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SIIPAL A Public Administration e-Learning System.

Student Assessment.

Alexandru Botu IPA SA, Bucharest, abotu@ipa.ro

Adrian Badoiu

IPA SA, Bucharest, abadoiu@ipa.ro

Sanda Petrescu IPA SA, Bucharest, sanda@ipa.ro

Vasilica Vlad

IPA SA, Bucharest, cdvasi@ipa.ro

Abstract –An interactive on-line e-Learning system targeted at training public service administration employees is being described. The main focus is on how to assess student progress and the issues surrounding unsupervised on-line learning.

I. INTRODUCTION

The aim of SIIPAL is to develop and deploy an interactive e-Learning system for the continuous education of public service administration personnel. It is designed to be modular and flexible, so as to accommodate a wide range of subject matters that would ultimately contribute to:

a. An higher quality of service provided by the various public services agencies, as a result of better training

b. An improved response time to citizens’ requests and improved transparency of the inner workings of the various agencies

c. Proliferation of electronic services d. Improved public employees’ performance rating, as a

result of objective monitoring and the use of objective evaluation tools

e. The creation of a cadre of public services administration staff capable of performing to the European Union standards, immediately following to Romania’s accession.

f. The establishing of uniform standards for personnel training, accommodation of diverse training goals, enhancement of the socio-economic status of the civil servant and in general, the development of a stable civil servant body.

The SIIPAL system is implemented in a three-tier architecture, a structure largely used lately within the Relational Data Base Management Systems (RDBMS). The

three-tier architecture ensures simultaneously robustness, flexibility and security, mainly as effect of the distinct layers for application and data level. The structure of the system is as following :

• relational database managed by a dedicated database server;

• application server; • web server. Additionally, the system records associated information in a

file system, dynamically generated. The files are indexed and the metadata describing them are recorded into the database. The metadata enable efficient data query. The database tables are designed to provide optimal management of courses, lecturers and students. The open source software was preferred for all the system levels: MySQL, PHP and Apache HTTP.

The project was funded under the framework of the National R&D Program PNCDI, INFOSOC Sub Program.

II. SHORT ANALYSIS OF THE ON-LINE ASSESMENT METHODS

Student assessment is a key factor in the learning process. It reflects the student’s progress and represents the basis for any necessary corrections. Assessment plays an essential role in accreditation and it also reflects on the effectiveness of the teacher, course or educational organization. Self-assessment promotes independence and enforces the practice of life long learning. On-line assessment

On-line assessment is based on the same principles as classic assessment (validity, flexibility, fairness, reliability) and uses the same strategy as the direct teacher student contact.

On-line assessment can be seen as:

• A stand alone assessment resource • A component of total student evaluation • A means of collecting, transmitting and administering the

assessment materials and resources On-line assessment ensures:

• Flexibility as to place, date and method of assessment • A greater range of options for demonstrating knowledge

and skills On-line tests

Typical e-Learning tests are: • Written assignments • Essays • On-line quizzes and questions • Collaborative assignments • On-line exams (with or without time limits) • Practical assignments • On-line discussions • Publication of student work/ presentations • Debates • Reviews • Journals Not all of these options have proved to be efficient and consequently not all of them are currently used in e-Learning systems. There are also questions as to the impact of the on-line ‘medium’ on the four principles of assessment: validity, flexibility, fairness and reliability. • Can participation in on-line activities be measured? • Can individual performance within a collaborative group

assignment be measured? • Can work be authenticated? • Can plagiarism be prevented or even detected? • Are there security issues? • Can students be encouraged to become more responsible

through self-review, peer review and critical reflection? Assessment and the learning process

The assessment strategies must be strongly correlated with the objectives and the learning process itself. The students must get support to understand the importance of the assessment and it is recommended that evaluation tests be scheduled from the beginning of a course.

On-line learning implies greater autonomy. Distance learning, absent a teacher or colleagues with whom to discuss and share advice, requires much greater individual effort.

Therefore, on-line learning must take into account the student’s profile. Self-assessment, mutual assessment among peers and analysis are highly recommended. It is important to find adequate means for providing measurable evidence of student competency.

As the on-line learning practice grows and spreads, it starts being recognized as a distinct learning option and not only an appendix to the more traditional learning methods.

On-line assessment requires more attention to test clarity, since absent a teacher; the student has no opportunity to ask for

clarification when confused by the assignment. The following issues must be clearly defined: • What exactly is the purpose/object of the test • What are the recommended references • What is the time limit (if any)? • Who can be contacted for assistance? • How does the test relate to the general objectives of the

course? • How does the test relate to other assignments?

III. SIIPAL e-LEARNING SYSYEM. STUDENT ASSESSMENT METHODS

Within the SIIPAL e-Learning System the lecturer can make

use of a toolbox that will help him/her reach the goals of the course. All the necessary course management functions, beginning with the launching of a new course and ending with the final student assessment are provided by the system, with no need for any system administrator intervention.

The system functions are: • Adding, modifying, deleting a course • On-line editing of the course content (built-in editor) • Up-loading of content files • Course structure management • Adding, modifying, deleting a test • On-line editing of the test contents • Automatic student assessment • On-demand student assessment (distinct from the automatic

assessment executed by the application) Creating and publishing the assessments tests

The SIIPAL e-Learning System provides the following types of assignments: • Tutorials • Courses with published tests, available whenever the course

is opened • Courses with scheduled tests (published sequentially at

announced times) • Courses with tests at which solutions are sent by up-

loading files onto the SIIPAL server The tests can be:

• Quiz test with one correct answer out of five possible answers

• Quiz test with one, more or no correct answers out of five possible answers

• Quiz test with TRUE/FALSE choices • Keyword tests – which require filling in answers; filling in

the correct keywords reflects on student progress • Exercises (assessed and graded by the lecturer) • Homework, projects, essays, targeted at four categories of

students: individual student, all the students registered at a course, a group of students, students belonging to a specific department. There are two types of assessment: one executed by the

application (quiz tests and keyword tests) and another executed by the lecturer (exercises, homework, projects, essays).

The e-learning system SIIPAL was developed, tested and

implemented at the Giurgiu Local Council. Fig.1 illustrates the function used for creating and adding a

quiz test with only one correct answer out of five possible answers.

Figure 1. Adding a quiz test with one correct answer out of five possible answers

A published course test of the type “quiz test with one

correct answer out of five possible answers” is presented in figure 2. The student has the opportunity to choose the correct answer and to post it to the system.

Figure 2. Answering a quiz test with one correct answer out of five possible answers

The student can inspect test results within the course

framework. He is informed about the type of test he is taking, the test progress, the remaining time budget and the assigned grade compared to the maximum possible grade.

Figure 3. The student’s page of test results

IV. CONCLUSIONS

The SIIPAL project is meant to contribute to the public services administration reform, a requirement of the European Union, as well as a priority of the Romanian government. Training is one of the components of this major effort.

To help improve communication between the public services administration and the local communities, as well as between the various administrative agencies themselves, civil servants must be proficient in many fields: information technology, foreign languages, national legislation and administrative procedures, public relations, UE legislation, project and human resources management, elements of psychology and sociology etc.

The SIIPAL project aims to provide one of the tools that could be used to achieve some of these lofty goals.

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