Design of on-line quizzes to replace formal exam in an information and communications technology unit

The onset of COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 saw a renewed interest in designing alternative, on-line assessments to replace the formal exams, which coincidentally aligned with the assessment design requirement of CQU Renew Unit Refresh. However, designing such assessments is challenging for several reasons, including the potential compromise of the academic integrity [1]. The academic integrity may be challenged because of the infeasibility in most cases to invigilate the assessment. This presentation will share the challenges and opportunities of designing an on-line assessment to replace the formal exam, and the success story of the same from a Computer Forensics unit at CQUniversity at the undergraduate level. The unit used carefully designed Moodle quizzes for this purpose. The highly technical nature of the unit demanded that the new assessment be engaging at the technology and techniques levels for adequate assessment of student learning. The overarching goal was to design the quizzes in a way to mimic the critical thinking required in the unit's past formal exams, reducing the opportunities for cheating, and creating a differentiation between the passing grade and D/HD grades. To achieve this, scenario-based questions on digital forensic investigations were crafted for a mix of MCQ and free text input answers, in addition to a handful of weekly quiz type MCQ questions. Additionally, to allow students' familiarity with the quiz environment, a mock test was provided under the same conditions as of the actual on-line assessment, with time-limitation and randomised questions to further reduce the opportunities for cheating [2]. While no formal study was conducted on the academic integrity matter, observations by the Unit Coordinator, quiz results, and informal feedback from students pointed to the success of the quiz assessment both in terms of its capability of assessing student learning and deterring academic integrity issues.