SToMP was developed as a computer-based resource for teaching introductory-level undergraduate Physics. The development was funded by the Higher Education Funding Councils of England, Scotland and Wales, and the Department for Education in Northern Ireland. The project materials were first made available in 1995 and since then they have been used in over 300 institutions in about 35 countries. They have also been used for 'A' level teaching in many schools and colleges in the UK.
The main reason for the withdrawal of the materials is the increasing diversity of operating systems being used in institutions, the difficulties of ensuring the integrity of this PC/internet based system with the increasing concerns about security, and the different security strategies being adopted by different institutions.
Assessment has always formed part of the SToMP materials, and for this purpose it had a built-in assessment system that has been revised from time to time. The the most recent such system was QTI v1.2 compliant, with extensions offering a number of features that were relevant to science and engineering like the randomisation of numeric values, and the ability to check numeric responses for accuracy as well as precision.
A new assessment system has now been produced and is available for use. This new system runs over the web, it supports all the features of the previous versions, but is based upon QTI v2.1. This introduces a number of benefits and has provided a platform for the development of additional features. The use of QTI v2.1 will, it is hoped, encourage the development of new learning-directed assessments that take advantage of the new QTI features, such as adaptive questions.
A demonstration of the new SToMPII assessment system is now available and can be found here.
For more information about the new system, please contact Dick Bacon.
The new system is "lightweight" in the sense that it does not offer sufficient security or reliability for high stakes assessments, but it is eminently suitable for marked coursework, particualrly where it is desired to assist the students with directed feedback, hints, multiple tries and other mechanisms being developed to help the slow learner. It has been used in the Physics Department at Surrey for two sets of coursework assessment (11 tests in all) during the 209/10 academic year.
Dick Bacon
Department of Physics
University of Surrey
10 May 2010