Mobile phones in language assessment
To access their assessments the students pass a log-in process using by keying individual student numbers and PINs into their mobile phone. They are then presented with a series of ten question prompts, randomly selected from a much larger question bank. Students progress through levels- each consisting of twenty questions of a specific difficulty. Different topics are assessed, including sport, music, television and general knowledge. The responses are saved to a server as WAV files which can be played through a web interface and marked online by a teacher.
The answers can also be podcast, bringing with it a realm of opportunities for both teachers and students. Teachers can subscribe to a podcast of the answers and mark them at their leisure. They can also highlight a particular answer as an "exemplary" answer and students could subscribe to a podcast of the exemplary answers on their iTunes/iPod. Students can also subscribe to hear their own answers.
Where a student's response is deemed incorrect or lacking, the individual student response will be set alongside an exemplary answer for that question. Students can later compare their response to the exemplary answer and re-record their answers. Teachers decide when students move on to the next level of questions and which questions need to be re-answered within any given level.
Students work their way through a series of levels. When marking the answers, teachers will provide detailed feedback to justify the mark given. A feedback booklet can then be sent to the student by email or printed out by teachers as required. This feedback serves as a portfolio of competence for students.
Biometric Voice Verification
During the first phase of this project students entered PIN numbers into their mobile phones to access the questions. However, the second phase of this pilot project (starting in the 2007/2008 academic year) will employ Biometric voice verification.
Biometric voice verification uses spoken words to calculate a unique digital representation of an individual's voice. Students will login using their voice, and have each of their Irish language responses verified against a previously recorded voice-print.
It is the opinion of Learnosity that biometric voice verification will allow use of mobile technology for on-demand, high-stakes oral exams. If biometric voice verification is used, assuming the student is sitting an “open book” examination, it is possible to allow students complete their oral examinations from home, unsupervised.