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Using Technology to Successfully Ride the Swelling Tide of Assessment Specifications. NCTA 2011 – Making Waves in Testing Steve Brown - OSU Stillwater. Who Am I?. Steve Brown Technology Manager University Assessment and Testing Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK. Who Are We?.
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Using Technology to Successfully Ride the Swelling Tide of Assessment Specifications NCTA 2011 – Making Waves in Testing Steve Brown - OSU Stillwater
Who Am I? • Steve Brown • Technology Manager • University Assessment and Testing • Oklahoma State University • Stillwater, OK
Who Are We? • A comprehensive land-grant university system with more than 35,000 students, 7,400 employees, and campuses located in Stillwater, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Okmulgee.
Who Are We? • University Assessment and Testing is comprised of two distinct units: • The Testing Center serves our main Stillwater campus, NOC, and community with full array of testing and scanning services. • Under the leadership of the Assessment and • Academic Improvement Council, University • Assessment directs the institutional, program, • general education, as well as student/alumni • satisfaction and the student experience assessment.
Needless to say… …there’s plenty to do! • Effectively Manage Resources • Room Resources (e.g. capacity) • Manage Scheduling (e.g. eligibility) • By Test • By Type • Manage Resources • Client / Test Company Database • Including special requirements • Schedule Appointments • Keep Logs • Produce Reports
You Know How It Is… …we’ve all been there! Technology holds a promise…
It’s Not As Easy As You Would Think… • … But Then, Few Things in Life Are • Pre-built solutions are a bummer • costly, risky, and/or not flexible enough • Building our own “ground up” solution time and cost prohibitive, WIPEOUT!!! • Custom HTML with PHP • Security concerns • Requires full-time developer • Rapid Application Development (RAD) • Radical Dude!
BUT You Know How It Is… …we’ve all been here too! One Thing Always Leads to…
Another, and Another, and Another… • … when our Directors found out “we can do that” … then they wanted to: • Advanced eligibility tracking • Advanced Center Resource Control • Center Schedule, Block Rules, Remote Locations • Automatically Report Official Test Results to Departmental Contacts • Send Appointment Confirmations • Gather and Report Customer Feedback • Online Exam Submission
BUT You Know How It Is… …it can’t be that easy! If it sounds too good…
How We Learned to “shoot the curl” • No one glove is ever going to fit all • Rapid Application Development (RAD) • Requires a hosted environment • Requires some technical skills • The True Key to “Hang 10” Is • Building on shared experience • Networking with peers • Shared problem solving