Computer based online written test system "Tao Software"

Internship Project Report

1

Internship Project Report

2

―In the name of ALLAH

The most Gracious the most Merciful‖

Internship Project Report

3

I DEDICATE THIS REPORT

TO

MY GRANDFATHER WALI MUHAMMAD (late)

In recognition of their worth

An apology

A feeling bears on itself the scars of its birth;

It recollects as a Subjective Emotion for existence;

It retains the impress of what might have been, but is not.

If the fool will persist in his folly he would become wise.

WILLIAM BLAKE

“PROVERB OF HELL”

Internship Project Report

4

Acknowledgements

All praise & thanks to ALLAH ALMIGHTY who enable to complete this project. After

prophet MOHAMMED (S.A.W), I am greatly indebted to MY PARENTS & MY WHOLE

FAMILY and my RESPECTABLE TEACHERS whose great efforts brought me at the stage. I

am greatly thankful to SIR MATI-UR-RAB and IT Department of Pak Arab Fertilizer that

they helped me a lot in understanding this project.

I really enjoyed the whole period of my Internship and I will never forget these

memorable moments that I spent here in understanding this project.

Internship Project Report

5

ABSTRACT

As flexible and online learning becomes more pervasive, there is a growing need for educators to

consider modes of assessment using similar tools. Computer Based Test (CBT) is an effective solution for

mass education evaluation. Though, a variety of e-assessment approaches and systems have been

developed in recent times, yet lack of flexible timing functionality to automatically log-off candidates

upon expiration of allotted time, result integrity comprise, as well as human error are major

limitations of the existing platforms. It is also seen by some as an avenue toward greater accessibility

for students with disabilities. Tao software is software of e-assessment. TAO is an open source e-Testing

platform for building, delivering, and sharing innovative and engaging assessments online. TAO allows

you to create on-line tests that can work for thousands of test takers. This Computer-Based Assessment

software may be used at different levels. Test can be made online. Candidate’s log in ID and password is

made online and candidate can log in through that id and can take test. After limited time, test will be

expired and result will be showed on software automatically.

Internship Project Report

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Motivation of the project 8

1.2. Background and Objective 8

1.3. Literature Survey 9

1.3.1. Contextual Issue Related to CBT 9

2. Installation and Execution 2.1. Things to know before installing TAO 12

2.2. Installation Modes 12

2.2.1. Automatic Installation 12

2.2.2. Manual Installation 15

2.3. How to use TAO 20

2.3.1. Items 20

2.3.2. Test 20

2.3.3. Test Takers 20

2.3.4. Groups 21

2.3.5. Deliveries 21

2.3.6. Results 21

Internship Project Report

7

Part # 1

(Introduction)

Internship Project Report

8

1.1 Motivation of the Project:

The paper and pen (manual) method of writing examination, which has been in existence for

decades, may not be appealing for use because of the problems usually experienced including

examination venue capacity constraints, lack of comfort for examination candidates, delay in the release

of results, examination malpractices, cost implication of printing examination materials and human error.

This brings about the need for automation of the examination system [1].

Over the years, there have been various automated examination systems that have been developed

with one or more limitations. Some of these limitations include lack of

Flexible timing functionality to automatically log-off candidates upon expiration of

allotted time as a challenge

Malpractice due to questions not randomly generated

Not well secured application domain in terms of data security and integrity.

An online assessment however, is expected to offer several advantages for the institution and the

learner. These include

Time analysis of responses to the question level to better discriminate between

candidates.

Including video in questions, particularly for scenarios in authentic assessment.

Question banks and randomization of questions and response orders to reduce cheating.

Automated analysis of results from entire candidate troops.

Immediate feedback can be given.

1.2 Background and Objective:

There have been a number of researches focusing on the development of automated examination

systems and electronic learning information systems. Zhenming et al (2003) developed a novel online

examination system based on a Browser/Server framework which carries out automatic grading for

objective questions in computer related topics such as programming, Microsoft Windows operating

systems and Microsoft Office applications. It was successfully applied to the distance evaluation of basic

operating skills of students offering computer science in some Universities.

Lei (2006) presented a web-based educational assessment system by applying Bloom’s

taxonomy to evaluate student learning outcomes and teacher instructional practices in real time. The

system performance is rather encouraging with experimentation in science and mathematics courses of

two local high schools. Emery & Abu (2006) developed an online website for tutoring and e-examination

of economic courses.

This novel software tool was used for online examination and tutorial application of the syllabus

of economic courses so as to ensure that students study all the concepts of economics. So, the proposed

software is structured from two major modules, the first one was an online website to review and make

self-test for all materials of economic course and the second part is an online examination using a large

Internship Project Report

9

database bank of questions through it the level of students can be evaluated immediately and some

statistical evaluations can be obtained. The developed software offers the following features:

Instructors could add any further questions to maximize the size of the bank of questions.

