Getting Results -- The Questionmark Blog » Announcements

Questionmark App for the iPhone or iPod touch Available on iTunes

Julie Chazyn — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:54:26 +0000

We are happy to announce the availability of a free Questionmark iPhone/ iPod touch app on iTunes that opens up new possibilities for delivering knowledge checks, quizzes and surveys to a wide, mobile audience: a great way to engage learners on the go!

The auto-sensing and auto-sizing capabilities of Questionmark™ Perception™ version 5 makes this type of app possible by streamlining and simplifying the delivery of surveys, quizzes and tests to multiple devices, in multiple contexts.

Try out the Questionmark iPhone/iPod touch app to take some Questionmark Perception assessments on your iPhone or iPod touch. Test your knowledge of world facts and geography with our “Round the World” or “State Capitals” quizzes or try your hand at several other topics. Imagine how this new delivery option could help your organization, and let us know what you think! (You will need to have iTunes installed on your computer and download the app from the Apple app store.)

Users of Questionmark Perception version 5 can have their own personalized apps so that their employees and/or students can access assessments, quizzes or surveys on the go.
For more information on how to get your personalized app, contact customercare@questionmark.com.

Embedding Questionmark Assessments in WordPress

Julie Chazyn — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:13:27 +0000

Embed a Questionmark Perception assessment, survey or quiz inside your blog entries on WordPress.

To see how this would look, see embedded quizzes within our own blog.

Check out this How-to on our developer Web site.

WordPress is an open source blog publishing application and can be used for basic content management. A low-stakes quiz or survey within WordPress is a great way to interact with your blog and collect information from your readers.

Please note it is only possible to include the IFrame code in a self-hosted WordPress blog.

Embedding Questionmark Assessments in Live Meeting

Julie Chazyn — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:31:53 +0000

Conduct a survey or ask questions during or after an online presentation in Live Meeting.

Check out this How-to on Questionmark’s developer Web site.

Microsoft Office Live Meeting is a hosted Web conferencing service that connects people in online meetings, training, and events. Incorporating a Questionmark Perception assessment or survey into a Live Meeting can help keep your colleagues engaged and provide an easy way to gather feedback about your presentation in real time.

Conference Close-up: Perfecting the Test Through Question Analysis

Joan Phaup — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:45:35 +0000

Posted by Joan Phaup

Neelov Kar

Neelov Kar, Project Management Program Owner for Dell Services (previously Perot Systems) is getting ready to attend the Questionmark Users Conference in Miami this month. He will be delivering a case study about how he and his team have used statistical analysis to improve their test questions. I spent some time talking with Neelov the other day and wanted to share what I learned from him.

Q: Tell me a little about your company.

A: We are a one-stop shop for IT Services and have people working all over the world, in 183 countries.

Q: What does your work entail?

A: I’m the project management program owner, so I am in charge of all the project management courses we offer. I help identify which courses are appropriate for people to take, based on training need analysis, and I work with our project management steering committee to work out what courses we need to develop. Then we prioritize the requirements, design and develop the courses, pilot them and finally implement them as a regular course. As a Learning and Development department we also look after leadership courses and go through a similar process for those. I moved into this role about a year ago. Prior to that I was leading the evaluation team, and it was during my time on that team that we began using Questionmark.

Q: How you do you use online assessments?

A: We use Questionmark Perception for Level 2 assessment of our project management and leadership courses. We started with a hosted version of Questionmark Perception and it was I who actually internalized the tool. We offer leadership courses and project management courses internally within the organization across all geographies. Some of the project management courses already had tests, so we converted those to Questionmark. We started designing the end-of-course assessments for our newly introduced leadership and project management courses once we started using Perception.

Q: What you will be talking about during your conference presentation?

A: Last year we introduced a new course named P3MM Fundamentals, and because it was a new course we had to pilot the course with some of our senior members. In the pilot we asked the students to take the end-of-course test, and we found that many people had trouble passing the test. So we analyzed the results and refined the questions based on the responses. Analysis of results within Perception — particularly the Assessment Overview Report, Question Statistics Report, Test Analysis Report and Item Analysis Report — helped us in identifying the bad questions. We also saw that there were things we could do to improve the instruction within the course in order to better prepare people for the test. Using the Questionmark reports, we really perfected the test. This course has been going for over a year now, and it’s pretty stable. Now, every time we launch a course we do a pilot, administer the test and then use the Questionmark tools to analyze the questions to find out if we are doing justice to the people who are taking the test.

Q: What are you looking forward to at the conference?

