THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE INTERNET-BASED EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM FOR REVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING EXAM

Transcription

1 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE INTERNET-BASED EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM FOR REVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING EXAM A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE BY JI-HOON LEE Norman, Oklahoma 2000

2 INTERNET-BASED EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM FOR REVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING EXAM A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE SCHOOL OF AEROSPACE AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING By Kurt Gramoll, Ph.D. Harold Stalford, Ph.D. Feng C. Lai, Ph.D.

3 Copyright by JI-HOON LEE 2000 All Rights Reserved

4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my great appreciation to God and the people who have helped me. Every single page of this thesis has adviser s guidance and friends help and as well as my effort. Special thanks to Dr. Kurt Gramoll, who has given me valuable guidance in my research, course work, and life. I would like to thank Dr. Harold Stalford and Dr. Feng C. Lai for their willingness and precious time to review my thesis. My thesis research was like digging a gold mine. While I was digging the ground, I could not see my aim very clearly. Even though I had some gold but I did not appreciate the value of it. When the gold was well refined, I realized the value of it for my thesis research. Though I lost direction many times, because I could see the value of my research, Dr Gramoll guided me back to the right direction. Now I realize the value of my thesis research, which is more important than gold to me. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and my wife for their undying support. iv

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABSTRACT iv viii ix xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 New extenstion of the education system The background of fundamental engineering (FE) examination The background of the FE project Benefits of online review and FE exam site Objective of the project 5 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction of the distance learning Impact of the distance learning Interactive distance learning on the Internet Current methods of the FE review and practice exam The FE exam generator on the Internet 14 v

6 3. THE FE EXAM ONLINE REVIEW SITE 3.1 Introduction of the FE online review review site Site layout Site navigation The Basics page The Examples page The Problems page FE EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM 4.1 Introduction of the FE exam generator system The procedure of the FE exam generator site ADMINISTRATION AND ASSESSMENT 5.1 Administration page New user account manager User score report communication with users Test managerment User comments 45 vi

7 6. PRINCIPLE AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE FE EXAM GENERATOR 6.1 Principle of the FE exam generator Compatibility of the FE exam generator Hardware and software requirements for the FE exam generator Advantages and disadvantages of the FE exam generator CONCLUSION 7.1 Post project survey Conclusion 59 REFERENCES 63 APPENDICES Appendix A: Main PERL program file for data manager 66 Appendix B: Typical PERL program file for statics problems 78 vii

8 LIST OF TABLES TABLE Table 1: The effectiveness of active learning percentage Table 2: System requiremets to host the FE exam generator hosting Table 3: Post survey of the FE exam review and generator system PAGE viii

9 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE Figure 1: The FE exam online review main page 17 Figure 2: The FE exam online review main page and modules listing 18 Figure 3: Computer graphics in the Basics page 19 Figure 4: Simulation for torsion test 20 Figure 5: 3D VRML model in the Basics page 21 Figure 6: Flash Shockwave animation in the Basics page 22 Figure 7: Examples page 23 Figure 8: Problems page 24 Figure 9: Problem and four answers in the Problems page 26 Figure 10: Answer page in the Problems page 26 Figure 11: The starting page for the FE exam practice testing 29 Figure 12: User logon page 31 Figure 13: New user registration form 31 Figure 14: The exam generator main page 34 Figure 15: Different problems for the test and timer 36 Figure 16: The user score and correct answers reporting 37 Figure 17: The main administrator page 38 Figure 18: Score reporting page 40 Figure 19: Score editing page 41 Figure 20: Sending to users 42 Figure 21: Exam generation for the fixed test 43 ix

10 Figure 22: Exam management for the fixed test 44 Figure 23: Comments message box 45 Figure 24: Block diagram of the FE exam generator operation 50 x

11 ABSTRACT One of the most important aspects of a review system for any given exam is to practice test taking. However, it is difficult for any instructor to develop a sufficient number of practice exams. Furthermore, once used, each exam cannot be reused in a reasonable time frame without modification. This becomes ever more critical when trying to develop an Internet-based review system. To solve this potential problem issue, a problem generator program has been developed that generates random questions on different engineering topics. Many web-based test sites choose problems from an existing set of questions. This program uses a set of problem templates that, when accessed, generates different variables for the same question. The generator program changes the problems' variables, orders and answers. It even generates new graphics for the problems. The generator program uses various computer programs such as PERL, JavaScript, CGI, Flash generator, HTML, SQL, database, and graphic programs. There are five major advantages of using this generator program. First, the program creates more exams than one can enter into a problem data bank. Second, each user will get different exams at the same time by allowing the computer to randomly choose the problem templates. Third, the scores and answers are available immediately because the system checks the answers and records the scores. Fourth, log files are created for each exam to allow the user to review previous tests. And last, the FE generator is designed for all engineering departments use hence any engineering school faculty member or department can register and use the exam generator system. xi

