News & Events: Adventures in Online Testing Newsletter
Look at What OWL is Doing Now!
Changing the way you look at the OWL Test Management System
by: Christopher Dalessandri, President & CEO, OWL Testing Software
You may think of OWL simply as testing software. And really, why shouldn’t you? After all ‘testing’ is right there in our name. But I want to share with you some of the other creative uses for OWL that just may change the way you view our Test Management System.
As a test creator, OWL gives you a plethora of features; but ultimately, what OWL does, boils down to two simple things. They are presenting content and requesting a response. The content presented may be any combination of text, image, audio and video. A response can take any of the many forms that OWL puts at your fingertips -- choose one, fill-in-the-blank, oral response, etc. The response can also be an open-ended question whose response may, or may not, be captured, depending upon the objective of the given activity. Whichever combination of presentation and response that meets your specific objectives, OWL handles both of these functions exceptionally well.
Once you narrow the process down to these simple terms, presentation and response, the potential applications are only limited by the imagination. This article looks at two broad categories of OWL use that you may have not considered.
The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) is using OWL Testing Software to deliver their interpreter certification exam across the United States. The NBCMI allows interpreters to validate their interpretation skills by providing a professional credential. The certified interpreter can then present this certification to any U.S. health care facility to which they apply regardless of location. NBCMI found OWL's test management system to provide an ideal vehicle to deliver their certification assessment. Specifically the board was looking for:
Achieving Higher Level Language Skills in the Classroom
by Dr. Thekla Fall, World Language Consultant
Much has been written about the need to engage students in higher level critical thinking skills -- that it is not enough to work only at the old Bloom’s “Knowledge” levels (recognition/recall) or “Remembering” as it is called in an updated version.(1)
While recalling information is at the lower end of Bloom’s Taxonomy, the “Knowledge” or “Remembering” level, practice in retrieving lower level information helps students with a much higher level skill, inferencing.2 This makes sense, since we know that higher level skills depend on lower level skills. In other words, it is difficult for students to describe, explain, distinguish, contrast, question, argue, defend, etc. successfully without remembering and having at their command fundamental vocabulary, information and facts.
In foreign language learning, it is critical, yet very time consuming, for students to learn and be able to use the vast amount of vocabulary needed to engage in communicative interactions to express their own meanings. Students won’t readily participate in a discussion if they don’t have the vocabulary for what they want to say. That is why OWL developed PALS -- a program that allows students to learn and practice retrieving needed vocabulary online.
OWL Practice Activities for Language Students (PALS) is a fun, game-like application that lets students listen to, read, speak, and write vocabulary in context and practice remembering/retrieving the items as many times as needed to get them right. Because this language practice can be accomplished online and outside of the classroom, valuable time is freed up for more interactive, creative use of the language during class, under the direction of the teacher. Thus, PALS is a helpful tool leading to higher level application and use of language in the classroom.
Features of PALS:
→ Editable, allowing schools to input high frequency vocabulary to align with curriculum.
→ Allows contexts to be scaffolded to include more complex sentences and grammar.
→ Acts as a 'kind tutor' that lets students practice as many times as necessary.
→ Rewards students with points for success.
→ Can be available 24/7 at home, in libraries, aftercare centers, etc.
→ Provides usage reports to teachers.
→ Can be used as an on-demand, in-class, quiz/activity.
→ Frees up classroom time for more interactive and creative uses of language.
Of course, PALS cannot replace the teacher. It is the teacher who will engage students in activities that require creative use at higher levels describing, explaining, inferring, comparing, dramatizing, etc. PALS vocabulary retrieving practice, however, makes it easier for students to engage in these teacher-directed higher level thinking activities.
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works cited:
1. Overbaugh, Richard C., Lynn Schultz. Bloom’s Taxonomy. Old Dominion University. www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm
2. AMY PATTERSON NEUBERT, “Research finds practicing retrieval is best tool for learning” Purdue University News Service, Jan. 20, 2011. www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110120KarpickeScience.html
3. To Really Learn, Testing Beats More Study, Rick Nauert, Ph.D., Senior News Editor. PsychCentral. Reviewer, JohnM. Grohol, Psy.D. psychcentral.com/news/2011/01/25/to-really-learn-testing-beats-more-study/22891.html Jan. 2011.
OWL Individual Instructor
Coming this Fall!...At OWL Testing Software, we are expanding our suite of premier online testing products to include OWL Individual Instructor.
