| |
| Network
Skills Testing System (nSTS): Installation/Documentation (For
Office 97) |
| top
of page |
| TABLE
OF CONTENTS |
| 1.
Introduction |
| 2.
Features of network Skills Testing System
(nSTS) |
| 3.
Design Philosophy |
| 4.
Installation Instructions for nSTS |
| 5.
How to Use the nSTS Administration Program
|
| 6.
How to Use the nSTS Exam Program |
| 7.
FAQs |
|
| |
| 1.
Introduction |
| nSTS
(Network Skills Testing System) permits training administrators
to test students on their abilities to work within the applications
of the Microsoft® Office® 97 suite. The testing system contains
over 600 questions in its question database that are aligned
with the skill set outlined by the MOUS (Microsoft Office User
Specialist) requirements. nSTS tests can be administered either
via a Local Area Network (LAN), or on a single standalone workstation.
|
| nSTS
tests students in a safe simulated environment that emulates
the actual software interface with great precision. Because
nSTS uses a completely simulated environment to assess students,
it does not require the Office 97 software to be resident on
the testing network or workstation. Using nSTS, students are
less likely to be distracted by other applications, or to stray
from the testing environment. Instead, they remain focused on
problem solving and displaying their software skills. |
|
Once
a student completes a nSTS examination, the score is reported
to a results database. Instructors can then run diagnostic
reports from the results database using the nSTS Administration
Software. Reports can be generated by the individual student
or by entire sections and classes.
|
| Please
know that nSTS questions are task-based. Both open-ended tasks
(with multiple answer support) and closed-end tasks (requiring
a single specific answer) are available within the question
database. The test questions are pre-programmed. A description
of each available task and its respective solutions is located
in the last section of this documentation. |
| |
| 2.
Features of nSTS |
| -
Supports both pre-testing and post-testing to measure progress
|
| -
Instructor configures exams using a question database |
| -·
Pre-assembled exams (by MOUS objective groupings) are importable
|
| -
Supports random questions ordering |
| -
Student option to skip and return to questions |
| -
Instructor-defined limits on exam and question attempts |
| -
Password protected examinations |
| -
Instructor controlled viewing of feedback |
| -
Instructor controlled viewing and printing of results |
| -
Over 600 questions aligned with Office 97 MOUS objectives |
| -
100+ miscellaneous beginner questions |
| -
Supports assessment in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access |
| -
Supports class roster imports |
| -
Individual student and class based reporting |
| |
| 3.
Design Philosophy |
| nSTS
was designed by Prof. Kenneth C. Laudon of New York University's
Stern School of Business. nSTS's design objectives include:
|
- Task-based
learning of real software skills nSTS tests the student's
ability to perform tasks in the software. Multiple choice
and true/false questions are inadequate means for testing
student software skills. Students "know" software when they
can actually complete tasks using the software.
- Scenario-based
learning and testing of practical skills With nSTS, students
are tested using realistic scenarios that make sense to
students. nSTS presents students with real-world settings
and uses the software to perform tasks typically required
in business and office settings. Scenarios like building
a resume, a report, or profit/loss statement are used throughout
nSTS as examples.
- Comprehensive
coverage of skills nSTS offers over six hundred general
skills questions based on the MOUS 97 skill sets. There
are two questions for each MOUS 97 skill, which provides
Instructors with many options for both pre- and post- testing.
- Supports
both "open" and "specific" questions There are different
learning styles, and teaching styles. Some Instructors focus
on simply "getting the job done" and do not care whether
the student uses the mouse, the keyboard, function keys,
or combinations of all of these. Other Instructors specifically
want students to know how to use the mouse in certain situations,
or how to use keyboard shortcuts. nSTS supports both teaching
styles by providing one question of each type for each skill.
- Supports
all instructional packages and systems. nSTS is designed
to test student software skills independent of the method
or instructional package used to train students. Whether
the Instructor uses books, CDs, or in-class tutorials, nSTS
can be used to test student skills.
- Ease
of Use The user interface is specifically designed for college
students to be exceptionally clear and easy to use. There
are no complicated options or controls for students to worry
about, and the testing screens are full screen with no text
overlays. The nSTS Administration program is designed to
be exceptionally easy to use and to install.
