Can web thin clients be used to create flexible assessment spaces in a higher education setting?

Abstract

For many HE institutions, a major factor inhibiting the wider deployment of computer-based objective assessment is the lack of suitable IT suites. The advent of pervasive wifi within HE campus environments, combined with the development of portable and low-cost browserbased devices, motivates the question of whether existing general-purpose teaching spaces can be used as venues for computer-based assessment. This work describes the results of a pilot study aimed at investigating some of the technical and logistical issues surrounding this question and evaluating student perceptions of this particular implementation of an educational technology.