**4. Methodology**

#### **4.1. Choice of methodology and software application design process**

The implementation of teamwork complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy is the implementation concept that was at the beginning of the research and development process (R & D) used to develop an Internet software application named "Cluster" that will be an educational product. The educational research and development model used is the one implemented by the authors Harvey and Loiselle [6]. The research project's objectives are to develop an Internet multilevel teamwork assessment application in accordance with the Harvey and Loiselle [6] model and to test the application with high school students and Canadian army cadets that will assess his usability with the Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction ("QUIS") [64]. The Harvey and Loiselle [6] research and development process used in the present research project will give two results, the first result will be the "Cluster" Internet application and the second result will be the theoretical statement of the hierarchical aggregate assessment process for his acceptance by the scientific community.

In the hierarchical aggregate assessment paradigm, there is only a slight difference between hierarchical aggregate assessment applications and management information systems because both records the hierarchical relations and positions of the employees. The only difference is that the management information system processes management data, while the hierarchical aggregate assessment software application processes assessment data, course material, question banks and complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy. Hence, any management information system could be modified to record course material and question banks to present complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy. So the modified management information system has now been added hierarchical aggregate assessment capability and is equally now a hierarchical aggregate assessment software application, as

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**Figure 9.** Link between hierarchical aggregate assessment applications and management information systems (MIS)

The implementation of teamwork complex assessment tasks with several levels of hierarchy is the implementation concept that was at the beginning of the research and development process (R & D) used to develop an Internet software application named "Cluster" that will be an educational product. The educational research and development model used is the one implemented by the authors Harvey and Loiselle [6]. The research project's objectives are to develop an Internet multilevel teamwork assessment application in accordance with the Harvey and Loiselle [6] model and to test the application with high school students and Canadian army cadets that will assess his usability with the Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction ("QUIS") [64]. The Harvey and Loiselle [6] research and development process used

**4.1. Choice of methodology and software application design process**

shown in Figure 9.

**4. Methodology**

The actual research project is the development of an educational tool that implements the hierarchical aggregate assessment process. Richey and Nelson [65] states that the development of a software application that will be used as an educational tool is part of the research and development (R & D) methodology for educational products. The development of the "Cluster" Internet application and its use by students and teachers will place this research in the paradigm of the research and development (R & D) methodology with mixed data analysis using qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative aspect is in the field of the interpretivist epistemology paradigm [66, 67] and used primarily to determine if users like to use the software, resistance-to-change factors as well as the assessment of the proper func‐ tioning of the software. The quantitative aspect of the research project, for its consideration, is in the field of the positivist epistemology paradigm [66, 67] and used to assess the increase in knowledge and the course success and dropout rate of students.

Regarding the choice of a research and development model, several authors have proposed models or developed research approaches such as Borg and Gall [68], Nonnon [69], Cervera [70], Van der Maren [71] and Harvey and Loiselle [6]. In all cases, these models include the phases of (1) problem analysis, (2) project planning, (3) production or development, (4) testing, (5) evaluation and (6) review [10]. The model chosen is the one developed by Harvey and Loiselle [6] because it is newer than Nonnon's model [69, 72], and it summarizes all stages of the research and development models of the previously cited authors. The research and development model used in the current research project is the model of Harvey and Loiselle [6] which includes five phases: (1) determination of the cause of the research, (2) determination of the theoretical background, (3) determination of methodology, (4) implementation or development of the educational product and (5) production of the results, as shown in Figure 10.

**Figure 10.** The research and development model of Harvey and Loiselle [6]

The research and development methodology is similar to the technical development of durable and consumable products used in engineering. Loiselle [10] defined the research and devel‐ opment methodology as an iterative process that involves seven steps that are (1) the prelimi‐ nary analysis; (2) the prototype design and evaluation; (3) testing phase; (4) evaluation, revision and correction phase; (5) publication of results phase; (6) distribution phase; and (7) marketing phase. If the developed product has some lacks, failures or defects in the final stages of the development process such as evaluation, revision and correction, publication of results, distribution and marketing phases, the process returns to the analysis phase to find a solution to correct the defects of the product, as shown in Figure 11. The first functional tests or alpha tests were conducted by the authors of this chapter to ensure that the "Cluster" Internet application was ready to use by teachers and students. Once the functional tests were com‐ pleted, the second series of tests or beta tests were performed by Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi's high school students [18, 19, 20, 21] during her third education bachelor internship where she taught geology for high school students of the Montreal School Board (CSDM). Then after, other beta tests were made by the authors through the distance learning implementation of map using for Canadian army cadets with navigation patrols in teams [18, 19, 21]