- Powerful
and Flexible Instructor Exam Controls The nSTS Administration
program permits Instructors to fine-tune the examination
process to fit their needs. Instructors can randomize questions
at the desktop level to prevent cheating, choose the number
of exam and question attempts, and choose the nature and
timing of feedback to students.
- Test
in a simulated environment under system administrator control
Testing in a simulated environment has many advantages.
Students cannot wander off into unplanned activities; the
configuration of student client machines is much less likely
to interfere with server testing system operations. And
students can be presented with a default Windows environment
for training and testing, permitting a more standardized
training environment.
- Comprehensive
Student Administration and Reporting nSTS performs all student
registration and security tasks automatically. The results
of the student exams are stored in a results database. The
nSTS program automatically scores individual responses,
and calculates diagnostics for individual students, sections,
and classes. Instructors can access this database and retrieve
predefined reports on individual students, class sections,
and entire classes. The system creates spreadsheet file
output that instructors can analyze using common spreadsheet
software such as Microsoft Excel.
|
| |
| 4.
Installation Instructions |
To
install nSTS, simply insert the nSTS CD-ROM in your computer's
CD drive. The following dialog box will automatically appear.
Click
the Install button to launch the installation utility for
nSTS. You can now simply follow the on- screen instructions
to install nSTS. Please notice during the install process
that the default location where nSTS will be installed is
C:\Azimuth\nSTS. You will most likely want to specify a network
drive and directory location when installing nSTS to run via
a Local Area Network.
After
the nSTS installation is complete you will notice a new program
Group (named nSTS) available from the Start Menu's Programs
Group. Within this group are two icons.
nSTS
Exams: the student exams software
nSTS
Administration: the instructor administration program
To
run the Student Exams Software from a network drive, a short-cut
to the ntftoc.exe file will need to be created on each
lab workstation.
At
this point you are ready to run the nSTS Administration Program
to specify some final setup options, import your student names,
and configure exams (see Section 5 for details).
|
| |
| Custom
Client Configuration |
| On
some network installations it may be preferable to install the
examination program locally on each client machine. This will
reduce network load, and should only be done if a standard installation
is too slow with the exam program stored on a server. |
| To
install the exam files on each client follow this procedure: |
- Install
the administration program as above.
- Take
the CD-ROM to each client on which you want to set up the
client files.
- Run
the install, select A custom install, and then select only
the Student Exam program.
- Copy
from the CD-ROM the file CLIENT.CFG to the same directory
in which the student exam program was installed.
- Edit
the CLIENT.CFG file (with a program like NOTEPAD) to change
the entries for Login_loc and Quiz_loc to be the network
path of where the administrator will put the student login
file (LOGIN.TXT) and the location of the Exam files (*.exm).
Normally these values will be the same.
|
| Be
sure to remove the semi-colon from the start of each line you
want to activate. After these steps the Student exams can be
run locally but will list exam selections and report results
to a common network drive. |
| top
of page |
| 5.
How to Use the nSTS Administration Program |
| Before
a test can be administrated, the instructor must set up his/her
students, sections, and exams, and even generate reports. All
of these functions are available under the nSTS Administration
Program. To launch the nSTS Administration software, click on
Start / Programs / nSTS /nSTS Administration. The opening screen
of the Administration Software looks like the following… |
 |
| The
top menu bar contains all the features of the program, grouped
under the following headings: File, Exam, Student, Report, and
Help. Listed below is a detailed description of each of the
headings and their functionality. |
| File
|
| The
File menu has two submenu options: Setup and Quit. The Setup
submenu is used for setting default values for Exam Properties.
It is also where the location of the student roster and results
database is specified. It is highly recommended that these locations
be hidden from student viewing. A sample setup screen can be
seen below. |
| nSTS
Exams should be installed on a network server and path to
which the students have read/write access. Student Identification
Information is stored in the Student ID file. The Student ID
file and the nSTS exams should be stored in different locations.
