Dynamic quiz bank: a portable tool set for authoring and managing distributed, Web-based educational programs in...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Technology
• Digital Learning Platforms
• Radiology and Pathology Informatics

Background:

• Developing accessible, interactive educational content for remote learning presents challenges.
• Traditional methods for creating and maintaining online learning materials can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
• The need for dynamic, easily updatable educational resources in medical fields is growing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a portable, platform-independent software program for creating interactive web-based tutorials and examinations.
• To assess the usability and effectiveness of the software in generating a dynamic quiz bank (DQB).

Main Methods:

• The software comprises a Java-based interface, an Oracle 8i database, and Perl scripts for content automation.
• Faculty and students evaluated the ease of authoring and the reliability of the system.
• The DQB was implemented in a pathology course for second-year medical students.

Main Results:

• Faculty successfully created over 1,000 interactive questions, reporting the system as reliable and user-friendly.
• 151 medical students utilized the DQB, with 87% finding it extremely useful.
• The DQB may have contributed to improved standardized test scores for students.

Conclusions:

• The DQB software effectively facilitated the creation, authoring, and maintenance of web-based educational materials.
• The system demonstrated utility in radiology and pathology departments for developing digital learning resources.
• The software supports remote access and content transformation into interactive educational modules.