As the name suggests, OWL Individual Instructor is meant for use by a single instructor to create and deliver online testing to a limited number of test takers.
OWL Individual Instructor will give users the ability to build and deliver an automatically-scored online test for a low monthly fee. Individual Instructor will include many of the state-of-the-art features that OWL users have come to appreciate, including the ability to quickly incorporate text and images into assessments. This new product will also include automated scoring, a standard grade book report and the ability to review responses.
OWL Individual Instructor will have a simplified test builder that automatically determines many test options, thus enabling the user to quickly build a one-page test.
Although this new easy-to-use test builder will be made available to all OWL users, Individual Instructor is in no way meant to replace the full features of the OWL Test Management System. It will not include many of the components that allow users to manage their entire assessment cycle with on convenient online tool. OWL Individual Instructor will not include a manual rating module. Nor will it have administrative or reporting capabilities necessary to manage program improvement. Furthermore, with OWL Individual Instructor, only one assignment will be delivered to a class at a given time.
OWL Test Software has developed this abridged product as a way to meet the needs of our users who perhaps want to use OWL for application outside their current domain. By making OWL more accessible, we hope to introduce OWL to those instructors whose institutions are not ready to commit to a complete test management system, but still want to build and deliver superior online testing.
OWL version 4.0
In September, OWL released version 4.0. This latest version provides users with an updated interface as well as many tools meant to help them easily navigate the software and build online tests with even greater efficiency. We continue to examine aggregate usage behavior and make our software more user-friendly and the interface more intuitive.
The latest version of OWL Testing Software includes such improvements as:
- Test Building Assistant
- Home Page Quick Links
- Easier-to-Use Menus
- Enhanced Assignment Roster
- Ready-to-Run Reporting
Developed in a .NET 4 environment, this latest version provides an improved security model and better speed and performance gained through design efficiency. Although much of this work is 'under the hood' and not readily apparent to users, it should make their overall experience even more fluid. And, with an added layer of security, OWL users can be confident using OWL's secure connect to share valuable assessment information.
READ the article
OWL Testing Software announces major upgrades with OWL 4.0
in the OWL Pressroom
Look at What OWL is Doing Now!
(continued from above)
Surveys...Surveys can be used for many reasons to answer a variety of questions. OWL makes creating surveys easy. The survey content is usually in the form of a simple question or text; however, graphics or video can be incorporated. This allows you to present a stimulus and ask the recipient: What do you think of this? or Which one do you like better? In terms of response, the OWL multiple choice item easily accommodates a Likert-scale or yes/no response. With the OWL Multiple Choice Analysis report you can quickly view your survey results data in one convenient place. Listed here are a few examples of the types of surveys our users have created with OWL.
- End-of-class satisfaction - How did you like the class
- Demographic data - What is the primary language spoken in your home?
- Self-placement - Is this the right course for you?
- Eligibility - Are you a good fit to work at this company?
- Screening - Do you have the skill set to do this job?
Courseware... Generally speaking, course-ware combines information (stimulus) with reinforcing questions (response). These tutorials can be used to provide information in a new context and allow students to practice recall. Practicing recall is particularly important because, as several studies have shown, practice in retrieving lower level information helps students a achieve higher level skills. (For more information, please see the Look at Language article on page 4).
Because OWL let’s you quickly integrate text, images audio and video it is an ideal platform to create coursework or tutorials. The stimulus can come from the such things as YouTube how-to videos, pictures of real-life examples, scanned samples, diagrams, charts -- really there is almost no limit. The reinforcing questions can be captured (or not) in a wide variety of formats as appropriate for the material and the learner. Using OWL’s dynamic feedback the person completing the course work can receive recommendations on what to do next.
For example, at the end of the course OWL can recommend another tutorial or display a certification. As an added bonus once the questions are built for a tutorial they can be reused for testing the same material. This is because the OWL item bank makes reusing questions effortless. A few examples of courses that has been created in OWL include:
- Student Tutorials
- Professional Development
- Personal Enrichment
With all this versatility, perhaps it’s time to reconsider our name. Unfortunately, OWL Testing Surveying Coursework Software will never fit under our logo, so for now we will have to stick with OWL Testing Software. I do hope that these examples, challenge the way you think about the OWL Test Management System. That they will prompt you to consider new ways that OWL can help you accomplish your goals.
Do you have a creative way to use OWL? We would love to hear about it. Just let us know at: marketing@owlts.com