Author: Simon Wilkinson, simon.wilkinson@nottingham.ac.uk
Author: Heather Rai, heather.rai@nottingham.ac.uk
JISC e-Learning Activity Area: e-Assessment
Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine
This case study illustrates...use of specialist software, an effect on exam results, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff personal development, a positive effect on recruitment, a positive effect on retention, an influence on policy, use of resources, modifications to learning spaces, management of learning assets, an effect on social equality
Tangible Benefits
What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?
- Presentation Adjustments. In addition to the importance of UK legislation such as the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA), it is widely acknowledged that reading from computer displays is slower and visually more stressful than paper. Individuals with mild disabilities that have gone undiagnosed in paper exams may find new and unfamiliar challenges trying to complete online assessments. TouchStone has been designed to provide support for a full customisation of background/foreground colours and a range of different font sizes. For some users a pale pastel background could be useful in alleviating migraine headaches, others to avoid colour combinations that they may not be able to perceive through colour blindness, through to examinees with Scotopic sensitivity syndrome who are sensitive to different coloured backgrounds and text presentation. All these changes can be controlled through the creation of personal profiles within the system. This saves a lot of staff time as the computer system can handle a large amount of specific alterations to the interface in a way that would be very tedious if completed on paper.
- Response Adjustments. The TouchStone assessment system utilises standard HTML form elements such as radio buttons, check boxes and command buttons. Most browsers, including Internet Explorer and Firefox, will permit keyboard operation of such items using a combination of tab keys and the return button. This affords the inclusion of examinees who may not be able to use a mouse for one reason or another.
- Timing Adjustments. Paper-based exams are usually printed with the exam duration shown on the front cover. Replicating this online is important so that examinees can pace themselves correctly. However, letting students with extra time know precisely how long they have can also be facilitated online. A user profile in TouchStone can be set to include extra time as a percentage. The system will then take the normal duration of an exam, expressed in hours and minutes, and apply this extra time percentage and display this to users with this accommodation in their profile.
- Settings Adjustments. Where possible a separate room is used for candidates with additional time so that they are not disturbed when the normal exam time completes and a potentially large and noisy cohort of students tries to leave.
Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?
The largest disadvantage to the approach was upfront development time to alter the CAA system to be more flexible. What at first appeared quite a simple task of changing foreground and background colours and resizing text quickly grew to changing the colours of three other text categories and re-editing icons to set transparent colours. However, it must be stressed that the redesign time/cost is a one off expense.
An ongoing drawback is the potentially higher level of negotiation that is required with examinees. The Disability Policy Unit, administrative units and the IT support personnel must work closely together to ensure that students are made aware of what adjustments can be made, what would be most suitable for them, and then to ensure that any that are performed work as intended. This approach taken so far has been quite proactive whereby the range of accommodations possible online are highlighted to all users formally identified through the Disability Policy Unit.
How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?
The University of Nottingham has published a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) document that states at the beginning: "The University of Nottingham is committed to equality of opportunity and is keen to achieve an inclusive environment for staff, students and stakeholders, in which all its provision, policies and procedures, including the curriculum, are accessible." The University of Nottingham Medical School has built and operates its own computer-based assessment system so it was important that the system should be refined in light of this institutional policy.
