Technology enhanced learning and testing of mathematics

The objective of this study is to develop students’ capacity for self-directed learning by adopting andintegrating three separate technologies. The study encourages students to take greater responsibility for theirown learning by challenging them to take control of their own continuous assessment marks.This study takes place in semester 2. I have produced a series of short tutorials on a digital whiteboardcovering three major sections of the mathematics course. These were recorded and later edited usingCamtasia, a screen recording software package. I also developed a set of quizzes in Moodle, the V.L.E. used inAthlone I.T., one quiz for each section. The questions were arranged in ten or more categories, with aminimum of five questions per category. The quiz selects one question at random from each category toproduce a personalised test. I uploaded the video tutorials onto Moodle and advised students to watch thevideos before attempting the relevant quiz.Students are allowed to take the quiz as often as they wish although penalties accumulate with each attempt.The combined highest marks scored by a student in the three tests forms their continuous assessment markfor the semester. The students may attempt the tests whenever and wherever they like as the tests areunsupervised open-book tests. If a student is unhappy with the C.A. mark they have achieved, they can opt tosit a traditional end of term test. I chose first year students for this study because it promotes independentlearning, a skill that is lacking in many school leavers, and as it is not an award year, it will not affect their finalmark. The results will be fully gathered by the last week of March and will be analysed with regard to findinganswers to the following questions:• How often was each quiz taken?• Did results improve on repeated attempts?• Did the students watch the videos between successive attempts?• What is the students’ view of a satisfactory result?• Within what range of C.A. percentages were students more likely to sit the traditional end ofsemester test?