Emerging Trends in Interoperability & Standards: What they may mean for e-Assessment

Presenter: Tom King, Interoperability Evangelist, Questionmark

If you shop for an e-book, you may come across a perfect example of why e-learning standards were developed in the first place: a myriad of competing proprietary and open formats that work on some devices, but not others. Consumers are left with a potentially confusing market place with fewer content choices for their device-of-choice.

Current elearning standards, on the other hand, have been developed and refined over the past 20 years and today are relatively stable and reliable. But what do these standards hold for the future? Are they still relevant and resilient enough for today's integration needs? What significant developments can we expect to emerge in the next few years - and what will they mean to professionals involved in e-assessment?

Led by Tom King, Questionmark's Interoperability Evangelist, this session looks at current status of major standards and the specification organisations behind them. Discussions will highlight emerging needs and promising developments. Tom is actively involved with many elearning technology specification groups, including ADL SCORM, AICC, HR-XML, IEEE LTSC, LETSI and others. This interactive session includes an opportunity for attendees to share their own challenges and needs for new and improved standards for interoperability.

E-Assessment as an Accessibility Solution

Presenter: David Sloan, Digital Media Access Group, School of Computing, University of Dundee

Accessibility is growing in profile as a social and technical issue. E-assessment software offers great potential in overcoming the problems traditional assessment methods present disabled people - as students and as authors. E-assessment software can also make it easier for authors of all abilities to create accessible assessments. This presentation will give a brief overview of accessibility-related legislation, standards and best practice, and how Questionmark can help support the creation of accessible assessments.

Open Assessment Platform Initiative

Presenter: Steve Lay, Integration Team Lead, Questionmark

Throughout this conference you will hear the term "Open Assessment Platform" as a recurring theme. But what does it mean to be "open"? Questionmark Integration Team Lead, Steve Lay, will discuss the underlying principles and values of Questionmark's Open Assessment Platform, as well as how we will be building upon a longtime commitment to open standards and interoperability. The session will also introduce specific endeavors to expand integration options, strengthen existing "connectors", and provide collaborative environments that enable customers and third-party developers to build upon Questionmark's core assessment technologies.