Adding Exhibits to Items

An item author can add a new exhibit to an item from their computer, any drive accessible from their computer,  or the clipboard.  They can also reuse an exhibit from the catalog.  The exhibit can be placed anywhere in the item; stimulus, stem, or answer choices.  The exhibit can also be placed in an associated Passage or rationale.  Use as many exhibits as desired.  Since newly added exhibits are immediately added to the exhibit catalog, the item author is presented with the opportunity to enter metadata and classify the exhibit.  Search features help an item author find an exhibit from within the catalog.

Exhibit Types

Pro! supports the most popular file types for images and videos.  Once the exhibit is in the catalog, Pro! can be configured to convert the file type during examination publication to match your test delivery vendor specifications.

Editing Exhibits

Raw media from item authors usually require editing by an authorized user who performs the role of the media manager. Pro! allows the media manager to download an exhibit from the catalog to a local file, edit it, and upload the edited version. Pro! can also load the exhibit directly into the organization’s editing suite.

Tracking Activity

Pro! logs every meaningful user activity performed on an exhibit. The activity log is available for viewing as part of the exhibit’s catalog entry. The log is in chronological order and records who did what to an exhibit, as well as when.

Building a Test Containing Exhibits

As noted earlier, the exhibit catalog keeps the media in its original format. Often the test delivery vendor can handle only one format per media type (e.g. image, video). To resolve the mismatch, Pro! converts the original format to the test driver’s format during test building. Also at this time, Pro! scales the media to the display size kept with the exhibit in the catalog.

Managing Permitted-Use Exhibits

Sometimes items contain drawings, pictures, tables, or graphs that are copyrighted, and the assessment organization has obtained permission to use the material. Permitted-use exhibits require different handling than exhibits the organization owns outright. Some differences include keeping the date of last permitted use and an identification number of the file folder where the original contracts or letters of agreement are kept. Pro! is up to the job by keeping the last date of permitted use in the exhibit’s catalog entry along with a place to record the identity number.

The source reference feature is additional help in tracking permitted-use materials. As mentioned earlier in this article, each exhibit’s catalog entry has a place to record the source reference, which contains information about where the exhibit originated. The source reference can be an arbitrary note text or a link to an authoritative work in the organization’s reference catalog (e.g. a textbook, journal article, etc.). In the latter case, the media manager completes the source reference by adding citation facts such as the volume, page, and so on.