**Figure 11.** General research and development process (R & D) [10]

#### **4.2. The testing of the "Cluster" internet application with high school students**

The "Cluster" Internet application has first been tested with high school students during teaching assignments III and IV of Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi [18, 19, 20, 21]. These teaching assign‐ ments are part of the Université du Québec à Montréal's bachelor in education curriculum. This application has been used during Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi's teaching assignment III as an educational tool used as a teaching aid to support the learning of high school students for science and technology classes in the "La Voie" high school of the "Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM)".

The experimental subjects were 113 (N = 113) 9th grade high school students divided into four classes. The course studied was a geology course that included sections on the solar system, the relief and also the rocks and minerals. The course content has been converted to electronic format and placed in the database of the "Cluster" Internet application so that students could access the course material at home outside school hours. This experiment only used qualitative methods and was based on the analysis of the testimonies of students and school officials who used the application. Mrs. Sebkhi would also have wanted to use the "Cluster" Internet application during her teaching assignment IV that included 118 11th grade high school students of the « St-Luc » high school divided into four classes which also belong to the "Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM)". The course studied was thermodynamics. However, this experiment did not take place due to resistance to change because Mrs. Sebkhi's teaching assignment IV directors felt that too much time would be needed for students to learn to use the "Cluster" Internet application effectively.

#### **4.3. The testing of the "Cluster" internet application with canadian army cadets**

The "Cluster" Internet application was also experimented by the Royal Canadian Army Cadets with an experimental group of 27 young army cadets (N = 27) and with a control group of 12

cadets (N = 12) [18, 19, 20, 21]. All experimentation subjects came from two cadet corps of the Quebec province in Canada and had an average of 14 years of age. The current study was a military map-using course entitled "PO 122 – Identify a location using a map". The theoretical content of the course is found in the book "*A-CR-CCP-701/PF-001, Green Star, Instructional guides*" published by the staff of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets [73].

application was ready to use by teachers and students. Once the functional tests were com‐ pleted, the second series of tests or beta tests were performed by Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi's high school students [18, 19, 20, 21] during her third education bachelor internship where she taught geology for high school students of the Montreal School Board (CSDM). Then after, other beta tests were made by the authors through the distance learning implementation of map using

for Canadian army cadets with navigation patrols in teams [18, 19, 21]

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**4.2. The testing of the "Cluster" internet application with high school students**

The "Cluster" Internet application has first been tested with high school students during teaching assignments III and IV of Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi [18, 19, 20, 21]. These teaching assign‐ ments are part of the Université du Québec à Montréal's bachelor in education curriculum. This application has been used during Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi's teaching assignment III as an educational tool used as a teaching aid to support the learning of high school students for science and technology classes in the "La Voie" high school of the "Commission Scolaire de

The experimental subjects were 113 (N = 113) 9th grade high school students divided into four classes. The course studied was a geology course that included sections on the solar system, the relief and also the rocks and minerals. The course content has been converted to electronic format and placed in the database of the "Cluster" Internet application so that students could access the course material at home outside school hours. This experiment only used qualitative methods and was based on the analysis of the testimonies of students and school officials who used the application. Mrs. Sebkhi would also have wanted to use the "Cluster" Internet application during her teaching assignment IV that included 118 11th grade high school students of the « St-Luc » high school divided into four classes which also belong to the "Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM)". The course studied was thermodynamics. However, this experiment did not take place due to resistance to change because Mrs. Sebkhi's teaching assignment IV directors felt that too much time would be needed for students to learn

**4.3. The testing of the "Cluster" internet application with canadian army cadets**

The "Cluster" Internet application was also experimented by the Royal Canadian Army Cadets with an experimental group of 27 young army cadets (N = 27) and with a control group of 12

**Figure 11.** General research and development process (R & D) [10]

to use the "Cluster" Internet application effectively.

Montréal (CSDM)".