12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 NEW EXTENSTION OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM Education is one of the most important aspects of life. Through education, people can develop, use, and give knowledge to the next generation. Even though numerous instructors and companies have developed good educational systems, those systems often fall short of student s variety requirements and expectations for higher education. The development of good educational systems is one of the most challenging tasks for educators. One difficulty is that instructors also have to prepare for both the current and future engineering educational needs of their students. As the ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky said: If we skate where the puck is now, we will be too late. We need to skate where the puck will be. Another challenge for higher education is the de-emphasis on conventional fact-based study. Older and less efficient teaching methods are giving way to new and better methods based on critical thinking and problem solving skills. Every year, schools enroll students from a new generation. Old educational systems may not work as well because the new students come from significantly different educational backgrounds. In addition, there are new demands for innovative courses, which then result in larger class sizes due to their popularity and thus a decrease in interaction between the students and the instructor (Ng and Gramoll, 1999). Even though educational institutions develop 1

13 more of these courses, students still have difficulty enrolling in their favorite instructor s lectures. Furthermore, many professional workers are returning to school to learn about current technology and acquire additional skills due to their need to work and support families. These are part-time students with constraints on their schedules. Given these constraints and an increasingly diversified pool of educational consumers, Internet-based learning systems have been created to offer an alternative for both traditional and non-traditional students and to help solve restricted time schedules and large class size problems facing educational institutions. Specifically, the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam generator system developed for this research was based on new Internet technologies to meet the above mentioned needs. The FE exam system is one example of Internetbased learning systems that can be used in most online courses. The Internet is a new and fast growing technology, but it is still beset by problems. Almost all on-campus university students in the United States enjoy fast, and wireless Internet connections, but off-campus students have to pay substantial fees for high bandwidth connections or wait for information from a slow modem Internet connection. Nowadays, fast high bandwidth connections are expanding into the several population, so this slow bandwidth problem might be alleviated in the near future. 2

14 1.2 THE BACKGROUND OF FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGINEERING (FE) EXAMINATION To protect the public from incompetent practitioners, laws have been passed to regulate the practice of engineering. Beginning in 1907, the laws were strengthened so that the practice of engineering was limited to those who were registered engineers or to those working under the supervision of a registered engineer (Newnan, 1997). Every year approximately 50,000 engineers take the Fundamentals of Engineering/Engineering-In-Training (FE/EIT) examination as the first step to obtain a professional engineers license. The FE exam is one of the most important tests for all engineering students to demonstrate their engineering knowledge (Newnan, 1997). The FE exam is a test of twelve engineering topics: Chemistry, Computers, Dynamics, Electrical Circuits, Economics, Ethics, Fluid Mechanics, Mathematics, Materials Engineering, Mechanics of Materials, Statics, and Thermodynamics. Since Fall 1996, the FE exam has had two distinct parts. The FE morning exam is like the previous exam with the same twelve topics. The FE afternoon exam is new and consists of six different afternoon exams: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial and General (Potter, 1999). 3

15 1.3 THE BACKGROUND OF THE FE PROJECT In the spring of 1998, a project was started at the University of Oklahoma s Engineering Media Lab to capitalize on the advantages of the Internet and new multimedia technologies to help students and others to prepare for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination. As a part of this project, a FE exam generator system was designed to help students practice the FE exam. The first step was to develop an Internet-based FE review system for the general morning exam session, which has 12 different topics covering all of the general engineering subjects. The second step was to develop an exam generator system for the morning exam. It was a paradigm of testing system because the FE exam generator program generates exam problems. The third step, still in progress, is to develop an afternoon session test system and questions. The afternoon test covers only two of six different topics, one can choose from one of five specific engineering disciplines and one a general topic. These topics cover more details than the morning session exam. The last step was to set up a general exam system for all engineering faculty members who may want to use the assessment test. All engineering faculty members can get full authorization for the testing system and assign their own FE-like exam for classroom assessment. This thesis focuses on the FE exam generating system for the morning FE test, the afternoon FE test, and a general test system for assessment. This has never been done before. 4

