Moodle quizzes in the learning environment

Prakash Arumugam
Wawasan Open University
Penang, Malaysia

One of the more dynamic functions that Moodle has to offer is the quiz module which allows the creation of quizzes with different types of questions. These questions can be adapted to specific learning outcomes/objectives which can contribute to the teaching-learning process. In Wawasan Open University (WOU), the current use of the quiz module is limited as there are no university policies encouraging its use for teaching-learning purposes — though academics are encouraged to adopt whatever means are necessary to enhance students' learning experience. Moodle quizzes are employed primarily as a non-graded self-assessment tool in WOU's learning environment. The quiz module has been employed in the elementary Microeconomics course since 2007 for the purposes stated above. Because of time constraints, this paper will just compare the performances of two cohorts of learners in two different semesters, all of whom were in Year 1. The paper focuses on analysing the learners' answers and performing a psychometric analysis of the appropriateness and quality of the questions in the quizzes for achieving the learning outcomes. It was found that the questions are generally appropriate with the ability to discriminate between good and poor students. However, further fine-tuning is necessary for improving the tool. It is possible to use the quizzes as assessment tools within the context of an open and distance learning environment. However, much preliminary work needs to be done on the design of the quizzes so that the tool is more effective.