Both groups used in the experimentation had to study topography and map using to perform navigation patrols in teams. The experimentation group had to use the "Cluster" Internet application to study map using, while the control group has also to study map using but in a classroom with traditional teaching methods that are Canadian force instructional techniques. Subjects in the experimentation group were from the cadet corps "2567 Dunkerque" from the city of Laval, while subjects in the control group were part of the cadet corps "2595 St-Jean" from the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The cadet corps "2595 St-Jean" resides in the buildings of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.

The classes given were part of a topography and map-using course that included five theo‐ retical lessons that were (1) the different types of maps, (2) marginal information found on a map, (3) map symbols and conventional signs, (4) map contour lines and (5) four-, six- and eight-digit coordinates. The course material has been converted to electronic format and placed in the "Cluster" Internet application database. The topography and map-using course was divided into two parts: a first theoretical part where the experimentation subjects were studying the course material and a second practical part where the subjects were patrolling in the training area between two eight-digit coordinates given by the experimenter. Subjects or students in the control group had to study with traditional teaching manners the theoretical part in a classroom with a teacher, who in the military is called an instructor. Subjects in the experimental group, for their part, had to study the theoretical part of the group at home using the "Cluster" Internet application. However, both groups had to do the practical part of the course that consisted in navigation patrols in teams in training areas to prove the validity of the learning in presence and the distance learning on the Internet.

The validity of the experimentation was conducted using mixed methodology grouping tools of quantitative and qualitative methods. The experiment used qualitative research methods such as observation, interview and post-exercise report analysis. This is to determine whether the application was easy to use, the accuracy of training and if the test subjects had enjoyed using the "Cluster" Internet application. Usability and user interface conviviality factors are crucial to mitigate the effect of resistance to change during the implementation of software that will be used to make a transition from traditional education in class to e-learning.

Quantitative research methods used in the experiment were used to determine the levels of user interface conviviality and the influence of the "Cluster" Internet application on student learning rates. Quantitative instruments used in the experiment were (1) initial knowledge exam, (2) HTML auto-correcting objective exams, (3) work to submit by upload in electronic format, (4) final knowledge exam, (5) electronic self-assessment forms, (6) electronic peer assessment forms, (7) course module confirmation examinations and (8) QUIS questionnaire (Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction) [64, 74]. Formative assessment is given by the students of the course using electronic forms of self-assessment and peer assessment, while summative assessment is provided by HTML questionnaires, homework to submit and course module confirmation examinations and also by the mark given by the teacher or evaluator for the practical part of the course consisting of navigation patrols in teams. These complex assessment tasks in collaborative mode consist of navigation patrols in teams using a topo‐ graphic map. The results of the initial and final knowledge tests are not included in the course final result. The results of the initial and final knowledge tests are only used for the purpose of establishing research findings and conclusions regarding the increase of knowledge for both experimental and control groups. The QUIS questionnaire is used to quantitatively assess the levels of user interface conviviality of the computer application and the satisfaction level of the users, as shown in Figure 12.

The curriculum or course progression for a student is (1) to take the initial knowledge exam, (2) to achieve the five course modules performed in class for the control group and at distance with the "Cluster" Internet application for the experimental group that include a test based on a HTML objective exam at the end of each module that accounts for 50 % of the final mark, (3) to participate in at least three navigation patrols that will count for the other 50 % of the final grade in which the student successively held the team member, team leader and group administrator assignments and (4) to complete the self-assessment and peers evaluation forms after each patrol and (5) the teacher or the assessor is responsible for assessing the patrol team and will assign each student a mark for all the work he did during patrols and that will count for the other 50 % of the final grade and (6) the student will write the final or end-of-course knowledge exam.

#### **5. Results**

#### **5.1. General**

The "Cluster" application is now fully functional and resides at the address http:// eval.uqam.ca/cluster/. The application is relatively easy to use and constitutes a softwareprogrammable shell to implement courses. To create courses in assessor mode, the teacher needs the course material, the course schedule, the assessment tasks definition, the student's names and the team's organogram. The teacher has to enter all these data in the application's database to implement a course. Once the course is started, the teacher can form the students in teams and assess individual and teamwork tasks. To follow a course, the student has to login into the application. After the login, the student has to select the course he wants to follow. Once entered in the course, the student can study the course material, write exams, submit homework, participate in assessment tasks and submit self-assessment and peer assessment. The "Cluster" Internet application experimentation results with high school students and army cadets stated resistance to change by the users and the need to implement some software modifications to the application that were the addition of (1) a field identifying the name of the student group or class to the database, (2) return buttons to avoid the students to get stuck in the interface and course modules and (3) a course progression matrix for each student group or class.