Access to the Student ID file should be read-only for students
and read-write for instructors. Students need read access to
Student ID files in order to login to the exams. We advise against
giving students write access to this file.The nSTS Administration
Program should be installed on a networked computer path
that students cannot access. |
 |
| |
| Exam |
| Click
Exam and three instructor options will appear: Create a New
Exam, Edit/Delete Exam, and Import Exam. Listed
below is a detailed description of the functionality associated
with each option. |
| Create
New Exam - Use this screen to create a new exam (open the
Exam menu, and select the New Exam command). Instructors
can browse the database of questions and choose only those questions
desired for a particular exam. For instance, you can create
a single end-of-semester exam for all software tools by simply
clicking off the questions you want, and saving the exam. Or,
you can create a single exam for each software tool at the end
of the class section devoted to that tool. To add a question
to an exam, select it in the right panel of the Exam Properties
window. Then click on the left arrow button to move it into
the new exam question list in the left panel. To remove a question
from an exam, select it in the left panel, and then click on
the right arrow button. When your new exam is complete, click
the Save button. |
| Creating
New Exam Questions - Instructors can choose from several
options that alter the presentation of exams to students. Click
the Exam Options button in the Exam Properties dialog
box to access these options and features: |
| a.
Randomize
Question Order. To discourage cheating, this option permits
randomizing question order so each student receives questions
in a different sequence. The default setup randomizes questions. |
| b.
Students may skip and then return to questions. This features
permits students to skip questions they are not sure about and
then come back to them later once they have completed the last
question. |
| c.Instructor-defined
limits on exam and question attempts. This option permits the
Instructor to define both how many times a question may be attempted,
and how many exam tries will be allowed. The default is no limit
on question and exam attempts. |
 |
d.
Display Feedback. This option removes the feedback (Correct
vs. Incorrect) from each question. The default is ON-feedback
is provided after each question. If the OFF option is
selected, the Next dialog box appears. The student clicks
on Next and advances to the next question without feedback
on the current question. In this case, student final scores
are reported at the end of the entire exam. |
| e.
Enable Printing. This option allows the students to print
the exam results (topics and scores) when they have completed
the exam. Default is print enabled. |
| f.
Detailed End Feedback. Shows the topic list to students
on the final scoring page and the score on each question.
Default is ON-the topic list and score appears on the
final scoring page. If this option is turned OFF, a list
of question numbers and scores is displayed, but no list
of topics. When turned OFF, this option prevents students
from communicating exam topics to other students taking
the exam at a later time. |
| g.
Question limit. Allows the Instructor to limit the number
of questions used in an Exam to a sub-set of the overall
database of questions. The questions are chosen randomly.
The default setting is all questions will appear on the
exam. |
|
| h.
Pre-configured Exams - nSTS comes with a series of pre-configured
examinations that ask students to demonstrate the skills they
have learned in Office 97. nSTS's pre-configured exams are organized
by application and MOUS 97 Skill Set. The exam questions are
stored in a database of exam questions. It generally requires
students about 5-15 seconds to answer each question, depending
on the question's difficulty and the level of student ability.
See Import Exams. |
| i.Edit/Delete
Exam - Use this screen to edit and/or delete existing exams
(click Exam, then Edit/Delete Exam). You can edit exams by selecting
or deselecting exam questions from the database as above. |
 |
| j.
Import Exam - Use the Import Exam option to import pre-configured
exams. Selecting this option prompts you to specify the location
of a .exm file. nSTS comes with a series of pre-configured examinations
for each of the Office applications. They can be imported from
their respective folders within the SAMPLE_EXAMS folder located
on your nSTS CD-ROM. |
| |
| Student |
| The
Student menu gives you all the tools you need to manage student
information. Click on Student and three options will appear:
Browse Students, Import Student Data, and Add New Student. Below
is a detailed description of the functionality associated with
each option. |
| a. Browse
Students - Provides a convenient list to browse student ID information.
Double-click on a name to delete or edit that student's information |
 |
| b.