16 1.4 BENEFITS OF ONLINE REVIEW AND FE EXAM SITE Preparing for the FE exam is a formidable task for those wishing to obtain a professional license. Instructors are constantly looking for the best way to help students prepare for the test. Even though instructors teach well, they still feel responsible for students achievements on the exam and would like to see them succeed in understanding the material. To help students and faculty members, the FE review and the FE exam generator was created. The FE review and the FE exam generator website project, at its current status, has several innovative features. First, the user can get unlimited testing experience since the FE exam generator generates all exam problems. Second, the user can review information that is needed to pass the FE test. The navigation system brings his or her to the requested page efficiently. Third, the user can practice tests under simulated test conditions. A timer puts the user under time pressure which gives the users more time awareness for the actual test. Fourth, the user can set up his/her own test for subjects that need more attention. And finally, since it is online, the limitations of time and geographical constraints are diminished. 1.5 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT One of the main objectives of this research is to help students and professional engineers, who need to take the fundamentals of engineering (FE) exam, by developing an Internet-based FE review and testing system. The research also 5

17 includes enhancing the efficiency of teaching and reviewing basic engineering concepts by using advanced multimedia and Internet technologies such as movies, animations, interactive simulations and three-dimensional graphics. This research involves the development of an Internet-based FE testing application. The Internet provides numerous technical advantages and is available to most engineering students. The main feature of the online FE testing site is its capability to generate exam problems. To make this feature possible, numerous advanced web technologies were used. The FE exam generator portion has the following features. First, the FE exam generator program randomly generates new exam problems. Whenever a user accesses the FE exam, the program creates new problem variables, graphics, and different answer choices. Second, the user can set up his or her test by choosing individual topics and the number of problems in each area. Third, instant feedback notes both correct and wrong answers. Users do not need to spend time to check their scores and correct answers. After the test has been completed, the FE exam generator shows the score, correct answer, and user answer. Fourth, a log file that saves up to ten previous test is set up for each user so that they can review his or her own old tests. When the user wants to see one of his or her old test, the FE exam generator shows the problems, correct answers, and user answers. 6

18 Fifth, any engineering student can use the FE exam generator without charge. Many universities and companies are helping students to prepare the FE exam, but require the purchase of high cost lecture review and practice exam materials. The FE exam generator system is provided free of charge to students and users. Sixth, the FE exam generator has an assessment option for faculty members. Any faculty member with requisite permissions may use the FE exam generator for assessment purpose or part of their class assignments. Seventh, currently, the FE exam generator includes tests for the twelve topics of the morning exam, the Industrial afternoon exam and the Mechanical afternoon exam. The demo test also provides access for guest users. Eighth, the user can access the FE testing system at any time from any computer with Internet access. The FE exam generator is completely working on Internet, so user can access at any convenient time. And finally, the download speed of the FE exams has been designed to be fast even with slower modems because of advanced streaming techniques. The FE exam generator is designed for both on and off campus users, so slow modem users with older modems can access the FE exam generator without any difficulty. The FE web site also supports user feedback. Users can send messages to students and instructors individually or as a class. Users and instructors can place notices for each other at the website, thus increasing time and place independence for the reception of messages. 7

19 The final outcome of this research is the development and implementation action of a complete FE review and testing system for engineering students and others who want to take the FE test to receive their professional licenses. The FE system uses advanced authoring programs for better performance and easier use by faculty members. An additional feature for instructor is ease of maintenance. The only maintenance needed for the FE exam generator is the development and addition of more problem templates into the exam database. 8

20 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. INTRODUCTION OF DISTANCE LEARNING According to Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, Distance learning is the methods of instruction that utilizes different communication technologies to carry teaching to learners in different places at the same time or any given time. Online learning programs use multimedia tools such as computers, telephones, radio, television, the Internet, and other technologies and networks for users and instructors to interact effectively. Many schools and educational companies have provided instruction for students by developing many outstanding education tools. New and rapidly growing technologies have led to new innovations in distance learning. As new communication technologies become more efficient and more widely available, an increasing number of schools, universities, and businesses have begun offering online distance education programs (Najafi, 2000). The developers of the distance education system have used the advanced technology of their day. The technologies are grouped into multimedia and networking. 9

21 2.2 IMPACT OF DISTANCE LEARNING The concept of distance learning traces its origins to mid-19th century when commercial correspondence colleges provided distance education to students across the country (Gold and Maitland, 1999). In the United States, a correspondence course at the Illinois State University in 1874 was credited as the first distance education course at the university level (Rumble and Harry, 1982). Distance learning opened educational opportunities to people who wanted to learn but were not able to attend conventional schools. Physical schools were seen as the best institution for education, but building in remote regions where enrollment of students was low was too costly. Postal service was a remarkable innovation in propagating distance learning that helped overcome the cost of building physical schools. The distance learning extended the school s teaching to more remote regions with relatively low cost and gave all people more equitable education opportunities. People who most benefited from such correspondence education included those with physical disabilities, women who were not allowed to enroll in certain educational institutions, people who had regular jobs during normal school hours, and those who lived in remote regions where schools did not exist (Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia, 2000). With the advancement of technology and the spread of computers, distance learning now allows teachers and students to communicate even better with each other with excellent educational content. The World Wide Web supports virtual educational space, where teachers and students exchange 10