A: I want to find out what Perception version 5 offers and how we can use it for our benefit. Also, I saw that there are quite a few good papers to be presented, so I’m looking forward to attending those. And I want to get involved in the discussion about the future of SCORM.

Neelov’s is just one of 11 case studies to be presented at the conference, which will also include technical training, best practice presentations, peer discussions and more. Online registration for the conference ends on Tuesday, March 9th, so if you would like to attend, be sure to sign up soon!

Online Registration for Questionmark Conference Ends March 9th

Joan Phaup — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:39:58 +0000

Posted by Joan Phaup

Nine is today’s magic number — the 9th of March, that is: the last day to register online for the Questionmark Users Conference March 14 – 17th in Miami.

Here are a few more significant numbers for you as we count down to March 14th:

Learn. Share. Empower.

11 Customer Case Studies including two about integrations of Questionmark Perception with SAP
8 Tech Training presentations including Planning Your Migration from Perception v4 to v5
6 Tech Central sessions where Perception users meet one-on-one with a Questionmark Technician and get their questions answered
6 Product Central sessions, including focus groups run by Questionmark product managers seeking customers’ views on potential new features
6 Best Practices presentations including one on Item and Test Analysis Analytics
3 Peer Discussions including one on Security Strategies for High-stakes Tests
3 Drop-in Demos featuring Questionmark Live, new features in Perception version 5, mobile delivery and more
3 exciting Evening Events, including a dinner cruise with drinks, dinner and networking opportunities
2 General Sessions where Questionmark Customers learn about new and future technologies
1 Keynote by Dr. David Metcalf of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Simulation and Training about Assessments on the Move: Mobility, Mashups and More

If you’re still wondering whether to attend or not, check out what participants in last year’s conference have to say in this video!

German Symposium Announced for April 29, 2010

Sarah Elkins — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:20:29 +0000

Posted By Sarah Elkins

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding a one-day symposium in Berlin, Germany this April, which will provide the opportunity for our German Users to gather and learn about the latest developments from Questionmark and best practices in online assessment management. This year’s event will highlight the new features available in Questionmark Perception version 5, as well as providing technical training and case studies from experienced Questionmark Users. Questionmark Symposia are also a great opportunity to network and learn from other users and speak directly with Questionmark senior management. If you’d like to attend, make sure you sign up today and take advantage of the early-bird discounts!

http://www.questionmark.com/deu/seminars/symposium.aspx

The symposium is one of many Questionmark user events that take place around the world each year. As I write, many Questionmark Users are preparing to gather in Miami, Florida, for the three-day Questionmark Users Conference. Online registration for the conference, which includes case studies, technical training, sessions on best practices, peer discussions and many other learning activities, ends on March 9th.

Breakfast Briefings Coming to Three UK Cities in May

Sarah Elkins — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:07:02 +0000

Posted By Sarah Elkins

Registration for our U.K. Breakfast Briefings is now open! They will take place on three days in three cities: May 11 in Manchester, May 12 in Edinburgh and May 13 in London.

Breakfast Briefings are a great way to learn about online assessment technology and find out about the newest technologies and services from Questionmark. They’re also a great opportunity to meet other assessment professionals in your area and talk with Questionmark staff.

This year we’ll be sharing the latest from Questionmark, including:

How to create learning mashups by embedding quizzes in wikis and portals
Using auto-sensing and auto-sizing to deliver assessments to mobile devices
Creating items with Questionmark Live
Reporting and analytics
Plus much more!

If you’re new to online assessment this is a great opportunity to see the technology in action, and talk with Questionmark staff about the best solution for your organisation. If you’re already a Questionmark customer come along to join us for breakfast and see recently released features and those that are coming soon! Click here to sign up for Manchester, London or Edinburgh.

Questionmark Users Conference: Here’s the Full Program

Joan Phaup — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:12:53 +0000

Posted by Joan Phaup

The program for the Questionmark Users Conference in Miami March 14 -17 offers something for every Questionmark Perception user, whether they are just starting out or have been using Perception for many years. Here’s the complete line-up of conference sessions.

The conference will also include opportunities to meet one-on-one with Questionmark product managers and technicians, and to attend networking events.