The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 101


**Figure 12.** A section of the QUIS questionnaire [64, 74]

summative assessment is provided by HTML questionnaires, homework to submit and course module confirmation examinations and also by the mark given by the teacher or evaluator for the practical part of the course consisting of navigation patrols in teams. These complex assessment tasks in collaborative mode consist of navigation patrols in teams using a topo‐ graphic map. The results of the initial and final knowledge tests are not included in the course final result. The results of the initial and final knowledge tests are only used for the purpose of establishing research findings and conclusions regarding the increase of knowledge for both experimental and control groups. The QUIS questionnaire is used to quantitatively assess the levels of user interface conviviality of the computer application and the satisfaction level of

The curriculum or course progression for a student is (1) to take the initial knowledge exam, (2) to achieve the five course modules performed in class for the control group and at distance with the "Cluster" Internet application for the experimental group that include a test based on a HTML objective exam at the end of each module that accounts for 50 % of the final mark, (3) to participate in at least three navigation patrols that will count for the other 50 % of the final grade in which the student successively held the team member, team leader and group administrator assignments and (4) to complete the self-assessment and peers evaluation forms after each patrol and (5) the teacher or the assessor is responsible for assessing the patrol team and will assign each student a mark for all the work he did during patrols and that will count for the other 50 % of the final grade and (6) the student will write the final or end-of-course

The "Cluster" application is now fully functional and resides at the address http:// eval.uqam.ca/cluster/. The application is relatively easy to use and constitutes a softwareprogrammable shell to implement courses. To create courses in assessor mode, the teacher needs the course material, the course schedule, the assessment tasks definition, the student's names and the team's organogram. The teacher has to enter all these data in the application's database to implement a course. Once the course is started, the teacher can form the students in teams and assess individual and teamwork tasks. To follow a course, the student has to login into the application. After the login, the student has to select the course he wants to follow. Once entered in the course, the student can study the course material, write exams, submit homework, participate in assessment tasks and submit self-assessment and peer assessment. The "Cluster" Internet application experimentation results with high school students and army cadets stated resistance to change by the users and the need to implement some software modifications to the application that were the addition of (1) a field identifying the name of the student group or class to the database, (2) return buttons to avoid the students to get stuck in the interface and course modules and (3) a course progression matrix for each student group

the users, as shown in Figure 12.

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knowledge exam.

**5. Results**

**5.1. General**

or class.

The actual doctoral project aims to computerize the assessment of teams on several hierarchical levels using a research and development methodology of educational products. Since the process of research and development in education not only gives educational products, but also theories, this research will produce the following results: (1) the definition of the hier‐ archical aggregate assessment process, (2) the "Cluster" Internet application, (3) considerations and changes caused by an experiment on high school students and (4) considerations caused by experimentation on army cadets.

#### **5.2. Hierarchical aggregate assessment process**

The process of grouping students into teams with several hierarchical levels that is imple‐ mented in the "Cluster" Internet application was the object of theoretical considerations of the research and development process that led to the statement of its definition. The actual doctoral project researchers would like that the term hierarchical aggregate assessment be accepted and recognized by the scientific community as a whole because this process has always existed and occurred in large organizations.

#### **5.3. The "Cluster" internet distance assessment application**

The "Cluster" distance assessment Internet application (e-assessment) is a collaborative mode presentation engine in authentic context. This computer application is developed in PHP and supported by a MySQL database. Phases of preliminary analysis and functional analysis of the software development process of the "Cluster" Internet application were done by the CDAME software analysts. The application development with the PHP programming language and also the software application database management system (DBMS) modelling and design in MySQL [22] were done by Frédérick Fortin [19, 20], information systems analyst and a programmer for the "LabMECAS (Laboratoire mobile pour l'étude des cheminements d'apprentissage en sciences (FCI))" [75]. The software architecture of the "Cluster" Internet application is shown in Figure 13.

