Online Tests Allow Spoken Responses

For Immediate Release

Online Tests Allow Spoken Responses
Questionmark Perception Online Assessments Incorporate Horizon Wimba Vocal Collaboration Tools

BERLIN – December 1, 2004 – ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2004 – Questionmark announces the integration of Questionmark™ Perception™ testing and assessment software with vocal collaboration tools from Horizon Wimba, a leading provider of vocal solutions for education and online business. The integration enables learners to speak into a microphone and have the computer record their answers to questions — a boon for language teachers and corporate trainers alike.

Horizon Wimba’s popular Voice Authoring and Voice Board technologies seamlessly integrate with Questionmark Perception using the (Questionmark Perception) Horizon Wimba Connector. The Connector works with Horizon Wimba’s Eduvoice and WebLab systems as well as their new Spoken Response Manager for Questionmark Perception package.

Through this integration, educators and trainers can author and deliver online questions for people to answer by speaking into a microphone. Horizon Wimba questions can be mixed within the same assessment as other automatically-graded Perception questions. Spoken responses are stored on the voice server, where they are available for grading from Perception. A new Questionmark Scoring Tool enables instructors to establish rubrics for the manual grading of spoken responses. Scores for spoken responses can be processed along with other test scores using Perception’s reporting tools. Information about the Connector is available at http://www.questionmark.com/go/horizonwimba.

The new system was initially tested by TSSBVE, a consortium of secondary vocational education authorities in the Netherlands. According to TSSBVE founding member Onno Tomson, Perception applications manager for the ECABO vocational education program in the Netherlands, the integration will be of tremendous value to hundreds of Dutch schools engaged in language instruction.

“Quality, ease of use and a quick learning curve were the critical integration success factors of us,” said Tomson. “We are eager to introduce oral tests in our network of 230 schools in the Netherlands.”

“Being able to have test participants speak their answer into a microphone and have the computer record it represents a powerful new tool for Perception users,” added Questionmark President Eric Shepherd.” We see the Horizon Wimba Connector as a tremendous help not only for language teaching but also for customer service training and any other situation where the participant's spoken response can validly be recorded and measured.”

About Horizon Wimba:
Horizon Wimba develops web-based collaboration software for online distance education, language learning and live interactive communications.

These collaborative learning applications enable instructors and students to fully embrace the new wave of pedagogical opportunities afforded by campus-wide networks and the internet; regardless of geographic location, bandwidth or operating system. Our virtual rooms enable instructors to conduct live, online classes, meetings, office hours and study groups, and our vocal collaboration technologies add oral content directly into course content, web pages and assessments.

Horizon Wimba adds new dimensions to online, accessible education, personalizing and humanizing the online learning experience for all. The company’s website is at www.horizonwimba.com.

About Questionmark:
Questionmark has been producing testing and assessment software since 1988. Questionmark Perception allows people to create question files without programming experience or knowledge of HTML. Powerful reports help instructors track individual and class performance and provide diagnostic information that can be used to improve both instruction and assessments. Some 2,000 businesses, government agencies and educational institutions in more than 50 countries use Perception. Complete details are available at www.questionmark.com.

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