OASIS and Online Assessment
What is OASIS?
OASIS is Charles Sturt University ’s Online Assessment Submission Information System. It is a user-friendly system whereby lecturers can create online multiple choice tests/activities to enhance their subjects and courses. The information on these web pages has been designed to assist staff and students to find out more about using OASIS in online assessment.
OASIS is for use where multiple choice questions are an appropriate assessment mode. However, for the most part, the limitation of the program is in the creativity of the person designing the assessment task. Well-designed multiple choice tests have proven to be extremely effective assessment tools in the appropriate subject context.
Contents
Summary of documentation
OASIS Access
Features
Information for Academic staff
Information for Educational Designers
Summary of documentation
- Adding managers guide
- Brochure – Using OASIS in online assessment
- Guidelines for using OASIS in assessment - 2008 version
- Objective testing - a survival guide (writing objective tests)
- Student flier: Students and OASIS – How to have a trouble free online assessment experience
- Student guide to using OASIS
- Staff guide to using OASIS
OASIS Access
Once the Subject Coordinator has selected OASIS as a tool in the subject's CSU Interact site, an OASIS button will be listed in the subject's Interact site tools. Lecturers can also access OASIS Manager through my.CSU > Lecturers Office or https://online.csu.edu.au/oasis/mgt/ OASIS Manager site.
Features
- Copy test function allows tests to be copied (and edited) to different groups/subjects
- Image upload function facilitates the use of images and graphics
- Time limiting function allows tests to be set to run for limited periods of time e.g a one hour test
- Results presentation includes:
- Option of on-screen presentation of results
- Option to export to Excel in similar format to CASIMS system
- Search function for finding individual users
- Users identified by student name and ID
- Grade distribution
- Averages and standard deviations
- Security
- A single access of a test is logged as a full submission to reduce the opportunity for students to view a test prior to taking it
- A safety mechanism has been developed (a pop-up window) that simulates the active online environment to ensure students do not get timed out of the CSU system after 2 hours on an OASIS test.
- Robust architecture will support the use of the system by large cohorts
- OASIS is limited to the mode of multiple choice questions and does not support text input
Information for Academic Staff
- Guidelines for online assessment
- How to incorporate OASIS into your subject
- Changing over existing tests from old groups to new Interact subject groups
- How to design effective multiple choice tests
- Tips for helping your students
- Who to contact for Help – Technical and learning design
- Useful links
- Staff guide to using OASIS
Guidelines for online assessment
It is important that staff carefully consider the mode and type of assessment when designing their subjects. Online assessment brings up various issues including access and online security issues. Please use the Guidelines for using OASIS in assessment that have been developed when planning the use of OASIS in assessment for your subject.
How to incorporate OASIS into your subject
- Contact the Educational Designer in your School who will be able to advise on accessing OASIS and the design of suitable assessment tasks using multiple choice tests.
- In the Interact subject site, use the Site Info > Edit Tools function to select OASIS as an elective tool. (See CSU Interact Help for more information). It is an overnight process for the system to pick up OASIS. A subject-specific group with the same code as the subject site is created, eg, MGT101_200840_B_D. The relevant subject cohort is automatically linked to the new OASIS group and the Subject Coordinator for that subject is given manager access to the new OASIS group.
- An IT Service Desk request is needed for other staff to gain manager access to the OASIS group (See Adding Managers documentation).
Changing over existing tests from old groups to new Interact subject groups
To re-use a test from an existing OASIS group (e.g. from an old OASIS group into an Interact site group) for a new session, do the following ‘housekeeping':
- Use the Copy Test function to select the test to be copied from the original group.
- Copy the test to the new Interact subject group.
- Use the Edit Test function to check the following test specifications are correct:
- Test name
- Maximum number of submissions
- Start and end dates and times
- Display results (to students, yes or no?)
- Display test when complete
- Anonymous
- Press Next
- Edit any questions you need to edit.
- Save any changes you have made by using the NEXT > PREVIEW > SUBMIT steps.
Note. Ongoing OASIS tests
If you have an OASIS test set up as an ongoing revision/self-assessment exercise you will need to copy these exercises into each new Interact subject group. Talk to your ED about ways to work around this.
How to design effective multiple choice tests
The document "Objective testing - a survival guide" gives you some brief guidelines and further resources to assist you in developing effective multiple choice tests for your subject.
How to help students
This is a brief summary of information that lecturers may find useful. Feel free to copy and paste some of this information into subject outlines or into messages for the Forum.
- Student flier: Students and OASIS – How to have a trouble free online assessment experience (pdf)
- Student guide to using OASIS (pdf)
- Student tips for taking OASIS tests
- How to take a test
There is more extensive information concerning OASIS for students on the Student Services website, under Online Learning. http://www.csu.edu.au/division/studserv/online/ - Online learning Student Services.