General Sessions

Opening General Session: Conference kick-off
Keynote: Dr. David Metcalf on “Assessments on the Move: Mobility, Mashups and More”
Closing General Session: The Road Ahead

Customer Case Studies

Integrating Questionmark Perception and SAP for Employment Testing
Streamlined Training and Assessment at NPPD: Integrating Perception with SAP Learning Solution
Using Flash and Captivate in Questionmark Perception
Questionmark Live: Distributing the Workload and Increasing Accessibility
Many from One: Creating Hundreds of Questions to QML Import Using Excel
Question Bank as a Knowledge Tree: Sowing the Seeds of Knowledge
Questionmark in Dental Education: Why, How and Lessons Learned
Establishing a Broad National Certification Network Based on Questionmark
Questionmark Perception as a Central Component of a Training Strategy
Perfecting the Test Through Question Analysis
The Cloud School: Learning and Assessment for Underserved People in Brazil

Tech Training

Introduction to Questionmark Perception for Beginners
Advanced Authoring Techniques Using Authoring Manager
Planning Your Migration from Perception v4 to v5
Configuring the User Experience and Understanding Templates in Perception v5
Analyzing and Sharing Results with Enterprise Reporter
Using Perception for Evaluations and Other Types of Surveys
Methods for Integrating Perception with Other Systems

Best Practices

Item and Test Analysis Analytics
Making Your Assessments Available and Accessible to All
Questionmark Live Item Writing Workshop: Bring Your Own Laptop!
Technical Standards and Questionmark’s Open Assessment Platform
Conducting Validity Studies within Your Organization
Effectively Measuring Knowledge, Skill and Ability with Well-crafted Assessments

Peer Discussions:

Strategies for High-Stakes Tests
Shaping the Future of ADL SCORM: What’s On Your Wish List?
Using Questionmark To Facilitate ROI strategies

Drop-in Demos

Options and More Options: Different Ways to Deliver Your Assessments
What’s New in Perception Version 5?
Tools/Features to Enhance Your Use of Perception

Conference Close-up: Technical Standards and Questionmark’s Open Assessment Platform

Joan Phaup — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:48:06 +0000

Posted by Joan Phaup

The program for the Questionmark Users Conference is full of informative sessions about everything from item and tests analysis analytics to techniques for writing assessments measure skill and ability as well as knowledge. Questionmark Intetegration Team Lead Steve Lay will conduct a session on Technical Standards and Questionmark’s Open Assessment Platform.

Q: What’s your role at Questionmark?

Steve Lay

A: I’m the Integration Team Lead, so I look after all aspects of the product concerned with integrating Questionmark with other systems — both within an organization and over the Internet. I am Product Owner for our Connector products, which enable integrations of Questionmark Perception with other key systems such as Sharepoint Portal Server, Blackboard, Moodle and others. And I am heading our Open Assessment Platform Initiative.

Q: You just mentioned the Open Assessment Platform. How would you describe that?

A: We’re creating a software platform as a way of making Questionmark the perfect complement to other systems people have within their organizations. We are documenting, in an open way, how you can interact with Questionmark software at both the Web service and Web development level to make integration projects go smoothly and easily.

Q: What standards will you be discussing during your Best Practices session?

A: I am going to be talking about some of the standards in development now that we are are looking at as having the potential for support in the future. The IMS Global Learning Consortium, for example, are in the process of publishing an interesting specification about how learning tools can be put together – learning tools interoperability. I will also be talking about standards for exchanging data about people, IMS Learning Information Services and specifications from HR-XML — and the possibilities they open up for synchronizing people and organizational information with Perception. I’m also be going to talk about some of the more generic standards that might be having an impact on us too, such as XHTML 5 and the emerging standards for authentication and authorization such as OpenID and OAuth. And of course, I’ll be touching on SCORM, too, although I will also be co-facilitating a separate discussion devoted entirely to the future of SCORM with Daniel Rehak from Advanced Distributed Learning.

Q: How do you see people using the information they learn in your session?

A: I hope people get a deeper understanding of what’s happening in some of these developments and take that back into their own organizations in order to figure out the impact the standards will have on them. As well as providing feedback to Questionmark, I’d like them to feel able to talk about their requirements with all their suppliers and understand how they can influence the ongoing standards process. I hope people take a way more than just the acronyms and what they stand for – I’d like them to get some ideas about how they might start conversations within their own organizations to help them prepare for future adoption.

Q: What are you looking forward to most at the conference?

A: Of course, like every Product Owner, I’m looking forward to meeting all the new and returning customers! It will be good opportunity to talk in a little more depth with people about integration issues, how they are thinking of using the new version of Perception and what opportunities our Open Assessment Platform presents. I have to add that I’m looking forward to a bit of sunshine as well!

Learn more about the many conference activities by visiting www.questionmark.com/go/conference. And register soon to attend the conference, which will take place March 14 – 17 in Miami.