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Case Study: UCL Medical School – A future proofed investmentImage courtesy of UCL Committed to changing the world for the better, University College London (UCL) has long been at the forefront of innovative thinking. Established in 1826, it immediately provided an open education in England to students of any race, class or religion. And in 1878 this was extended to welcoming female students on […] |
Run OSCE exams online, offline or on paperExam administrators using Speedwell’s exam software can now choose to run their OSCE assessments online, offline or on paper. Whilst paper and online OSCEs have been available for some time, the launch of iOS (iPads) and Android apps to manage digital OSCEs offline gives administrators at medical schools and Royal Colleges another opportunity to streamline […] |
Borderline Regression – A closer lookHere at Speedwell, we aim to make life as easy as possible for our clients when preparing examinations and systems of assessment. |
Delivering world class exam software for 30 years30 years of delivering world class exam software Speedwell Software was founded in 1988 and has been building world class exam software for over 30 years. We quickly established ourselves as an innovation focussed, PC-based ‘in-house’ solution using OMR scanning and sheets for clients and examination boards needing automated data capture. The system was a […] |
How can exam bureau services help you gain efficiencies?It’s no secret to those of us who work in the industry, that running exams and the associated processes can be time-consuming, complicated and often expensive. Whilst our eSystem online exam software can help streamline both online and paper-based assessments, we realise that this may not be the solution for everyone. You may not be […] |
Five ways to combat exam stressWith exam season well and truly upon us, there’s a lot of focus on exam stress for students. On the internet and in social media you will find a plethora of tips and advice on how to minimise stress in order to give the best performance on the day. From getting organised and having a […] |
Video: Candidate Feedback ReportsVideo Transcript: Hi I’m Trish from speedwell software. In this clip we are going to look at the Speedwell eSystem candidate feedback feature, and how it can be used to provide clear and instant feedback to candidates taking online exams. Here, the candidate is taking an online exam with the eSystem, reading the […] |
Adding EMQ to your exams couldn’t be simplerExtended Matching Questions (EMQ) are now available in eSystem – Speedwell’s exam software. This specific type of multiple choice question allows a question to have multiple variables or scenarios all linked to a common set of answers. Often used in medical exams, EMQs offer the ability to demonstrate and assess diagnostic reasoning in a way […] |
Can timely student exam feedback improve results?Students entering the University system today have grown up with technology. They are the first generation for whom the internet has always been there and they don’t know (and perhaps can’t imagine) a world without it. This group, known as Generation Z, are often described as Digital Natives. The use of smart phones, tablets, social […] |
Improving the cost effectiveness of OSCEsThe value of using the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) as a determinant of clinical skills is widely agreed. It is the preferred way to assess clinical skills across a variety of programmes, such as medical, pharmacy, veterinary and so on and as such, is considered a more robust approach to clinical skills assessment in […] |
How to free-up time when preparing and running veterinary examsThe time, effort and associated costs dedicated to running multiple choice and OSCE exams within veterinary schools is high. To stage these assessments extensive time and input is needed from a skilled team of administrators, question authors, course assessors and so on. Traditionally the costs associated with running these exams has been accepted unconditionally – […] |
Case study: Edinburgh University The Royal Dick School of Veterinary StudiesConsidered to be one of the top UK institutions to study veterinary medicine in the UK[i], the historic Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies has built a reputation for providing the highest quality learning and teaching to its undergraduates. The School runs two undergraduate programmes, lasting either four or five years. On average each student […] |
Enabling a positive user experience when sitting examsSitting exams is a regular part of the university calendar. And as universities and institutions fill up with digital natives, the usability and user experience of any online exam system used to run summative exams is likely to come under more scrutiny. It was important to us when we were developing our online exam software […] |
Video: Standard Setting using Borderline RegressionVideo transcript Hello I’m Trish from Speedwell Software. In this clip I will be showing you how we use Borderline Regression for standard setting in Speedwell’s eSystem. When marking, the examiner will mark each of the objective tests using fail/pass, no/yes according to how the station was set up. Then for the subjective mark we have […] |
Case study: Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and DentistryThis innovative medical and dental school used Speedwell’s eSystem to quickly get up and running with time saving exam management software delivering digital exams. Faculty and administrators at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry (PUPSMD) have a mission: to deliver exceptional clinical learning through their undergraduate medical and dentistry programmes. With multiple campuses […] |