22 educational material in the forms of text, pictures, audio, and occasionally video. 2.3 INTERACTIVE DISTANCE LEARING ON THE INTERNET The Internet is one of the fastest growing network technologies. It has dramatically affected the educational world, and its use is increasing. Many higher education institutions use the Internet because the Internet delivers advanced multimedia to users directly. Internet users can have more control of information than with any other media such as television, radio or video player. Multimedia applications and educational technologies enhance students learning. When students are involved actively, a greater percentage of the material is retained. The content table 2.1 (Todd, 1997) gives us the percentage effectiveness of active learning. What the students read What the students hear What the students see What the students hear and see What the students say What the students say and do 10 Percent 20 Percent 30 Percent 50 Percent 70 Percent 90 Percent Table 2.1 The effectiveness of active learning percentage 11

23 Developing multimedia contents for the Internet takes more effort and time than for printing contents, but multimedia contents are more effective than printed material in providing long-term education (Horton, 1994). This is the power of multimedia contents on the Internet and is the reason why faculty members want to develop multimedia content. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a survey on distance learning in According to the release, almost 44 percent of all higher education institutions offered distance-based courses (Lewis, et al., 1999). Education through the web and online learning promises the delivery of knowledge in education (Atkins, 1999). The percentage of two- and four-year higher education institutions offering either certificate or degree programs by distance technology was has increased from 690 degree programs in to 1,190 in , and from 170 certificate programs to 330 (Lewis, et al., 1999). Instructors and students face a new world which was hard to imagine just few years ago. With the development of network equipment and an increase in connection speed, instructors need less effort to manage homework, quizzes, and tests that can be easily constructed, updated, or built on the Internet. These tests on the Internet are well suited for student assessment and teacher evaluation (Jung, et al., 1998). Assessment of learning by students plays an important role in education. Computerized testing on the Internet, whether used in distance learning program 12

24 or alongside more traditional teaching methods, will play a larger role in measuring knowledge and validating training schemes (Jung, et al., 1998). 2.4 CURRENT METHODS OF THE FE REVIEW AND PRACTICE EXAM A large number of universities have supported the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) or Professional Engineering (PE) exams review and practice exam problems. To help students prepare for the test, several universities and companies support Web-based audio and video presentation material, which are offered at a high expense. The FE exam video review material offered by Great Lake Press, Inc. costs $595 ( while the video review course for FE morning section offered by the University of Delaware also costs $595 ( The cost of video review lectures offered by American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME), Missouri University, Northwestern University, Pennsylvania State University, Professional Publication Inc., range between $350 to $600. Most video review courses only cover the morning FE exam topics or one part of afternoon testing section only (Potdar, 2000). Additionally, if the user wants to practice the FE exam test, yet another fee is required to take a practice test. The Engineering Media Lab at the University of Oklahoma developed material and content related to Fundamental of Engineering exam in 1988 to help students review theory and practice tests related to the exam. All engineering 13

25 topics of review section and countless practice exam problems are available to students free of change. 2.5 THE FE EXAM GENERATOR ON THE INTERNET The FE exam generator was developed to create an unlimited number of exam problems. The FE exam generator generates problems in random order and has random variables assigned to the problems. The FE exam generator program is designed to be of compact size, as the FE exam generator requires minimum testing information. The FE exam generator works on the server hard disk, where it can create, delete, or overwrite problem data. Even though only a small number of faculty members developed content for the FE exam generator, all instructors can share and develop exam problems together. All engineering faculty members can use the FE exam generator as their own testing program. Any instructor can change, edit or update exam problems at any given time. This is a flexible way to meet the requirements of the FE exam testing program. Students will have a smaller chance of encountering unreasonable problems. For users, the FE exam generator saves all information that users need on the server. The user does not need any additional material to use the FE exam generator. 14

