Ever wondered how you could embed an assessment, survey or quiz inside one your blog entries on WordPress?

Check out this How-to on our developer Web site. The article covers:

•    How-to create a URL that links directly to a Perception assessment
•    How-to embed your assessments in an IFrame

To see how this would look, check out embedded quizzes within our own blog: Questionmark Live POP Quiz! and Take Our Quiz on Writing Good Test Questions

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.

We look forward to hearing from you about any assessments you embed within WordPress and how this idea worked for you.

Please note it is only possible to include the IFrame code in a self-hosted WordPress blog. Any blogs hosted at wordpress.com or wordpress.org will automatically remove any IFrame code you insert. WordPress has done this to reduce the bandwidth used by subscribers to their hosted blog service.

I’ve been reading recently about the Success Case Method for training evaluation, and would recommend  Robert Brinkerhoff’s book, The Success Case Method, as an intriguing read.

The Success Case Method (SCM) is a way of identifying how successful a training program or other initiative for change is. Using the SCM you identify particularly successful participants in the training program, and interview them to determine why they were successful and write these up as stories to illustrate where the program can be successful. By highlighting the experience of the most successful participants, and writing up their story in a way that others can connect with, the SCM allows people to see what success means for the training program and identify what needs to be improved for others to get the success. Sometimes you also interview people who represent failures who did not get any success out of the training program, to understand qualitatively why.

By doing a qualitative interview, you can dig into the real reasons for something. And also by focusing on what is the very best, the most successful that the training program can be, you can identify what can work. And you can do a SCM very quickly – as it says on the cover of the book “Find out quickly what’s working and what’s not”.  The SCM also seems a practical way of doing “level 3” like assessments, in terms of seeing how behavior is impacted. And because it’s easy to do and need not be comprehensive to be useful, it is quick and inexpensive.

The five steps in the method are

1. Plan a Success Case study
2. Create an “impact model” which defines what success should look like, i.e. what improvements you are looking for
3. Design and implement a survey to participants to search for best and worst cases
4. Interview and document the success stories
5. Communicate findings and recommendations

The Brinkerhoff Success Case Method looks a very interesting and cost-effective way of identifying success factors for a training initiative.

I’ll follow up this post with some ways to use Questionmark Perception to do a Success Case Study.

Hear from John and other Questionmark managers at the Questionmark Users Conference March 14- 17 in Miami. Online registration ends tomorrow, March 9th. Check out the full conference schedule and plan to be in Miami for this important learning event.

Would you like to be able to conduct surveys or ask questions during or after an online presentation in Live Meeting?

Check out this How-to on Questionmark’s developer Web site. The article covers:

•    How-to add your Perception assessment to a Live Meeting
•    How-to add your Perception assessment to a Powerpoint presentation within Live Meeting

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 Microsoft Office Live Meeting can help keep your colleagues engaged and provide an easy way to gather feedback about your presentation in real time.

We look forward to hearing from you about any assessments you embed within Live Meeting and how this idea worked for you.

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!

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.

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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!

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.

What makes technology-enabled learning and assessment different in the rest of world? Language instantly springs to mind when we consider what sets one country apart from another. But other differences need to be considered, too, when deciding how best to use technology- enabled learning and assessments.

A recent post in Questionmark CEO Eric Shepherd’s blog explores the differences that arise when you cross social, economic and geographical boundaries.  Eric poses the question: Apart from Language, What Challenges Make Technology Enabled Learning and Assessment Different in the Rest of the World? He then identifies four key points that might drive us to use different kinds of assessments depending on where we are in the world:

1. Invalid Assumptions About Internet Connectivity (Internet connectivity will create dramatically different experiences for a student in the Amazon and a student in the USA or Europe)
2. Cost of Internet Device – The cost of purchasing a computer or PDA  in Europe or North America represents a fraction of an average annual salary, whereas in some areas of the world the cost might be 6 – 12 months of an average person’s salary. The resulting use of smaller, lower cost, generally mobile devices in poorer areas of the world calls for the re-sizing of content to accommodate them.
3. Conformance with Local Laws: Laws regarding data privacy, accessibility and equal access vary from country to country.
4. Culture: Contrasting value systems can cause different cultures to think differently about such aspects of assessment as cheating. Cheating may be thought of as solidarity within a culture that promotes collectivism and loyalty. 

For more insights on this subject and many others, visit Eric’s blog at http://blog.eric.info.

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.

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

Register for the conference and join us in Miami!