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 latest 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 is currently being produced that will, it is hoped, be available for the autumn semester this year. This new system will run over the web, will offer the same features that the previous versions offered, but will based upon QTI v2.1 compliance. This will offer a number of benefits, and will also provide a platform for the development of additional features. The use of QTI v2.1 will also encourage the development of new learning-directed assessments that take advantage of some of the additional QTI features, such as adaptive questions.
A Beta test version of the SToMPII system is now available and can be found here.
For more information about the new system, please contact Dick Bacon.
Dick Bacon
Department of Physics
University of Surrey
23 July 2008