**Figure 13.** "Cluster" Internet application software architecture

The database management system of the "Cluster" Internet application is able to manage (1) student data, (2) course material, (3) team formation, (4) courses, (5) formative and summative assessments and (6) hierarchical relationships between team members who may have several levels. In the data structure, a course is broken down into modules, and modules include tasks that may have assessment or not. This assessment can be individu‐ al or in teams. Individual assessment consists of either HTML objective questionnaire examinations or homework to submit in electronic format with the system's upload functionality. Assessment tasks in teams include formative assessments that are selfassessment and peer assessment and also summative assessment that is the mark given to the team by the assessor for a production, task or performance. The database architecture of the "Cluster" Internet application is shown in Figure 14.

The application has two mutually exclusive operating modes: student mode and the admin‐ istrator or assessor mode. In fact, the system does not allow an individual with an administrator The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 103

**Figure 14.** "Cluster" Internet application database architecture

The database management system of the "Cluster" Internet application is able to manage (1) student data, (2) course material, (3) team formation, (4) courses, (5) formative and summative assessments and (6) hierarchical relationships between team members who may have several levels. In the data structure, a course is broken down into modules, and modules include tasks that may have assessment or not. This assessment can be individu‐ al or in teams. Individual assessment consists of either HTML objective questionnaire examinations or homework to submit in electronic format with the system's upload functionality. Assessment tasks in teams include formative assessments that are selfassessment and peer assessment and also summative assessment that is the mark given to the team by the assessor for a production, task or performance. The database architecture

The application has two mutually exclusive operating modes: student mode and the admin‐ istrator or assessor mode. In fact, the system does not allow an individual with an administrator

of the "Cluster" Internet application is shown in Figure 14.

**Figure 13.** "Cluster" Internet application software architecture

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or assessor status to study the course material as well as to participate in an assessment task as a team member. Furthermore, the system does not allow an individual with student status to change over the databases and students or to execute some system administrator commands. In the student mode, a user cannot give summative assessments and assess homework as well as team tasks. The mode of application is determined when connecting to the system with the login page when the system recognizes if the username belongs to a student, an assessor or an administrator. The home page contains the login parameters entry fields for username and password and is shown in Figure 15.

The student mode is only used by students or candidates on distance courses given with the "Cluster" Internet application. Student mode allows candidates on courses to (1) study the course material; (2) check out the curriculum record sheet to know what course modules are done and their progression through course modules; (3) perform HTML examinations; (4) submit homework; (5) be part of a team to perform a complex evaluation task in teams; (6) occupy a hierarchical position in the team as a team member, team leader and group admin‐ istrator; and (7) fill in forms of self-assessment and peer assessment. Once the students have begun a session in the application, they can choose the course they want to study if they are registered in several courses with the form shown in Figure 16.


**Figure 15.** « Cluster » Internet application login page


**Figure 16.** Course selection screen

Once the student has chosen the course he wants to study, the user interface drop-down menu allows access to the modules of the course. The course module selection menu is shown in Figure 17.

The menu allows the student to study the course material sequentially from the first module to the last. An application functionality prevents the student from browsing or to navigate randomly in the course modules. The student is only allowed to study the course material in The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 105

**Figure 17.** Course module selection menu

course modules from the first to the last, the last module being the end of the course. The application displays the course material for the student to be able to read it on the screen. When displaying the course material, a pop-up menu allows the student to save or print the displayed course material for future revisions. The course material is displayed using the computer screen shown in Figure 18.

The student can consult at any time the curriculum record sheet that shows the progress of students in the course modules and tasks. The computer screen representing the curriculum record sheet is shown in Figure 19.


**Figure 19.** Curriculum record sheet display screen

Once the student has chosen the course he wants to study, the user interface drop-down menu allows access to the modules of the course. The course module selection menu is shown in

The menu allows the student to study the course material sequentially from the first module to the last. An application functionality prevents the student from browsing or to navigate randomly in the course modules. The student is only allowed to study the course material in

Figure 17.

**Figure 16.** Course selection screen

**Figure 15.** « Cluster » Internet application login page

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**Figure 18.** Course material display screen


**Figure 20.** HTML objective questionnaire

The "Cluster" Internet application has two assessment modes: the individual assessment and the assessment in teams or teamwork assessment. The individual assessment will be processed with HTML objective exams and homework submission in electronic format by an upload function, while the teamwork assessment is done by the teacher and the assessor that can observe the team or assess a performance or a production with a mark. The HTML objective questionnaire is shown in Figure 20.