26 CHAPTER 3 THE FE EXAM ONLINE REVIEW SITE 3.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE FE EXAM ONLINE REVIEW SITE This chapter focuses on the layout and organization of the FE exam online review site. The FE exam online review site is designed and implemented for Internet access to allow wide access and use. Students can access the FE exam online review site without charge from the engineering media lab s website at The FE exam online review site is divided into three parts: the fundamentals morning session, the specific afternoon session, and practice exams. The morning and afternoon site organization has the Basics, Examples, and Problems sections. Furthermore each of these pages has various multimedia elements such as charts, movie animation, graphics, equations, interactive simulations, and 3-dimetional VRML models. 3.2 SITE LAYOUT The organization of the FE exam online review is divided into the A.M. and P.M. sections. The review site and content organization is similar to existing review textbooks and manuals. Each FE review module has brief definitions, examples, and six testing problems. There are twelve different science and engineering topics covered in the A.M. section: Chemistry, Computers, 15

27 Dynamics, Electrical Circuits, Economics, Ethics, Fluid Mechanics, Mathematics, Materials Engineering, Mechanics of Materials, Statics, and Thermodynamics. The P.M. section reviews material that is specific for a given field of study, including Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Industrial, Mechanical Engineering, and General Engineering. Each of these topics is divided into subtopics called modules. By organizing the content in terms of modules, users are able to access and select the desired individual subtopics with no difficulty. To improve user interaction, the file size for each page of a module was optimized to be less than 100 kilobytes. This file size is suitable for even modem network connection. Furthermore, the horizontal and vertical size of the web page was optimized to be viewed easily. The horizontal resolution of each page was set up for 800 pixels, which allows users to view the modules without scrolling horizontally. This makes viewing and reading the content easier. 3.3 SITE NAVIGATION The FE review web site covers basic engineering and science topics on the FE test, including a large number of sub modules pages that are linked to each other as shown in Fig 3.1 The basic navigation menu allows the user move to the desired page quickly and with a minimum of mouse clicks. 16

28 Fig 3.1 The FE exam online review main page Each of the topics has three pages: Basics, Examples, and Problems. When the user clicks a topic, these three modules are displayed with a top frame menu, as shown in Fig 3.2. In general, the Basics page contains all the basic theories and equations relevant to the modules. The Examples page provides two example problems to improve the user s comprehension, and the Problems page presents six problems related to the particular module for the user to solve. 17

29 Fig 3.2 The Fe exam online review main page and modules listing 3.4 THE BASICS PAGE The Basics page gives a complete overview of all relevant information. The purpose of review this page is not to support an entire course. The page content level is designed for junior, senior, or graduate-level users. All relevant equations are given without the detailed derivations because the users are expected to know these beforehand. The Basics page includes movie animations with audio narration, graphics, and simulation in addition to text to promote the user s understanding. 18

30 To decrease download time, the Basic page does not open all multimedia contents when the main page opens, but when the user clicks the link button a separate browser window is displayed quickly. This allows the user to see main page content and multimedia content at the same time. Graphics are used in the Basics page, created or obtained using graphics software, a digital camera or obtained from the web as shown in Fig 3.3. Webbased graphics use two file formats which have a small file size with relatively good quality. These two file formats are the Graphics Interface Format (GIF) and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG). Fig. 3.3 Computer graphics in the Basics page The Basics page has interactive simulations which use a special format for the Web page. To create simulations, the Macromedia Director and computer graphics software are used together. The Director combines graphics, sound, animation, text, and video to create streaming, interactive Web content as shown in Fig 3.4. The Director Shockwave creates content for low-bandwidth delivery. 19

31 These simulations are used to visualize certain engineering phenomenon as described in the corresponding theory on the Basic page. The simulation programs are interactive, so users can edit or control parameters in the simulation with suitable graphic features. Fig 3.4 Simulation for torsion test Also in the Basics page are 3D visualizations that are used to help users with important concepts in the Basics page. Some concepts are not easy to demonstrate with text; thus, the 3D models are useful to increase user understanding. The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) is used to describe 3D objects, as shown in Fig 3.5. The VRML is a platform-independent 20

32 file format for sharing 3D worlds on the Web. VRML worlds can be interactive and animated and can include embedded hyperlinks to other Web documents. One advantage of using VRML is that the user can control of the display objects by moving, rotating, and zooming in and out. Fig D VRML model in the Basics page Each Basics page has movie animations with sound narration to provide visual illustration to the users. The animations are created using Macromedia Flash. The movie has play, stop, and rewind buttons, as shown Fig 3.6. The flash movies have relatively small file size with good quality graphics. When a user 21

33 resizes the movie it works without losing resolution. The flash movies also have sound narration which is compressed in flash movie to keep a small file size. All movies have a timeline indicator showing movie length and processing state. Fig. 3.6 Flash Shockwave animation in the Basics page 3.5 THE EXAMPLES PAGE After the basic review, the user can practice solving problems. The Examples page has two example problems with complete solutions, as shown in Fig 3.7. Each page in the review site has a link to each of the Basics, Examples, and Problems pages. Thus, whenever a user wishes to refer back to a Basics page, the user can easily return. The example problems are worked out in detailed steps, and all the relevant theory and equations used are given in the Basic page. Most example problems use corresponding images and diagrams together to help the user understand problems easily. All solution steps are carefully 22