Evaluating practical competence across assessment typesMany institutions and medical schools run practical assessments called Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) as a fair and accurate way to assess competence. However, there are plenty of organisations that run other formats of practical assessments – whether they be multiple mini interviews, Objective Structured Practical Exams (OSPEs), Integrated Structured Clinical Exams (ISCEs), oral examinations […] |
Question bank groups and learning outcomes go hand-in-handThe outcome based education model has been widely adopted throughout many university departments – from maths, economics and engineering to medicine and science. Essentially it involves the clear specification of the end product of training and the associated learning outcomes – and curriculum planning flows from these outcomes. If you like, the reverse planning model […] |
Future proofing exam software investmentsWhen considering investing in exam software, there are a number of considerations specific to exam tech that you may wish to consider upfront. After all, the software you select is likely to be used for a number of years and will be used by a large number of students and assessors alike – and the […] |
Video: Using blueprinting to select exam questionsVideo transcript Hi I’m Trish from Speedwell Software. In this clip I’m going to show you how to select questions for a multiple choice exam within Speedwell’s eSystem using a blueprint. So I’ve switched to the exams tab and I have already created an exam and I have added some questions to it already. And […] |
Are students disadvantaged when they sit paper exams?Walking around a university campus recently – and poking my head into the odd lecture hall – I was struck by how much technology has taken over from pen and paper for the vast majority of students. Students no longer make notes in exercise books, like I did as a student. Some students barely attend lectures, […] |
Video: Selecting exam questions using filters in banksVideo Transcript Hi, I’m Trish from Speedwell Software. In this clip I’d like to show you how we can select questions using a previously recorded exam history within the Speedwell eSystem. I’m in the eSystem on the Questions tab and I’ve already selected some questions using filter criteria of Live bank, elderly group and pain […] |
Video: Analysing exam question performanceVideo transcript Hello, I’m Trish from Speedwell Software. In this clip I will show you how we can analyse exam question performance using the eSystem item analysis report. Right now I’m on the Question tab, and I’m looking at question C2 Horm 49. I can preview the question, or I can edit the contents. At […] |
Article: McGill University, Medical SchoolData is widely acknowledged as the world’s most valuable digital resource – and the ability to harvest value from it is what sets one organisation apart from another. Read how McGill is harvesting their exam data to improve their assessments with the help of Speedwell. |
Case Study: European Board of OphthalmologyThe EBO Diploma is a medical exam offered to European ophthalmologists by the European Board of Ophthalmology. |
Five tips to get the most out of your question bankIt takes significant amounts of time to prepare, collate and review examination questions. And finding out after your students have sat the exam that your questions have not performed as expected is disappointing. |
Should students be left to their own devices?Universities are probably the biggest users of bring your own device (BYOD) in the world, since nowadays most students bring their own laptops or tablets to lectures. |
Paper versus Online ExamsFor several years now computers have been heralded to replace the traditional pen and paper exam format, however the rate of adoption has been varied at best! |
Q & A with McGill University on new Speedwell eSystemSpeedwell have officially launched their much anticipated new online exam software. |
Are online exams really secure?The growing popularity of e-examinations raises many challenges and considerations for institutions, however, ensuring electronic exams are secure is probably the biggest concern of all. |
Writing a good exam questionFor any exam, it is essential that your questions test the right content as determined by your learning objectives and have the appropriate degree of difficulty. |
Speedwell Celebrates its 26th AnniversaryAt Speedwell, we are very excited about 2015. It should prove to be a busy year as we celebrate our 26th anniversary, a year that will see the launch of our new eSystem, an online exam software. |
5 Best practices to optimise your MCQ examsMultiple choice exams are a reliable means of measuring knowledge and understanding at various levels of learning, as well as enabling large amounts of material to be covered efficiently. |
How to raise your exam standardsIn this blog piece we are going to explore what is QuestionBank and why it can play a pivotal role in raising your exam standards. |
Cliniquest: Box Whisker PlotThe box whisker plot report in CliniQuest is a useful way to see how your examiners are scoring your candidates, and also how the distribution of scores varies between examiners. |
MultiQuest – Withdrawing QuestionsOccasionally, a question might not have performed well in one of your exams. |
New Feature: Portable Examinations (CliniQuest)We have now added the ability to export and import examinations both to and from a file in CliniQuest. |
25 years of customer service excellenceSpeedwell began twenty-five years ago, when the world was a very different place. |
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