTF format once the test is complete. A Save records locally 1620 feature saves test data in RTF format to the user's hard drive. A Report passing only 1630 will only invoke record keeping options if the user passes the test. A do not score option 1640 will prevent score information from being displayed - for use in surveys. An output AICC data 1650 causes test information to be reported to AICC compliant Computer-Managed Instruction systems. A FTP transfer settings allows test results to be sent to any FTP location as long as users have an active internet connection at the time the test is complete. Fields are standard FTP protocols with the addition of two directory fields for organization use. Finally, an e-mail feature 1670 will send test data to the e-mail address specified, provided there is an active internet connection.
When a View As Text feature is invoked, as shown in Figs. 17 and 18, the interface changes to show the test in an RTF format . Each of the three views is configurable according to font type and size. Any view can also be printed or saved to disk. The first view is the full view. This lists each question of the test in the order it was created. All questions are included along with their correct answer.
The Test View displays questions in a random order and according to the optional settings the user have specified, if any. This view is a preview of an actual printed test, and indeed the user can print a copy directly from the editor to give to a student . In this view the shuffle button become active, allowing the user to randomize the display of the questions .
An Answer Key, as depicted in Fig. 19, is a listing of test answers corresponding to questions in the order they appear in the current test view. This view can be printed as an answer key to the test printed under the Test View. Operation of the Player will now be reviewed with reference to Figs. 20-23, begins the display of tests with an introductory screen. At this point the test has been decrypted and the questions have been randomized. At the bottom of the interface is status information or prompts for the user. The top bar displays the test title and the Test editor name. The following screen gathers user data for tracking purposes. This is the login information that is specified to be collected in the editor.
After login information is gathered, the user is presented with instructions for the test. After the OK button is clicked, the test begins. If it is a timed test, the timer will start at this time. The test questions are displayed within the center of the Player window. Each type of question has a set of standard instructions which appear m grey under the test title. The bottom bar contains action buttons specific to questions, such as reset, submit, next question, etc. It also shows "correct" and "incorrect" feedback per question. In a timed test, a countdown clock is also visible m this bar.
After the test is completed the pass or fail outcome and references, if any, are displayed m simple textual form in the white space of the interface. Once a user clicks the Quit button, the record keeping options are activated and the program is exited.
The invention will be further clarified by the following examples, whicn are intended to be purely exemplary of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made m the TEST EDITING AND PLAYING SYSTEM AND METHOD of the present invention and in construction of this invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A test editor method for creating and encrypting test for distribution, the test editor method comprising the steps of: defining one or more categories representing sections of a test; assigning each category a weight; selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category; inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the question can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions ; and formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) .
2. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein at the time of inputting of a new question the new question can be added to the pool of available questions for future tests.
3. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein the type of test question assigned can be one of a true/false, matching, multiple choice, ranking, fill-in the blank, labeling, short answer and essay question.
4. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein the assigned weight is a percentage assigned weight based on a 100% scale.
5. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein the test is capable of being encrypted.
6. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein test questions are capable of being randomly selected from a pool of available questions.
7. The test editor method according to claim 1, wherein a verification process is automatically performed verifying the accuracy and the validity of the test.
8. The test editor method according to claim 2, wherein the type of test question assigned can be one of a true/false, matching, multiple choice, ranking, fill-in the blank, labeling, short answer and essay question.
9. The test editor method according to claim 8, wherein the assigned weight is a percentage assigned weight based on a 100% scale.
10. The test editor method according to claim 9, wherein the test is capable of being encrypted.
11. The test editor method according to claim 10, wherein test questions are capable of being randomly selected from a pool of available questions
12. The test editor method according to claim 11, wherein a verification process is automatically performed verifying the accuracy and the validity of the test.
13. A test player capable of playing for a user a preformatted test, the test player comprising: a CPU with a memory, capable of receiving and transmitting associated test data to and from a network; and software capable of: decrypting and playing back for a user test, wherein the playing back of the test is solely controlled by the format of the test and wherein the software provides the user with at least one capability of browsing the test questions, saving and terminating the test for later, review past answers, editing answers before submission and interpreting test results.
14. A test editor method for creating and encrypting test for distribution, the test editor method comprising the steps of: means for defining one or more categories representing sections of a test; means for assigning each category a weight; selecting and entering a type of question for each question in each category; means for inputting question content, along with an associated answer, wherein the question can be entered as a new question or chosen from a pool of available questions; and means for formatting the categories and questions such that they are capable of being played back over at least one of a network, stand alone device and a personal digital assistant (PDA) .
15. The test editor method according to claim 14, wherein at the time of inputting of a new question the new question can be added to the pool of available questions for future tests.
16. The test editor method according to claim 14, wherein the type of test question assigned can be one of a true/false, matching, multiple choice, ranking, fill-in the blank, labeling, short answer and essay question.
17. The test editor method according to claim 14, wherein the assigned weight is a percentage assigned weight based on a 100% scale.
18. The test editor method according to claim
14, wherein the test is capable of being encrypted.
19. The test editor method according to claim 14, wherein test questions are capable of being randomly selected from a pool of available questions.
20. The test editor method according to claim 14, wherein the type of test question assigned can be one of a true/false, matching, multiple choice, ranking, fill-in the blank, labeling, short answer and essay question.
PCT/US2000/011774 1999-04-30 2000-04-30 Test, editing and playing system and method WO2000067225A1 (en)

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111402654A (en) * 2020-04-02 2020-07-10 郑善义 Interactive teaching system based on Internet of things

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CA2084443A1 (en) * 1992-01-31 1993-08-01 Leonard C. Swanson Method of item selection for computerized adaptive tests
EP0800695B1 (en) * 1994-12-29 2000-07-19 Telide S.A. Work stations, system and method for a multimedia learning application
KR100462691B1 (en) * 1996-09-25 2004-12-20 에듀케이트, 인코포레이티드 Automated Testing and Electroic Instructional Delivery and Student Management System

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN111402654A (en) * 2020-04-02 2020-07-10 郑善义 Interactive teaching system based on Internet of things

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