Import Student Data - You can import ID information for large
numbers of students by requesting that your Registrar create
an ASCII file of student ID information on a network path. Ask
your registrar to supply a computer file list of all students
taking the course. The file must be in an ASCII COMMA DELIMITED
FORMAT and contain the following information for each student: |
| |
| Last
Name |
| First
Name [+middle initial] |
| Course
Number |
| Section
Number |
| Student
ID Number |
| Password |
| |
| A
typical file supplied by the registrar would look like the following
example: |
| |
| Jones,
Mary B.,B30-2000,21,345 46 4567,PSWD |
| |
| All
fields can be any alpha numeric unique identifier, with or without
spaces, or tabs. The data itself must not contain commas. If
Password is not included in the file, you will have to enter
this information manually using the Edit menu. |
| |
| c.
Add New Student - Use this menu command to add individual students
to the student database, as demonstrated earlier. |
| |
| Reports |
| Use
the Report menu to create diagnostic reports on student, section,
and class performance. Click on Report and the Create Report
Option will appear. Below is a detail description of the functionality
associated with the Create Report Option. |
| |
| Create
Report |
| 1.
Open the Report menu and select the Create Report command. Use
this menu command to create and save a student report. |
 |
| 2.
Select the type of report from the pre-programmed selection
boxes: |
| Report
Type |
Report
Scope |
|
|
| |
For
a Single Student |
For
a Group of Students |
For
All Students |
| Detailed
Exam Report |
X |
X |
X |
| Exam
Summary |
X |
X |
X |
| All
Exams Summary |
X |
X |
X |
|
| |
| Choose
a Report and Scope in the Create Report dialog box (see picture
below). |
| For
this demonstration: |
| Choose
Report: Detailed Exam Report |
| Choose
Scope:For a Single student |
| Click
Next button |
 |
| 3.
Select the student. Choose a student in the Select Student dialog
box: |
| Choose:
the name of student you have set up and logged in with |
| Click:
the Next button |
 |
| 4.
Select the exam. Choose the name of the exam that you completed
using the Select Exam drop-down list box (see picture below).
For example, if you took exam Sample Word 97 Exam, then select
that exam from the list. Then click the Next button. If you
select an exam you did not complete, your report will contain
no results. |
 |
| 5.
Save the Report. Use the Save As dialog box to choose a directory
and file name: In the Save in: box, accept the default directory,
noting what it is. The default directory is C:\My Documents.
Enter a report name: Give the report a name you can easily remember
in the File name: box. |
| Click
the Save button. |
 |
| After
saving, the results of your exam will be stored in the directory
indicated in the Save As dialog box. You do have the option
of creating and choosing another directory. The exam reports
are stored in the directory as a spreadsheet file with a generic
"WK1" file extension. You can examine this spreadsheet by starting
up Excel and opening the exam with the name you provided. Be
sure to change the setting of the Files of type drop-down list
in the Excel Open dialog box to search for All files (*.*). |
| nSTS
produces reports in Lotus 123 version 1 format (WK1). This format
may be imported to Microsoft Excel, Lotus 123, Quattro Pro,
Microsoft Access and any other spreadsheet or database program
capable of reading this format. You can use Excel to manipulate
the report into the format you want. You can also use all of
Excel's graphics and database functions on the report. |
| |
| Help |
| Open
the Help menu and select the Help command for a description
of each menu's functions. |
 |
| |
| 6.
How to Use the nSTS Exam Program |
| |
| Overview:
|
| Run
the Student Exams Software from the Start menu by finding the
nSTS Exams icon in the nSTS Programs Group. After an opening
screen, the student must complete the information on the student
login screen. After the login screen, the student selects an
exam. The student will be prompted to confirm proper exam selection,
and the simulated examination begins. If the selected exam is
password protected, the student will have to enter the exam's
password or will be denied access to the exam. |
| After
completing each exam, the system presents the student with an
overall score and a diagnostic sheet. The student can print
this sheet. The results are stored in a results database and
are available to Instructors for running reports. |
| nSTS
Exam program - Open the Start Menu, point to Programs, point
to nSTS, and click on the nSTS Exams program icon. The student
exam program will start. |
| |
| 1.
Login Procedures. To maintain exam integrity, you must enter
a valid student ID to view the exam list. There is a single
fictitious student already entered into the student database.