34 outlined to avoid any confusion and to present the clearest possible method. The answers are colored red for quick identification. Fig. 3.7 Example Page 23

35 3.6 THE PROBLEMS PAGE The Problems Page has six problems for each module, as shown in Fig 3.8. When the user clicks on the image of problem or problem number, a new problem window pops up. This window contains the problem in Flash Shockwave format, which is a type of Flash movie that uses vector graphics. One feature of a Shockwave movie is that is resizable without losing resolution or graphic quality. Even though the initial window size is fixed, the user can resize it to any desired size. Fig 3.8 Problems Page 24

36 The problem shows corresponding pictures and four answers, as shown in Fig 3.9. The answers buttons have links that refer to three wrong pages and a correct answer page. Each linked page has a Back button to go back to the previous page. The answer page is displayed with corresponding graphics and the process of the solution, as shown in Fig

37 Fig. 3.9 Problem and four answers in the Problems Page Fig Answer page in the Problems Page 26

38 CHAPTER 4 FE EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM 4.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE FE EXAM GENERATOR SYSTEM The FE examination is divided into a four-hour morning session and a four -hour afternoon session. There are 120 questions to be answered in the morning section and 60 questions in the afternoon section. Engineering students who take FE test have to solve all problems within given time (Potter, 1998). Students need a large number of problems to prepare well for the FE exam. The FE exam generator part of the online review web site generates exam problems. Whenever the FE exam generator generates exam problems, all problem variables, problem order, correct and wrong answers are created. To create exam problems, the FE exam generator operates on the Internet. The FE exam generator also generates problems variables, test review record files, and exam problems on the server. These files keep track of all exams for each individual user including exam topics, number of exam problem, and exam score. The FE exam generator does not require any additional textbooks, notebooks, video player, or CD-ROMs. The problems in the FE exam generator are based on basic engineering concepts and the form of problems are similar to the actual FE exam. This FE exam program is designed for student self-study and instructors to help their students as part of their review process to prepare for the FE exam. 27

39 Developing new problems is challenging for any instructor. Furthermore, once used, they cannot be reused without modification. This becomes ever more critical when trying to develop an Internet-based review system and paper-based tests. To solve this, a problem generator program has been created that generates random exam questions, variables, order, correct and wrong answers on different engineering topics. To better prepare students, the Engineering Media Lab at the University of Oklahoma, has developed an Internet-based review program for the FE that can be used by engineering students who want to prepare for the test. 4.2 THE PROCEUDURE OF THE FE EXAM GENERATOR SITE To start the FE exam test, the user needs to open the Engineering Media Laboratory (EML) main Web page ( and choose the link Engineering Exam. The Web page that appears is the main page for FE online review program. The practice exam section has four choices: Fundamentalmorning test, Mechanical, Industrial test, and Demo test. The Fundamental-morning test has twelve different topics exam problems. A user can choose to take test in all twelve topics, a single topic, or a userselected test. In the afternoon Mechanical and Industrial practice tests, a user can choose the number of the problems. The Demo test gives only a sample test for demonstration purposes. 28

40 Fig. 4.1 The starting page for the FE exam practice testing For the morning practice exam, the user clicks Start Practice Exam, as shown in Fig 4.1, and then the logon page appears as shown in Fig 4.2. The logon page performs two functions. First, the logon program checks if the user is already registered and makes a log file for the current practice. Second, for new users, the logon program makes a new database record by requesting information from the user. The new user register page is shown in Fig 4.3. A guest does not need fill out the form, but students who use this web site as part of class work need to fill out all of the forms provided. Multiple people can take test at the same 29

41 time because the FE generator works through the Internet. Even though different users can take the test at the same time, the FE exam generator can report the students record that are required by the instructor. 30

42 Fig 4.2 User logon page Fig 4.3 New user registration form 31

43 After user logon, basic user information and a log file for test data control are saved in a database on the web server. The FE exam generator main page comes with a review testing record, which is shown in Fig 4.4. Currently, up to ten exams are saved by the database server. The generating exam system has different options: a twelve topics test, a single topic test, and a user select topic test with variable number of problems. A user can choose the testing option by user time or weakness of topics. The user can make his or her own test with five, ten minutes, or any convenient time test. The Demo test is also suitable for a short time test, but it is fixed at five problems in ten minutes. The FE problem generator is considerably different from the traditional test, which is only given by instructors. The FE exam generator fully supports user demand such as choice of topics and number of problems. Users can choose topics where they are weak so they can focus their review. The number of problems can be set, which gives the user more flexibility. The actual morning FE exam test takes four hours test and has 120 questions. Many users who want to take FE exam test may not have many chances to take full test before the actual FE test. Under this kind of circumstance the user can use the FE exam generator, by setting up the topics and numbers for his or her own purpose. The user can fully control testing time and topics. The FE exam generator has an assessment option. The instructor can give random or fixed test to the specific users who are registered for the FE exam test 32