Different examinations for each student with randomly selected questions from the bank

of questions can be done.

Different reports for the instructors, students, classes etc. can be obtained.

Several students can take their exams simultaneously without any problem inside and

outside their campus. The proposed software has been designed to work based on the

client server architecture.

1.3 Literature Survey:

In its broadest sense, e-assessment is the use of information technology for any assessment-

related activity. This definition embraces a wide range of student activity ranging from the use of a word

processor to on-screen testing. Due to its obvious similarity to e-learning, the term e-assessment is

becoming widely used as a generic term to describe the use of computers within the assessment process.

Various terms are used to describe the use of a computer for assessment purposes [2]. These include:

Computer-Assisted Assessment or Computer-Aided Assessment (CAA)

Computer-Mediated Assessment (CMA)

Computer-Based Assessment (CBA)

Online assessment.

1.3.1 Contextual Issue Related To CBT:

The implementation of CBT occurs within a context that both supports and limits its use. In this

section, we briefly address several of the contextual factors that surround CBT including [3]:

a) The technological capacity of schools to support CBT

b) Universal design applied to CBT

c) Perceived advantages and disadvantages of CBT

a) Technological Capacity in Schools

Access to computers and Internet capabilities have for some time been a stumbling block for the

push to widespread use of computer-based and online assessments. For example, Becker (2006)

questioned ―digital equity‖ in computer access, computer use, and state-level technology policies. He

used data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to examine digital equity, and reported

that ―students in rural schools or schools with high percentages of African American students were likely

to have less access to computers‖ (p. 1). Becker did not examine whether having a disability had any

impact on computer availability or use [4]

A nationally representative school-level survey on information technology conducted by the

National Center for Education Statistics (Gray, Thomas, & Lewis, 2010) reported several findings about

the availability and use of technology in schools in the fall of 2008. The results generally indicated that

computers with Internet access were available for instruction, and that the ratio of instructional computers

Internship Project Report

10

with Internet access was 3 to 1. The large majority of computers in public schools were used for

instruction. Schools also reported using a district network or the Internet to provide assessment results for

teachers to individualize instruction or to inform instructional planning; nearly three-fourths provided

online student assessments. Full-time technology staff members were available in about one-third of low

poverty schools and one-fourth of high poverty concentration schools. The survey did not ask about

availability of computers to students with disabilities, or about the use of computers for statewide testing.

b) Universal Design Applied to CBT: Universal design of assessment generally means an approach that involves developing

assessments for the widest range of students from the beginning while maintaining the validity of results

from the assessment. Universal design also sometimes refers to multiple means of representation,

action/expression, and engagement [5].

More recently, attention has been paid to applying the principles of universal design in a

technology-based environment. For example, Russell, Hoffman, and Higgins (2009a) demonstrated that

the principles of universal design could be applied to computer-based test delivery. Technology also can

be used to more seamlessly link instruction and assessment. For example, Salend (2009) specifically

identified a variety of technology-based approaches that might be used for classroom assessments—for

example, curriculum-based measurement (CBMs) assessment probes, digitalized observations and

portfolios, and self-monitoring tools [6].

Dolan et al. (2009) prepared a set of guidelines specifically for computer-based assessments. The

principles address test delivery considerations, item content and delivery considerations, and component

content and delivery considerations. A variety of topics relevant to computer-based testing and universal

design is addressed in the component content and delivery considerations section of the guidelines (e.g.,

text, images, audio, video), with each organized according to categories of processing that students apply

during testing [7].

c) Perceived Advantages and Challenges of CBT: Many of the perceived advantages and challenges of CBT have been addressed in the literature

[8]. Yet, most are not focused on students with disabilities. In examining perceptions and research on

CBT, we identified several categories or ―themes‖ that can be used to organize the advantages and

challenges of CBT:

Economic: Factors that have cost implications.

Systems implementation: Logistical, test security, and other factors that affect the capacity of

local education agencies and state education agencies to implement CBT.

Test administration/design: Factors that affect how students (and sometimes teachers) perceive

and interact with the test.

Accessibility: Factors that affect how accessible a test is to a wide range of students.

Internship Project Report

11

Part # 2

(Installation & Operation)

Internship Project Report

12

2.1 Things to know before installing TAO: TAO is an open source e-Testing platform for building, delivering, and sharing innovative and

engaging assessments online. The minimum system requirements for installing TAO are PHP 5.3 or

higher, MySQL 5.0 or higher and an Apache server (recommended version: 2.2.9, other version should

work).

2.2 Installation Modes: Under all Windows operating systems, you will have the ability to install the TAO platform using

the Automated Installation mode. This mode is recommended when installing TAO with just basic

technical information [9].