This student account can be used for testing and demonstration
purposes. |
| |
| Name
(first, last), Student Number |
| Sally,
Jones, 1111 |
| |
| When
you complete the Login information, click Login. Alternatively,
you can enter the information for a new student using the nSTS
Administration Program. |
 |
| 2.
Once you have logged in, read the nSTS overview. Click on Continue
when you are done. |
| 3.
Select an exam from the list by clicking on it. nSTS comes with
a set of pre-programmed exams organized by application and MOUS
Skill Set. Click on one of these Skill Set exams to get started. |
| 4.
Take the exam. Answer the questions for the exam. You may skip
questions by clicking the forward arrow key. You may retake
questions up to a limit defined by the Instructor in the Administration
Program. [For testing purposes, the limitation on number of
attempts for each question has been set to "no limit." ] After
you complete the exam, a dialog box will permit you either to
return to any questions you may have skipped or to score the
exam. After you score the exam, the results are displayed in
the score sheet window and are added to the database. Later,
you can use the Administration Program to print a copy of a
report on your test results. |
| 5.
Close the Exams program. You can close the program by clicking
on the Navigation star in the lower right corner of the screen,
or by clicking on the Windows Close button "X" in the upper
right corner of the screen. |
| |
| 7.
FAQs |
| top
of page |
|
Is nSTS Y2K compliant? |
| Yes,
nSTS is Y2K compliant. |
| |
| How
do students enroll into nSTS? |
| The
Administrator of the program can enter students by name, section,
and password. Students can also can be entered into nSTS through
an ASCII File from the Registrar. The student administration
system automatically monitors student passwords and login names.
|
| |
| What
types of security features are available for nSTS? |
| The
security of the student database is a responsibility of the
school. We recommend the results of the student tests be stored
on a secure server. Azimuth provides first level encryption
of student results in the event amateurs stumbled upon the datafiles.
The following is a list of security features that are included
in nSTS. |
| Password
- Each Student can be assigned a password. Each Exam can be
password protected. |
| Randomization
- Each instructor can randomize their tests so multiple classes
have different exams. Questions can be randomized at the workstation
level in the Labs so no adjacent students see the same questions
simultaneously. |
| |
| What
applications is nSTS available for? |
| nSTS
is available for Office 97. nSTS 2000 will be available Spring
of 2000. |
| |
| Does
nSTS require local installation of Microsoft Office on each
workstation? |
| No.
nSTS does not require any MS Office components. nSTS offers
a simulated Skills Assessment product to customers. nSTS uses
precision simulations of the actual software. All buttons and
menus are active to permit visual search and exploration. Actual
software and the Internet are a click away (if MS Office is
present on the network or local client). |
| |
| What
types of networks does nSTS run on? |
| nSTS
operates on all known corporate and university networks. nSTS
has installations running on large NT networks (around 900 users
on one network) and has also been successfully tested on Novell
and UNIX networks. |
| |
| What
types of reporting capabilities are available with nSTS? |
| In
the Administration Program under Reports the following exam
reports may be generated |
| ·
By group (or class) |
·
By student |
| ·
All exams by student |
·
By Exam |
| |
|
nSTS also provides a report on the skills achievement by student,
section, class, and Instructor.
|
| |
| Can
nSTS provide Practice Exams? |
| If
an Instructor chooses, nSTS can provide pre-test, post-test,
and practice tests. |
| |
| Does
nSTS provide separate exams for each software tool? |
| Yes,
nSTS provides separate exams for each tool. The skill sets in
each tool are tied to the MOUS (Microsoft Office User Specialist)
exams. |
| |
| How
many questions does nSTS provided for each software tool? |
| nSTS
provides approximately 100-120 questions per tool. About 600
questions overall. |
| |
| Can
test results from nSTS be exported to an Excel file? |
| Yes,
the results of the tests are emailed to professors as attached
spreadsheet files. These files can be opened by MS Excel for
further analysis, printing, and reporting. |
How to Install the LAN Version
of the Inter@ctiveLearning Series
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Fig 1 