44 as course work. When the user inputs the fixed test code for a fixed test, all users have the same exam problems, but for the random test, all users get different exam problems under the same topics. After the test, the test score is reported to the administrator account immediately. The test score is saved for up to ten recent exams in both the user account and instructor account. The instructor can check the score individually or a group of students. 33

45 Fig 4.4 The FE exam generator main page 34

46 The actual web page with the problems also has a section for answers and timer. The FE generator generates problems at the same time for all different users, so all users see different problems, as shown in Fig 4.5. The FE test is a time-constrained test; hence, monitoring the time while practicing is important to simulate real test condition. The exam generator sets up a timer, which begins when the main testing page loads. This timer continuously shows the time, and the exam generator gives a warning time up at the end of test time. Each problem page has five problems, and the navigation buttons are located the top of page and bottom of the page. This navigation menu helps access different problem pages easily. The answer page uses radio buttons and looks similar to the actual test. 35

47 Fig 4.5 Different problems for the test and timer 36

48 After solving all problems, the user can check the score and the correct answers. When the user clicks the Score check, the score of the test is displayed immediately with score, correct answers and user answers as shown in Fig Fig 4.6 The user score and correct answers reporting 37

49 CHAPTER 5 ADMINISTRATION AND ASSESSMENT 5.1 ADMINISTRATION PAGE The FE exam generator is created for exam problems generation, but it also has a useful administration function for instructors, as shown in Fig This page is made only for instructors, so it requires security programming. The server side program PERL is used. PERL programming itself does not support adequate security programming, so Windows NT server security and a database is also used to improve security. Fig. 5.1 The main administrator page 38

50 5.2 NEW USER ACCOUNT MANAGER The account manager has four sub-options: Add a new user account, Edit a user score, Delete a user account, and User comments. These four options help the instructor to manager specific user and guest accounts. Even though the FE exam generator works wit h any server environment, it is not an error-free program. The account manager is prepared to give more specific account management. In the Add a new user account function, the instructor can also input or modify the user information into the database server directly if needed. When the administrator inputs user information, he or she can set up the user as an administrator. The user register page does not have this option. In the Edit a user account function, the instructor can edit all existing user information and upgrade user authorization. The instructor can change the user authorization from guest to a registered user. After changing a registered user s administration, the user will have full control of the FE exam testing system. In the Delete a user account function, the instructor can delete user account and information on the database server. The FE exam generator automatically deletes old guest accounts which have not been used in more than one month. The instructor can delete unneeded user information directly. The Users comments function has two options: one is the evaluation of the web site and the other is for user opinion and suggestions such as incorrect 39

51 problems or difficulty in using the FE exam generator. The administrator needs to know users opinions to reduce the difficulty of using the FE exam generator. 5.3 USER SCORE REPORT Reporting user scores is important for both the instructor and users because it is an effective way to evaluate a user s skill or knowledge level compared to the expected skill or knowledge. The user score report shows all user scores or individual scores, as shown in Fig When the user or instructor views the score, both the average score and grade are shown. The comparison of the average score and user score helps indicate the users knowledge level or skill to the instructor and the user. Fig. 5.2 Score reporting page 40

52 Editing the user score function allows the instructor to modify the user score when unrealistic variables in the exam problems were given in the exam or when instructors want to give partial credit or a bonus. Fig. 5.3 Score editing page The security of the score data file is important. To manage the user score, the FE exam generator makes three database files: one is text-based on database at administrator score account, another is at the user score account, and the third is ODBC database file. 41

53 5.4 COMMUNICATION WITH USERS Instructors routinely use to send notices to the users such as incorrect problems notice, a new time schedule, or a new change in the FE exam generator system. When a user registers, the course number is required for the student users. Some class course work information needs to go to the registered student users. The function uses this information to send to the proper users. The instructor can send to a single user, all users or selected users, as shown in Fig Fig. 5.4 Sending to users 42