Alternatively, you can perform a manual installation on your server or desktop. To do so, you need to

download the ―TAO sources‖ package from the TAO website. The ―TAO sources‖ package contains the

source codes and files of the TAO application. These source files need to be uploaded into the appropriate

Apache server folder and set into MySQL workbench in order to run TAO.

2.2.1 Automated Installation: If your IT environment meets TAO’s system requirements, follow the instructions below. Please note that the TAO Automated Installation is only available for Microsoft Windows operating systems. The Automated Installation consists of the following steps:

Step 1: Download the TAO windows exe package on tao.lu Step 2: Run the TAO window exe package Step 3: Check the application and database servers’ port Step 4: Start the application and database servers Step 5: Access to the application through local host Step 6: Change the default administrator password Step 7: Test the Installation

Download the TAO windows exe package on tao.lu

Internship Project Report

13

Internship Project Report

14

Internship Project Report

15

2.2.2 Manual Installation:

Once your software stack is ready, i.e., PHP, Apache and MySQL servers installed, we can choose

to install TAO either on a remote server, or on your desktop. After locating the TAO platform .zip/.tar file

you will need to extract the software before installing and configuring TAO. Most file managers can

extract the TAO files for you.

1. Download the TAO platform .zip/.tar file

To get the ―TAO sources‖ package, visit the TAO website Download section and look for the

latest version of TAO. Once the download is complete, locate the path of the downloaded file in order to

extract the TAO sources files.

2. Extract or uncompress your files in your server web folder

Open the ―TAO sources‖ package with preferred file manager and extract the TAO files.

Depending on your operating system, we can use either WinZip/WinRAR on Windows, or command line

tar -xf on Linux/Unix, and Ez7z on Mac OS X.

Locate web folder (usually named htdocs or www) and extract the TAO files into this folder. The

web folder is the directory that the web server software (Apache) looks for files to serve on your domain.

Anything you want web-viewable needs to be inside this web folder. When done, start installing TAO by

following the instructions below.

3. Launch the web installation

Once we have extracted the TAO sources package into your web folder, we have to start our

application and data servers first (Apache and MySQL). Then, we can launch the TAO platform

installation by entering the web server URL address concatenated with the extracted folder name and

―/tao/install/‖ in our web browser. This leads us to the TAO Installation Process screen.

The Configuration Checker scans the computer and checks for conditions that prevent a

successful TAO platform installation. The Configuration Checker retrieves the status of application

server, your database server and multiple components required (i.e. PHP, Jason module, etc…) to ensure

appropriate system settings for TAO.

The main screen of TAO Installation Process will check your system environment. If a component is missing or does not match the requirements listed in the chapter ―

Internship Project Report

16

Figure (a) System configuration check, main screen

Things to know before installing TAO” and a red vertical line indicator is displayed next to the

requirement statement, then we cannot continue the TAO installation process.

Figure b. System configuration check, helper

There is a helper for each component statement; to open it, we have to click on the question mark

next to the component item line. This can help us to fix some issues before continuing with the next step

Internship Project Report

17

of TAO Installation Process.

Figure c. System configuration check, system ready to be installed

Once the green vertical line indicator is displayed, this mean our system is ready for installation.

This also means that our computer environment is functional and is aligned with TAO requirements, and

then we can proceed with the next step of the installation process.

4. Follow the instructions

TAO Installation Process includes multiple steps of configuration. First, we have to set up your

TAO host configuration; second, we have to enter TAO database server information and finally we have

to enter the details of the TAO super user (login name and password) to access and manage TAO

platform.

4.1 . Host configuration The TAO host configuration page allows you to configure custom host entries. In order to start TAO, we

have to host all TAO files on a single web server. Then, we can set up the name of the domain where we

can access our TAO platform through the configuration files of our web server.

Internship Project Report

18

Once you get the address of your TAO platform instance, you need to enter it on the host configuration page. Next, select the interface language for TAO and the working environment where TAO is deployed.

Figure e. Host configuration page, language interface selection

The languages available are listed in the drop-down menu. More languages will be added as TAO continues to grow.

Figure f. Host configuration page, working environment selection

Internship Project Report

19

You can choose between Production and Development environment when installing TAO. The

development environment is recommended for software and database developers who contribute to the

improvement of the TAO platform and want to design specific components for TAO. When TAO

components are tested and completed, they are moved to the production environment.

The production environment is the live environment where final users enter their data, query

information, perform assessments and run their reports and designers can model their items and tests.

4.2 Database configuration:

You have to configure the database connection in order to start TAO. If there is no instance of a

database management system on your server or desktop, you have to install it. Here we will need to enter

the database type, hostname, user name, user password for the database we have set up. If we select the

option ―Overwrite‖, the installation program will overwrite any existing TAO database with a new and

clean TAO database.