Performances, work and productions of the students will be submitted using a standard upload computer screen shown in Figure 21.

**Figure 21.** Standard upload computer screen

**Figure 18.** Course material display screen

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The "Cluster" Internet application is able to assess different knowledge, skills, productions and performances simultaneously in the same assessment task in teams. Hence, a student participating in an assessment task in teams can occupy team member, team leader and group administrator hierarchical positions. When the student completes an assessment task, he must complete the self-assessment and the peer assessment forms. It is therefore necessary that the self-assessment and peer assessment forms have different assessment criteria based on the hierarchical position of the assessed student that could be a team member, team leader or group administrator. The team member assessment form is shown in Figure 22.

The team leader assessment form is shown in Figure 23.

The group manager assessment form is shown in Figure 24.

The administrator or assessor mode is the operating mode used by system administrators, teachers, assessors as well as distance learning courses developers on the Internet (e-learning) to (1) manage and modify the student database, (2) manage and modify the course material database, (3) mark the students' homework submitted in electronic format, (4) assess the performance of the students in teams, (5) group students into teams and (6) assign team members hierarchical positions as team member, team leader and group manager in order to implement the tree structure made by the hierarchical aggregation of team members. The student management computer screen is shown in Figure 25 and allows the teacher or the assessor to create a new student as well as to modify or delete the record of an existing student.

The course task management form is shown in Figure 26 and allows the teacher or the evaluator to create a new course task as well as modify or destroy an existing task from the course material database.


**Figure 22.** Team member assessment form


**Figure 23.** Team leader assessment form

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**Figure 24.** Group manager assessment form

**Figure 22.** Team member assessment form

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**Figure 23.** Team leader assessment form


**Figure 25.** Student management form

The teacher or assessor may mark individual homework or assignments submitted in elec‐ tronic format and write comments about a student's performance with the work or perform‐ ance assessment form shown in Figure 27. This form is only used by the teacher or assessor for summative assessment purposes to give marks to work uploaded by students.

Figure 28 is a computer form that allows the teacher or the assessor to perform teamwork assessment. In fact, during a teamwork assessment task, each student is assessed twice: the student first receives marks or assessment data that is a formative assessment concerning his individual performance as team member, team leader and team or group manager. The student

also receives a score that is a summative assessment for the performance he gives during the teamwork assessment tasks and for his individual performances that are homework submitted in electronic format and HTML exams. The teacher or assessor can assess each student performance during a teamwork task with the team member assessment form shown in Figure The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 111


**Figure 27.** Student's individual work or performance assessment form

28, which is the same form used by students to give self-assessment and peer assessment previously shown in Figure 22. This assessment form then has two functions: first, it is used for formative assessment by students who use them for self-assessment and peer assessment. Secondly, it is used to make summative assessment by teachers or assessors to mark the individual performance of the student in his team.

The software application team member individual assessment screen is shown in Figure 29.

Once all individual formative assessment is done by team members with the completion of self-assessment and peer assessment forms, a data entry form shown in Figure 30 is presented to the assessor to enter the mark or the score for the assessment of the task done in a team.


**Figure 30.** Screen for the assessment of a task in a team

also receives a score that is a summative assessment for the performance he gives during the teamwork assessment tasks and for his individual performances that are homework submitted in electronic format and HTML exams. The teacher or assessor can assess each student performance during a teamwork task with the team member assessment form shown in Figure

**Figure 26.** Course task management form

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The teacher or the assessor gives summative assessment to the student by observing his team performance based on his hierarchical position, which can be either as team member, team


**Figure 28.** Team member assessment form

leader or group manager. The assessment criteria on the assessment forms are different depending on the hierarchical position occupied by the student, as shown by Figures 22, 23 and 24. This feature is a direct implementation of the problematics of teamwork assessment with several hierarchical levels. This functionality is currently only implemented in the "Cluster" Internet application and is not found in any other e-learning and e-assessment Internet applications such as Moodle, WebCT and Blackboard.

