[QTI] 'ListInteraction' as an extension to QTI

[Michael Pfähler]

Steve,

thank you very much for your answer. I've now officially suggested the
listInteraction to IMSGlobal.
It surely will take time until it eventually finds its way into the QTI
specification.

As there are probably many developers on this mailing list, that are
potentially interested, please read on for my suggestion of a
'listInteraction'.
( A potential rendering<http://home.in.tum.de/%7Epfaehlem/simpleregexsearch.html>of
a listInteraction (uses javascript))

If the time for the assessment is limited, the candidate does not have
enough time to read all potential choices. Therefore, the candidate has to
be aware of the correct answer in order to be able to answer the question
correctly. Nevertheless, such a question can be easily evaluated.
This question type therefore combines the strengths of freetext and multiple
choice questions.

The potential QTI data format that we propose for a listInteraction is as
follows:
(For clarity, standard qti namespace declarations and attributes are not
mentioned within the examples)

Within a Content Package that contains a listInteraction, you'll find these
resources at minimum:
- an AssessmentItem that contains a listInteraction
- a dedicated xml file containing a list of many choices. This list can be
referenced by several assessmentItems
(- imsmanifest.xml :))

- the list xml file is straight-forward and could look like this:

<choiceList identifier="l39" >
    <choice identifier="l39a1">Abdomen</choice>
    <choice identifier="l39a2" synonym="l39a3">Appendix</choice>
    <choice identifier="l39a3">Blind gut</choice>
      …
    <choice identifier="l39a603">Virus hepatitis</choice>
    <choice identifier="l39a604">Virus infection</choice>
</choiceList>

The attribute 'synonym" allows synonymous entries to be referenced.

- The listInteraction is embedded as a blockElement within the
assessmentItem:

<assessmentItem>
   <responseDeclaration cardinality="single" identifier="q16030"
baseType="identifier">
        <correctResponse>
           <value>l39a16</value>
       </correctResponse>
   </responseDeclaration>
   <itemBody>
      <listInteraction responseIdentifier="q16030" maxChoices="1"
listIdentifier="l39" listHref="list39.xml">
         <prompt>Which laboratory value determines the best differential
diagnosis?</prompt>
       <extraChoice identifier="q16030a1">xyz factor</extraChoice>
       <hiddenChoice identifier="l39a261" />
      </listInteraction>
  </itemBody>
</assessmentItem>

While the list can be referenced by several assessmentItems, the
responseDeclaration is specific to the interaction, i.e. a list can be
reused amongst several items that require different correct answers. Within
the listInteraction new choices can be added on a "per interaction basis"
('extraChoice'). It is also possible to blank out choices from the list for
a specific question as they may be confusing within the question's context
('hiddenChoice'). However, this addition/suppression of choices on an
interaction basis is optional.
The listInteraction references its corresponding list by an identifier and
by a hyperlink. This may be redundant but I can imagine it to be useful in
some cases.

- The list should be mentioned as a resource within the content package
description. Maybe 'imsqti_answerlist_xmlv2p2' could be used as value for
the attribute 'type' (in case it find's its way into QTI 2.2 :)).

... and this is it! Of course, such a list could be modeled simply as a
ChoiceInteraction. However, you can not semantically define synonyms and
redundancy is high if you reuse the answer list across several
assessmentItems.

We are currently using a customInteraction to express this question type in
QTI. If you are interested in finding this question type within the official
QTI specification, please let me know. Please share your ideas and thoughts
with all through this mailing list.

Thanks,

Michael


On Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 9:03 AM, Steve Lay <swl10 at cam.ac.uk> wrote:

> Michael,
>
> Sorry this reply is a bit slow.
>
> The QTI specification is developed and maintained by the IMS Global
> Learning Consortium (IMS GLC).  The correct way to submit a request for
> future inclusion, or to report a problem, is to use the "Specification
> Problem and Suggestion Reporting" option on the IMS website.  It is under
> the "SPECIFICATIONS" menu or you can go straight there:
>
> http://www.imsglobal.org/problemtracking/index.cfm
>
> You will need to set up an ID on the system to make the suggestion but
> there is no cost involved and it only takes a few moment so please don't be
> put off by the initial redirect!
>
> It is also a great idea to discuss possible extensions, such as new
> interaction types, with a list like this though.  Even if ideas are not
> incorporated into the specification quickly (these processes tend to be slow
> for good reasons) there is nothing stopping you publishing information about
> your extension and trying to gain support amongst other developers.  In
> fact, exactly what you are doing!
>
> I suggest you post some examples of the proposed mark up in action, and
> perhaps point people to screen shots of what the interaction looks like in
> practice.
>
> Steve
>
> - -
>
> Michael Pfähler wrote:
>
>> Hello everybody,
>>
>> I'm working as a developer for an item banking system for medical items
>> that is being developed by three German universities ( www.ims-m.org <
>> http://www.ims-m.org/> ). We are trying to use QTI 2.1 as an interface to
>> other systems, e.g. to assessment systems.
>>
>> Our item banking system manages a set of different question types. One of
>> them is called a 'long menu question'. The candidate chooses the correct
>> answers to a long menu question from a large list of answers (>500), so that
>> such a question is both easily evaluable and at the same time avoids easy
>> recognition of the correct answer.
>>
>> Syntactically such a long menu question could simply be expressed as a
>> choiceInteraction. However, there are semantic differences (definition of
>> synonyms, sharing a list across items). We currently use a customInteraction
>> to export long menu questions. However, we think that the QTI standard could
>> benefit from the integration of a dedicated 'listInteraction'.
>>
>> We already detailed a data format for this 'listInteraction' that I would
>> like to share with you.
>>
>> I would greatly appreciate if you could point me to the appropriate entity
>> that is responsible for such suggestions and at the same time, I would like
>> to hear your opinions on the potential inclusion of this new question type
>> into the current or a future QTI specification.
>>
>> Thank you very much,
>> Regards,
>>
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> IMS-QTI mailing list
>> IMS-QTI at lists.ucles.org.uk
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>>
>
>


-- 
Michael Pfähler
Erzgießereistr. 18a
80335 München
+49 89 54 789 325
+49 174 48 11 555
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