Online testing service in mobile educational application

891 09-12-23 Read Time: 8 min

Online learning means learning in a convenient environment and not being tied to a specific location. This is best realized in an application on a smartphone, which is why online education platforms are increasingly choosing the mobile format – a universal solution for courses, trainings, marathons, seminars, webinars. Another advantage of educational apps is the ability to use online tests to assess student knowledge, monitor performance, prepare for exams and track progress.

This is a popular and widespread practice, but not every educational application has its own built-in online testing functionality. Some platforms still direct students to third-party resources, customize their work to fit other services, and tolerate the limitations that come with that. But there are some good reasons why it’s better to integrate online testing into an educational app.

Online tests in an educational application – what are the benefits?

Autonomy and independence from third-party resources

The functionality is built into the application – you can customize the tests to your needs, there is no need to use additional services. The teacher has full control over the situation and can be sure that the tests are working correctly. The student does not need to go to third-party platforms and follow external links – the entire testing process is implemented locally in the application.

Quality technical support

If something goes wrong, the problem is solved by the application’s technical support specialists. They are always available and interested in solving problems as quickly as possible. Any user (administrator, teacher, student) can contact the technical support with a complaint or suggestion both at the stage of test creation and during its completion. The internal technical support ensures the smooth operation of the service, and the complaints and suggestions received are used to improve its functionality.

Convenient management through admin panel

A separate section in the application administration is used to manage online tests. Both administrators and teachers can create and edit tests according to the level of access rights set. Everything necessary for this is available – options for creating and correcting the test, adding and deleting answers, adjusting the grading mechanism, etc. The list of settings is determined by the application development specification. The more settings available to the user, the better the test logic is adapted to the specifics of the curriculum.

Automate scoring

Scores are calculated automatically – this makes it much easier to check students’ knowledge. If there are any controversial moments, you can always refer to the results of the automatic evaluation and prove their correctness. This approach removes the human factor and makes the test result as objective as possible.

Easy to use interface and functionality

Teachers and students are provided with convenient interfaces with appropriate functionality. Teachers can create and edit tests, calculate scores, generate reports, and perform analysis. Students can select and take tests, view their results, save them to their personal accounts, and track their progress.

Security and Privacy

Data is stored on secure servers and any external or internal threat is eliminated. During development, all necessary measures are taken to prevent test hacking, data loss, unauthorized access, fraudulent adjustment of grades and ratings. Thanks to this, teachers and students can have no doubts about the honesty and transparency of the tests.

Powerful statistics and analysis

Test results are stored in a common database and used to generate scores, create statistical reports, perform analytics, and track student progress. You can customize the analytics generation mechanism to meet your needs, depending on the specifics of your program and assessment system.

Online testing in an educational application – functionality for the teacher

Let’s look at the functionality for teachers and the algorithm of working with online tests in the application:

1. Create and edit the quiz. The teacher selects the type of quiz, adds questions, uploads images if necessary, enters answer choices, and displays the correct answers. You can stop at any step, save the quiz as a draft, and return to create it later.
2. Customization. The user sets the necessary parameters – the time to complete the test, the number of available attempts, the number of correct answers, the principle of calculating scores and forming the final grade. You can choose whether the test will be available to all or selected users. It is also possible to personalize the test, taking into account the characteristics of an individual student.
3. Edit and publish. If necessary, you can delete questions, add new ones, change answer choices, and change the distribution of scores. The finished test is published to the mobile app and made available to students – all or a select few. Editing is available until students begin taking the test.
4. Score Calculation. The system automatically calculates scores based on the selected grading mechanism. The instructor sees each student’s results – both individual responses and the final grade.
5. Reporting. All kinds of reports can be generated from the obtained results – rating lists, charts, tables, graphs, etc. Visualizing the results allows you to better monitor and analyze the progress of each student and the group as a whole. You can customize the generation of standard reports for all tests or create individual non-standard analyses.

Test functionality in a student learning application

Students get a separate interface for taking tests, reading results and viewing statistics. The working algorithm is as follows:

1. Start. A student selects the desired test from his or her personal cabinet and begins working. Personal data is automatically retrieved from the student’s profile – his/her first and last name, group/class/course membership.
2. Take the test. The student selects answer options for all questions one by one, skipping some of them if necessary and returning to them later. Time is automatically counted down and the timer is displayed on the screen.
3. View Results. Results can be displayed immediately upon completion of the quiz, or at another time, such as when all students in the group have completed the quiz.
4. Save Results. Your personal profile contains a history of the tests you have taken and the grades you have received. You can access the archive at any time to view past tests.
5. Access to statistics. A student can see all the necessary reports that reflect personal learning progress – for example, a graph of grade changes or a chart of the ratio of correct to incorrect answers.
6. Feedback. If necessary, a student can leave feedback for the teacher – ask a question, point out a possible mistake, clarify the nuances of the assessment. The instructor receives a notification on his or her smartphone and can respond immediately.

TOR for developing online tests in a mobile learning application

Typically, the online testing section is developed as part of a new mobile application development, but it is possible to implement such functionality in an existing product. Whether changes can be made to an already functioning application should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Analytics

First, it is necessary to think through all possible variations of formats, settings, scoring mechanisms, ways of taking, creating, editing tests, generating reports, analyzing, etc. If a certain option is not included in the development process, you will have to add it with the next update, which is a waste of time. Competitive analysis will help you to decide – how other learning platforms conduct tests, what are the advantages and disadvantages in the interface and functionality of competing services. For better understanding and quick agreement, prototypes are developed that reproduce the structure of the screen, the work of various functions, and the mechanism of interaction between sections.

UI/UX Development

The user interface is executed in two formats – for teachers and students. The teacher’s interface has a panel for creating and editing tests, while students see only ready-made tests, can view their results and statistics to which they have access. The UI component of both interfaces is created in the same style as the mobile application. When developing the UX design, user needs are taken into account to make working with the tests as convenient and efficient as possible for each party in the learning process. Agreed design layouts are passed on to front-end development and programming.

Development and launch

This is the most responsible stage of development – it is necessary to ensure correct and smooth operation of all functions provided for in the technical specification, and also to take care of the speed of the service, so that the tests work without hangs and delays even under heavy load. During development, it is necessary to make provisions for further scaling of functionality, as the educational platform will require development and changes over time. Special attention should be paid to the security of data storage and information exchange. The finished product is tested and any problems found are eliminated before the final deployment of the functionality. After the launch, it is necessary to analyze user feedback and complaints – this will help to correct mistakes and improve the service.

For high quality and professional development of online testing functionality in an educational application, please contact our KitApp Studio. You can submit a request for a preliminary quote using the form on the website.