4.3 Super user creation:

The super user in TAO has an administrator role for managing the TAO platform; the super user

has the full right of designing new items, managing tests libraries, scheduling assessments campaign,

importing users and even more operations in TAO platform.

You need to create a super user login in order to access TAO. To do so, you have to enter the

details of the person in charge of managing TAO; you also have to give to this person a login name and a

password.

4.4 TAO platform deployment

Once the super-user has been created, we’ve reached the final step of the TAO Installation Process. To complete the Installation Process, we have to press the button ―Deploy‖ on the ―Deployment‖ page. This will make TAO platform available for general use. During the deployment phase, all information provided in the previous steps is taken into account to build the final installation package and to automatically set up the TAO platform.

Once your installation process has completed, and no errors or issues occurred during this step, a

successful installation message is displayed; click on the Finish button to complete the TAO Installation

Process.

5. Test the installation

Use your web browser to test the installation by entering the URL of your web domain

concatenated with the instance of TAO platform in your browser’s navigation address bar. A welcome

page will be displayed giving you access to TAO Back Office, TAO Delivery Server and TAO Workflow

Engine.

Internship Project Report

20

2.3 How to use TAO: Generally six portions or tabs are there to use

this software [10].

Items

Tests

Test-takers

Groups

Deliveries

Results

2.3.1 Items:

Create, preview and organize individual items

before including them in your tests. Choose from 17

different interaction types, including:

Single choice

Multiple choice

Text entry

Slider

Hotspot

Import & Export Items:

Import any items that are compliant with the QTI (Question and Test Interoperability).

Conversely, you can also export items from TAO and re-use them in other QTI-compliant tools. If your

needs go beyond what the QTI standard allows, you can develop powerful and sophisticated item types

using the TAO Open Web Item format.

2.3.2 Tests:

In this section we Build and manage tests using items that you have previously created or

imported.

2.3.3 Test-takers:

In this section we Register our test-takers, manage their personal data, and assign them to groups.

Default properties of the test-takers are their name and the language of the test interface. You can

customize these records by adding any data you need, such as date of birth, gender, etc. In addition to

Internship Project Report

21

creating test-takers individually by manually entering their corresponding data, you can mass-create test-

taker records by importing them from a CSV file.

2.3.4 Groups:

Add test-takers to groups to assign tests, and measure group performance. Grouping test-takers

enables you to specify populations with particular characteristics. You define these characteristics by

adding your own group descriptors. In TAO, tests are assigned to groups.

2.3.5 Deliveries:

Here we control how to publish and deliver tests. Select the test you want to deliver to your

group(s) of test-takers. Publish it to make it available online. We can define a delivery by

Select the delivery dates.

Specify how many times test-takers are allowed to repeat a test.

Select the group(s) that will take the test. You can exclude individual test-takers even if they are

part of the group.

2.3.6 Results:

In this section we Store, manage, and analyze test results with ease. We can view the performance

of any individual test-taker – whether it’s on a single test or across a range of tests.

Internship Project Report

22

References

[1]

https://www.google.com.pk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&

sqi=2&ved=0CE4QFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ijstr.org%2Ffinal-

print%2Faug2013%2FComputer-based-Test-Cbt-System-For-University-Academic-Enterprise-

Examination.pdf&ei=-

d7RU4f1BoTC7AbqlIEw&usg=AFQjCNF9YOWtPIH03QP4IZTBvjFEjrNLhw&sig2=CT5lJAx

vzkytkXCxnSuHHg&bvm=bv.71667212,d.bGE

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-assessment

[3]

https://www.google.com.pk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&

sqi=2&ved=0CCIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cehd.umn.edu%2Fnceo%2Fonlinepubs%

2Fsynthesis78%2Fsynthesis78.pdf&ei=-d7RU4f1BoTC7AbqlIEw&usg=AFQjCNG-

gCrLgnoVTuGuPItHNlMmwMnaRA&sig2=WyCw06_UrhshrTR0jfv08Q&bvm=bv.71667212,

d.bGE

[4] www.eed.state.ak.us/nclb/pdf/Statewide_System_of_Support.pdf - 2009-03-26

[5] http://www.eed.state.ak.us/tls/assessment/FormativeAssessmentResources.htm

[6] http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx?PageReq=CI_TESTING_EOCT

[7] http://www.doe.in.gov/eca/pdf/2009-10_ECA%20_Kick-off_Memo.pdf

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-assessment

[9]

https://www.google.com.pk/webhp?tab=ww&ei=G768U_iXKdLT4QTau4HoAg&ved=0CBAQ1

S4#q=tao+testing+manual&safe=active

[10] http://127.0.0.1/TAO/tao/Main/index?structure=tests&ext=taoTests#