Questionmark Releases Perception Version 3.4

For Immediate Release

Questionmark Releases Perception Version 3.4
Upgrade offers disconnected delivery, improved math support and easier capture
of demographic data
 

STAMFORD, CT – March 18, 2003 – Disconnected delivery, improved math support and easier collection of demographic data head a list of changes incorporated in Questionmark™ Perception™ Version 3.4, which was released today.

The upgraded software will support the use of Questionmark Perception to Go, a new synchronisation module that will enable remote users to synchronise from their PCs to their web server, pull down Perception assessments, answer questions and receive feedback offline, then reconnect to merge results back to their web servers. The Questionmark Perception to Go synchronisation module will enable users to download data in advance, only going back online to upload their results. This will dramatically reduce the load on web servers.

Questionmark Perception has long supported the inclusion of mathematical equations in questions and assessments. But placing mathematical equations in Perception content formerly required stepping out of the Perception authoring software and authoring equations in a separate (MathML) editor, then bringing the content back into Perception. Now, it’s easy to edit mathematical equations from within the Perception authoring tool without copying and pasting from an external application.

Although it has always been possible to include demographic information about individual participants in the Perception answer database, Version 3.4 makes it far easier to do so. It is now possible to specify direct mappings between the database fields that store demographic information about participants and the special fields in the answer database. With these mappings set, information from the security database about a participant will always be copied across to the answer database when he or she starts an assessment. It is now also easier to customise login screens and to edit demographic data.

Another improvement in Version 3.4 is the availability of participants’ comments in two additional report types—question statistics and item analysis—in addition to the survey and coaching report types. When answering questions, participants may be invited to offer feedback about the question they are answering, a valuable tool for test authors who want to examine the quality of test questions.
Complete details about the latest Questionmark Perception features can be found at http://www.questionmark.com/links/v340.htm.

About Questionmark and Perception
Questionmark has been producing testing and assessment software since 1988, enabling educators and trainers to write, administer, and report on tests and surveys securely using individual PCs, local networks, the Internet, and intranets.

Questionmark Perception allows people to create question files without programming experience or knowledge of HTML. Users can create multiple question banks from which to assemble tests and surveys, organising questions into topics and sub-topics. They can shuffle questions and answers for each participant and preview sessions to see how they will appear post-deployment. Question types include multiple choice, multiple response, numeric, word response, essay, fill-in-the-blank, matching/ranking, hot spot, drag and drop, and matrix. They can present questions with videos, graphics and a wide variety of styles.

Participants can use a run-time system (with Perception for Windows) or a browser (with Perception for Web) to answer questions. For high stakes exams, where the content is valuable, Perception Secure Browser can be used to limit printing, navigation and save-to-disk functions. The participant receives the feedback that the test author has specified. Answers are then saved to a file for scoring and analysis with Enterprise Reporter, which offers a variety of report formats.

More than 1600 businesses, governments, schools, colleges, and universities in more than 50 countries use Questionmark Perception. Typical applications include exams, quizzes, study aids, diagnostic tests, pre-course skills assessments, and course evaluations. Complete product information is available at http://www.questionmark.com.

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