Tips for helping your students
NOTE- there are risks of system failure associated with any online application. To minimise this risk when using OASIS in assessment task the following tips may help students:
- Familiarise students with the OASIS system. Create a practice test that students can take prior to any ‘live’ assessment task.
- Set tests to run for less than two hours which is more than enough time online in any learning environment! (NB: the CSU system times students out after two hours of inactivity).
- Warn students that OASIS tests cannot be saved and returned to later, but should be completed and submitted when accessed.
- Provide a backup assessment plan in case of technical failure (see Guidelines)
- OASIS has a feature that overrides the security system that times students out after two hours. This is a pop up box that must be kept open to ensure that students will not be timed out. The reading and selecting of answers to an OASIS test online, without submitting (i.e. changing the browser page) is not recognised in the system as real ‘activity’.
- NOTE: The test can run normally if the pop up box is closed down. There is only the risk of students being logged out of the CSU system when they have spent two hours or more on a single OASIS test and have not submitted their work.
- Warning – a few systems may not run the java script based box, or the internal security systems running (anti-virus software) may not like the pop up box and may close down the test. A practice quiz is a valuable exercise in testing the individual systems.
How to take a test – summary for students
1. Access OASIS tests through the OASIS link on the Interact site for your subject, OR
2. Use the quicklink to OASIS through my.csu > IT Services Quicklinks > OASIS
3. Select your group (subject) to display all available tests for this subject. Note carefully:
- The maximum number of submissions for the test (some assessment tasks only allow a single submission).
- The dates and times the test is running.
- A view of a test without submitting counts as a full submission. This only affects those assessment tasks where there is only a single submission allowed.
- Once you have started an OASIS test you cannot save the work and return to it later, but where multiple submissions are allowed you can return to the test to try it again later.
4. Select the test to display it. Complete the test by reading the questions and selecting the correct answer.
5. SUBMIT the test.
Who to contact for Help
Technical help – contact the IT Service Desk at http://www.csu.edu.au/division/dit/f_sdesk.html or on 84357 (1300 653088 if outside CSU). The OASIS programs have detailed online help available both in html and pdf document format to assist you in using the program.
Learning design – contact your CELT Educational Designer who can advise on aspects of learning design and assessment in your subject.
Useful resources
Online assessment (Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne – http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/index.html
Atkins, P & Hannon, J n.d., ‘Doing assessment online’, a resource for building assessments for course delivery in the vocational education and training (VET) sector, a project of Swinburne TAFE, Vic. Available http://project.vetonline.vic.edu.au/letsdoit/2002/index.html.
James, R & McInnis, C 2001, Strategically re-positioning student assessment: a discussion paper on the assessment of student learning in universities, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne . Available online: http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/Assess.pdf. Accessed 22 June 2005
McLoughlin, C 2003, ‘Broadening assessment strategies with information technology’, ch. 13 in S Naidu (ed.), Learning and teaching with technology: principles and practices, Routledge, London .
Naidu, S 2003, E-learning: a guidebook of principles, procedures and practices, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia , New Delhi .
Nichols, M 2003, ‘Using eLearning tools for assessment purposes’, in C McLoughlin, P Cornu & W Jackson (eds.), Proceedings of the 16th Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia biennial conference, ‘Sustaining quality learning environments’, Canberra, Australia, Oct 1 – 4, CD-ROM. 10pp. Available www.odlaa.org.
Information for Educational Designers
Help material
There is a variety of Help material available for staff and students:
- See the list of documentation linked from the summary at the top of this page
- CSU Interact Help - OASIS page -- the focus of this resource is the technical background to using OASIS in Interact
- OASIS application Help - the technical help guides associated with the OASIS staff and student programs can be accessed from the Help button on the actual OASIS program.
- Student services - OASIS material for students
Who to contact for Help
For matters relating to using OASIS in online assessment contact the OASIS coordinator, Janet Buchan (PH: 60519860)
Contact the IT Service Desk 84357 http://www.csu.edu.au/division/dit/ for support with severe technical problems
Incorporating OASIS into the subject outline
Any OASIS test, formative or summative, will be an important part of the assessment for a subject and therefore should be appropriately integrated into the subject outline when the subject materials are prepared. The Guidelines document contains sample Subject outline inclusions as an Appendix.
OASIS test site for EDs and lecturers
All EDs should have access to the OASIS Manager Test site so that they can trial tests. https://online.csu.edu.au/oasis/mgt/
New EDs can request OASIS Manager access through an IT Service Desk request.
Try an OASIS test online through the Test site https://online.csu.edu.au/oasis/