The Implementation and Evaluation of OASIS, a Web-Based Learning and Assessment Tool in Electrical Engineering

Abstract

Worsening staff-student ratios make it harder to provide adequate assessment and prompt feedback, two quantities important in student learning. Computers and the Internet can provide a solution to this problem. This paper describes a Web-based tool used for skills practice and summative assessment. The tool delivers individualized tasks, marks student responses, supplies prompt feedback, and logs student activity. An action research program has been undertaken in order to develop the software and its implementation in ways that best support student learning. Instructors reported that the software had helped them manage workloads in spite of rising class sizes and that student learning had been enhanced rather than compromised. Student surveys, interviews, focus-group discussions and informal feedback showed that students found the software easy to use and felt it helped them improve their skills and understanding. Student activity logs provided some interesting insights into study habits and confirmed the motivating power of assessment