During the teamwork assessment process, the teacher or the assessor has to produce both formative and summative individual assessment and teamwork assessment. These assess‐ ments will be used to mark the team productions and to determine the student's final grade for a given course. To assess a student and assign grades, the teacher or the assessor can consult the "Cluster" Internet application database and retrieve the student's self-assessments as well as all the peer assessment using the forms shown in Figures 22, 23 and 24. The computer screen that displays all of the results of self-assessments and peer assessments for a given student is shown in Figure 31.


The Internet Implementation of the Hierarchical Aggregate Assessment Process with the "Cluster" Wi-Fi… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60850 113

**Figure 29.** Team member individual assessment screen

leader or group manager. The assessment criteria on the assessment forms are different depending on the hierarchical position occupied by the student, as shown by Figures 22, 23 and 24. This feature is a direct implementation of the problematics of teamwork assessment with several hierarchical levels. This functionality is currently only implemented in the "Cluster" Internet application and is not found in any other e-learning and e-assessment

During the teamwork assessment process, the teacher or the assessor has to produce both formative and summative individual assessment and teamwork assessment. These assess‐ ments will be used to mark the team productions and to determine the student's final grade for a given course. To assess a student and assign grades, the teacher or the assessor can consult the "Cluster" Internet application database and retrieve the student's self-assessments as well as all the peer assessment using the forms shown in Figures 22, 23 and 24. The computer screen that displays all of the results of self-assessments and peer assessments for a given student is

Internet applications such as Moodle, WebCT and Blackboard.

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shown in Figure 31.

**Figure 28.** Team member assessment form

**Figure 31.** Self-assessment and peer assessment display screen

The course final grade is computed by (1) the sum of all the individual scores that includes HTML exams and homework to submit in the course modules and (2) the sum of all scores assigned by the teacher or the assessor to the student for the tasks he performed as a team member. Finally, the main innovation of the "Cluster" Internet application at the origin of current doctoral project is the aggregation function whose tree data structure is implemented into the application's database and thereby allows the grouping of students into teams with multiple hierarchical levels. This feature allows the system to assign the student hierarchical functions such as team member, team leader and group manager. The aggregation function is accessible from the main menu of the application that is shown in Figure 32.

The aggregation functionality implemented in the "Cluster" Internet application provides a solution to the problem of the current research project concerning the implementation of an assessment process for the teams with several hierarchical levels that is less implemented in


**Figure 32.** Aggregation menu for team formation

Moodle, WebCT and Blackboard. The form of the "Cluster" Internet application that imple‐ ments the aggregation process that groups teams of students with levels of hierarchy and assigns team members as team leader, team member and group manager is the computer screen shown in Figure 33. The form enables the teacher or the assessor to begin the aggregation process to group students in teams. This process builds the multilevel tree structure stored in the MySQL database application.


#### **5.4. Experimentation with high school students**

Moodle, WebCT and Blackboard. The form of the "Cluster" Internet application that imple‐ ments the aggregation process that groups teams of students with levels of hierarchy and assigns team members as team leader, team member and group manager is the computer screen shown in Figure 33. The form enables the teacher or the assessor to begin the aggregation process to group students in teams. This process builds the multilevel tree structure stored in

the MySQL database application.

**Figure 32.** Aggregation menu for team formation

114 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

**Figure 33.** Aggregation process and team formation screen

The testing of the "Cluster" Internet application performed on high school students by Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi [18, 19, 20, 21] were the first beta tests used to experiment the application on a large population of over 100 students (N > 100). Alpha tests were done before Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi's experimentation by the CDAME researchers [18, 19, 20, 21]. In this experiment, the "Cluster" Internet application was used by high school students of the province of Quebec as an alternative method to teach geology courses. The results of the experiment were purely qualitative and were based on Mrs. Sebkhi's observations during the experiment where students used the application in their geology classes. Several students who used the appli‐ cation "Cluster" and some directors of the Montreal School Board argued that the application user interface was too rigid and not friendly enough for students who were teenagers from 12 to 16 years of age.