54 5.5 TEST MANAGEMENT The Test management function is a special function for the FE exam generator system. The instructor can generate the test by choosing topics and the number of questions, as shown in Fig When the instructor creates the test, a test password is created so that the students can access that test without generating a new test. To increase security for the test, the password uses a nine-digit random number. The random exam generator is the main feature for the FE exam generator, but it produces tests with differing degree of difficulty for the user. The fixed test gives all users the same test questions and variables. To improve the students FE exam score, the instructors need to know the students weaknesses such as weaknesses in a specific topic or use of exam time. The FE exam is time-constrained test, so time control in a managed test is crucial. Fig. 5.5 Exam generation for the fixed test 43

55 For assessment, the instructor needs to set up a test and then evaluate the scores. The FE exam generator generates exam problems and can set up tests, as shown in Fig 5.6. This page is designed for assessment, so security programming is used to keep score data safe. For the exam security, the instructor can user the Test state which has two options: Activate and No. When the instructor sets up the Test state as Activate, the users can access the exam problems and take the test. When the instructor sets up the Test state as No, no one can access the exam test. While the test state is No, the users can take test and receive a score, but the score is not reported to the administrator scoreboard. Fig. 5.6 Exam management for the fixed test 44

56 5.6 USER COMMENTS The FE exam generator is an interactive program and thus users and instructors can send messages or comments to each other. After the practice test, users can anonymously send comments to the instructor, such as their opinions of exam problems or to report incorrect problems. These comments are good reference in order to meet the needs of the users. Fig. 4.6 Comments message box 45

57 CHAPTER 6 PRINCIPLES AND REQUIREMENS OF THE FE EXAM GENERATOR 6.1 PRINCIPLES OF THE FE EXAM GENERATOR The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam requires a wide knowledge of engineering topics, and formulating many different problems for all engineering topics is difficult for instructors. Many web-based test sites choose exam problems from a fixed set of problems, but this FE generator program uses a set of problem templates which can generate an almost infinite number of different problems. When a user accesses the program, the FE generator randomly picks problem templates from a database. The problem s format is similar to actual FE exam questions, which are in a multiple-choice format. A server-side program (CGI PERL script) is used to generate the exam problem order and different variables for each different user. Even though the variables are generated by the computer, all the variables are formulated by equations, one of which is the correct equation and three of which are commonly mistaken equations. The FE generator program puts these variables into exam problem templates to generate both wrong and right answers. To develop these problems, many different FE handbooks, textbooks, and National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCCEES) sample books were referenced. 46

58 Computer graphics are commonly used to help illustrate practice problems and aid comprehension. The main problems page and problem templates were created using Flash and Flash Generator programs to hold computer graphics, text, and sound effectively with small file size. Flash Generator can also dynamically fill the placeholders with content from a data source to create a dynamic web page (Flash Generator 2 Manual, 1999). The Flash program is used for the exam problem design tool since this program has the flexibility of vector graphics and works well in low bandwidth. The resolution of generated computer graphic is adequate, but the file size is relatively small and the graphics are viewed clearly since this computer graphic is designed for web page viewing. The program uses vector graphics, thus it can be resized without losing any graphic resolution. Once these templates and variables are created, the data is automatically saved on the database server. The FE generator program is set up to review records for ten previous tests, so the database saves each user s new record and nine old records. PERL, CGI, Javascript and HTML are used to make the EF exam generator system. When a user accesses the FE exam site, the user can choose problem topics and the number of questions. The PERL program returns the user s choice to the database server to create the problem order and random variables. The Flash Generator picks problem templates and creates exam problems from given data from the database. PERL, CGI, and Javascript put problem templates and variables into a HTML page. The HTML page contents 47

59 are designed for all Internet browsers, so it works well in both Internet Explorer and Netscape. The exam page appears within 20 to 50 seconds. When the user takes the test again, the downloading time is shorter than the first time because the Web browser does not need to download the same fonts again. Generally, download time depends on the user s network connection speed, but the generator program is unaffected because it is designed for different speeds of connection. Even if a user uses a slow modem connection, download speed does not create serious problems since the FE exam generator system uses vector based graphics and advanced streaming technology. While the user sees the first page of problems, the following questions are still being downloaded. The FE test is a time-constrained test, so managing testing time is important for success on the test. After the FE generator generates problems, a countdown timer is displayed. The timer continuously reminds the user of testing time. The user thus can practice test under time pressure. The total time on the timer is determined by the number of problems. After the user submits the test, the test score and correct answers are displayed immediately. This quick score report saves time and effort for the user and administrator. The user can take the same topics test again or other topics test. This practice test helps the user choose specific content areas for further practice. A PERL program is utilized to manage the problem template, to generate random variables and order of problems, and to control the FE exam generator system. When the user logs into the FE exam site, a PERL program checks the 48