This presentation will demonstrate the uses of SAM 2003 from Course Technology as a skills assessment and training software that is used via the Internet. Historically, testing in computer education has taken the form of pencil and paper or standardized testing. The actual computer skills of the student have not been properly assessed. With SAM, the testing strategy is to place a student in front of a computer with the relevant software and see if he can complete the required tasks in a limited time. The student will receive the task to be completed, with the application software running live on the computer. The computer contains all of the files needed to perform each task. The student stores his answers on the computer to be graded, and the exam is then graded based on the instructor’s criteria. Since the exams are task-based, this method of testing has a high degree of validity.