The high school students wanted the applications' user interface to make more use of multi‐ media elements such as videos and animated graphics so that the course would be more like a video game with avatars as in the "Mecanika" application implemented by François Boucher-Genesse [76] rather than the actual "Cluster" Internet application's basic drop-down menus user interface. However, for some students, learning to use the "Cluster" Internet application was simple and easy. These students did not had any problem to study the course material, review all the course modules and take the geology course exams placed at the end of course modules while the less talented students had experienced various problems when using the "Cluster" Internet application such as (1) resistance to change, (2) losses of usernames and passwords, (3) errors while filling the HTML exams, (4) being lost in navigation when studying the course material, (5) impossibility to go back in the user interface navigation if the course material is not understood or saved and that the student wants to regain access to the course materials or to the previous sections and (6) difficulty for teachers or course assessors to keep track of progress while performing modules and examinations for groups or classes having a large number of students.

Mrs. Sebkhi's high school students faced the described problems; she therefore requested that four modifications could be made to the "Cluster" Internet application user interface [18, 19, 20, 21]. These changes were implemented a few months after the end of his teaching assignment III so that Mrs. Sebkhi could use the new functionalities of the application to the start of her teaching assignment IV. The first modification shown in Figure 34 was the addition of a field in the database to identify the group or the student's class so that all students in the database are divided into classes or groups.

The second modification is the implementation of a back button allowing the student to be able to return to the previous module or chapter, as shown in Figure 35.

The third modification shown in Figure 36 is the implementation of a form to access the curriculum record sheet of all the students registered in the "Cluster" Internet application database. This form will allow the teacher or the assessor to access the curriculum record sheet of a given student to know his progression into the course modules without having to open a session (login) into the account of the student.

The fourth modification shown in Figure 37 is the implementation of a form that displays a matrix that shows the progress in the course modules for all students in a class or a group.


**Figure 34.** Addition of a field for the group or the class of the student

**Figure 35.** Implementation of a button to return to the previous module


#### **Figure 36.** Curriculum record sheet access screen

The fourth modification shown in Figure 37 is the implementation of a form that displays a matrix that shows the progress in the course modules for all students in a class or a group.

**Figure 34.** Addition of a field for the group or the class of the student

116 E-Learning - Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management

**Figure 35.** Implementation of a button to return to the previous module


**Figure 37.** Student progress matrix screen

#### **5.5. Experimentation with Canadian army cadets**

The results of the experiment of the "Cluster" Internet application with Canadian army cadets are shown in Table 1 [18, 19, 20, 21].



**Table 1.** Experimentation of the "Cluster" on Canadian army cadets for navigation courses in teams using the map

#### **6. Discussion**

The current research project produced three main results under the research and development methodology: (1) the theory describing the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment, (2) the "Cluster" Internet application and (3) data, results and conclusions regarding the testing of the "Cluster" Internet application with army cadets during navigation patrols in teams. The theories describing the process of hierarchical aggregate assessment are now submitted to the scientific community through numerous publications [18, 19, 20, 21] so that the term "hier‐ archical aggregate assessment" will be internationally recognized by the scientific community. Following a first iteration in the research and development process, the "Cluster" Internet application has undergone a first set of amendments that has been proposed by Mrs. Dalila Sebkhi during her teaching assignment III at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). These results were presented and discussed in the « Results » section of this chapter, and the « Cluster » Internet application is now fully operational. Although the experiment is over, the organization of the army cadet has found useful "Cluster" Internet application in the cadet movement to provide distance learning and help for cadets with learning disabilities and to help late entry cadets of 15 to 18 years of age to progress faster in their career. This application is now used by the cadets to provide distance courses on topography, navigation patrols, instructional techniques and general military knowledge. The results for the testing of the application "Cluster" by the army cadets demonstrate that the increase of knowledge pro‐ duced with the "Cluster" Internet application is 50.59 %, an increase which is almost identical to that produced by the traditional classroom teaching methods that is of 48 %. This similarity of percentages for the increase of knowledge in both cases could be explained by the "Clark [77]-Kozma [78] debate" where Clark (Clark, 1983, p 44.) states that "the media are only a vehicle transporting knowledge and do not influence knowledge".

However, the success rate for the learning of topography using the "Cluster" Internet appli‐ cation is only 22 % compared to the control group which is 83 %. The success rate of 22 % produced by distance learning can be explained by the fact that many of the cadets in the experimental group were having learning disabilities. Some of the major drawbacks of distance learning are to leave the student alone in his learning process without being in the classroom and lacking the presence of a teacher or colleagues to help him. Very often, students with learning disabilities registered in distance courses became confused by the lack of classroom dynamics that destroys motivation and desire to learn.
